My Lucky Catch (University Park #6) (25 page)

Silence fell across the kitchen, and we all stared at each other, not sure what to say. Mom continued to sob quietly, and Dad consoled her. All my life, I thought my mom was the bad guy, when all along, it was my dad. Then again, they were both at fault. Regardless, of who was to blame, it still didn’t help my situation.

“I’m sorry I failed each of you.” Dad wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “More than anything, I’m sorry I failed your mom.”

“I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with.”

“You still aren’t, Olivia.” Dad gave a half laugh. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.” Pulling her against him, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Aw.” Ashley sniffed and smiled as my parents hugged. “You guys are going to make me cry.”

“I can’t believe this.” Lexi shook her head as Raven held her and the babies close to him. “You’ve kept this from us all these years? Where’s the trust?”

“All we’ve ever wanted was the best for our family. I hope you can see that.” Mom turned to me, her eyes begging me for forgiveness. Dad motioned for me to come to him, but I didn’t move. I loved my parents, but I also loved Delaney. Despite the apologies and finger pointing, I was still left with one question: How the hell was I going to tell Delaney that my mom caused the wreck that killed her parents?

***

Delaney

I pulled into the parking lot of the apartment and released a huge sigh when I saw Luke’s car parked in his spot. I’d texted him several times, but he hadn’t responded. I figured the news wasn’t good, and he probably needed a little time to process whatever he found out, so I took my time coming home.

“Luke?” I called as I entered the apartment. “I’m home.” I closed the door and dropped my camera and equipment on the couch. A dim light shown from our bedroom, and I pushed the door open. Luke was lying on the bed, his forearm resting against his forehead. “Hey,” I sat next to him, “is everything okay?”

Luke kept his hand over his eyes and shook his head.

Placing my hand on his other arm, I asked, “Is it your mom?” A heavy sigh escaped his mouth, and his chest rose and fell in long strides. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“Okay.” I stroked his arm. “I’m here for you, whenever you’re ready to talk.” Leaning over, I placed a kissed on his cheek. “I’m going to take a shower.”

I started to get up, but he pulled me back to the bed. “Don’t go.”

“Alright.” I lay next to him, and he snuggled against me. His eyes were blood-shot red, and it looked like he’d been crying. Running my fingers through his hair, I told him, “Everything’s going to be okay.” Pain, hurt, and dread struck his face, but I wasn’t sure what to say without knowing what happened.

We stared at each for several minutes, taking our time to capture each other’s features. It was as though he was committing every freckle on my skin into his memory, while I studied every ink mark that stained his upper body. Including the newest one that had my name on it.

His thumb brushed my lower lip. “You know I love you, right?”

“What kind of question is that?” I joked. “Of course, I do.”

When he didn’t respond, I started to get nervous. Was he having second thoughts about marrying me? Maybe he hadn’t gone to see his family. Maybe there was another woman in his life. But if there were, he wouldn’t have asked me to marry him. Right?

I lowered my hand from his hair, dragging it down his bare chest. He latched on to it, holding it over the center of his chest. “Feel that?”

“What, your heart?” I pressed my palm flat against his body, feeling the thumping against my skin.

“Yes.” He looked at me. “It beats only for you.”

Relief flowed over me, and I sighed under my breath. “Good, because if you told me there was someone else, I’d find her and beat her ass.”

A light chuckle filtered through him. “I wouldn’t put it past you, but don’t worry, you don’t have to fight anyone for me.”

“That’s reassuring.” I tucked my hair behind my ear, trying to stay calm. “Then what’s bothering you?”

Lifting my hand, he studied my engagement ring. The light from the bathroom caught the facets, making it shimmer in the darkness. Luke had picked out a princess cut diamond surrounded by trillion diamonds on each side. It was breathtakingly gorgeous and was more than I could ever want in a ring.  “No material item can express how much I love you, Laney. And no matter what happens to us, I want you to know, I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

I smiled, but something told me he was preparing me for bad news.

News I didn’t want to hear.

News that would change what we had . . . forever.

Hoping that my intuition was false, I went along, proclaiming my love for him. “And I’ll always love you.”

His eyes watered and he took a visibly hard swallow. “You promise?”

“Always.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and pressed firmly, leaving his mark. It took him several seconds before he finally spoke. “I don’t even know where to start.” His eyes glazed over, and tears spilled on to his checks.

“What’s is it, Luke?” I wiped away his sadness and without even knowing what was hurting him, I starting crying, too.

“Please don’t cry.” Luke caught my tears with the tips of his fingers. “We’ll figure this out, some way, somehow.”

“Figure what out? What are you taking about?” Confusion swept over me, and my heart rattled. Fear swooped in like the black night, ready to steal my joy. But I refused to give in to it. Straightening my backbone, I took a deep breath. “Tell me, Luke. What’s going on?”

“My mom’s not sick, at least not physically.”

“That’s great news.” I tried to smile, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate. “Is everyone else okay?”

“Yeah. No one’s sick.”

“Good.” I nodded. “So, there’s no bad news?”

Luke glanced away for a moment and sighed. “Shit.” Realigning his sight to mine, he said, “This isn’t good, and you have to promise me you’re not going to freak out.”

I gave a slight nod, even though my body was already in a state of panic.

“Do you remember what my dad said Sunday night right after my mom got sick?” I stared at him blankly, not wanting to recall the words he spoke. Words that would rip our love apart. Words that I wished were never spoken. When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “About seeking justice?”

A whimper escaped my lips, and my body starting shaking. Without him telling me, I already knew the answer. There were too many coincidences, and all fingers pointed to his mom. I knew it deep down, but I didn’t want to believe it. Shaking my head, I kept saying, “No. No. No.”

“I’m so sorry, Delaney.” Luke gathered me in his arms, but I stayed frozen in place. “My parents were at a New Year’s Eve party, and my mom had been drinking. She caught my dad with another woman, and they got in a fight. My mom took off mad and lost control, swerving into your lane. She was scared because she didn’t want to go to jail, so she kept driving.”

I heard what he said, but I couldn’t speak.

No words formed.

No emotions rose.

No reactions surfaced.

Shock.

I was in total shock.

“It’s so fucked up. What my mom did was wrong on all levels.” He brushed my hair away from my face, but I didn’t acknowledge anything he said. I wanted to, but my mind wouldn’t let me. “Laney, we will find a way to get through this. I’ll be by your side, no matter what. I love you.”

Tears released from my eyes in a steady stream. My chest ached, and it felt like my heart had been crushed inside of me. I gasped for air, but no matter how much I breathed, no amount of air could fill my lungs. The entire room folded in, suffocating me.

“I . . . I have to go.” I backed away from Luke.

He quickly reached for my hand. “Laney, please. Don’t go. Let’s talk about it.”

I shook my head and stumbled out of bed. “I can’t, Luke. Not right now. Not with you.”

He got up from the bed and followed me around the room. Tears blinded me, but I quickly gathered my things. Tossing whatever I could find into one bag. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.” I wiped my eyes, but the tears didn’t stop. “I can’t stay here right now.”

“Please don’t go.” He pleaded, but I headed for the door. “Laney, please. I’m begging you.” Luke dropped to his knees, his hands pulling on the strands of his hair.

I looked at the man that had somehow brought down my brick wall, only to rebuild it in a matter of minutes. Huge tears dropped from his eyes, and my heart pleaded with his. But no amount of tears or pleading would change our fate. Luke and I were never meant to be together.

Chapter 17

Luke

I was going fucking crazy. It had been two weeks since I’d seen or talked to Delaney. She refused to take my calls or respond to the hundreds of text messages I’d sent her. She even refused to talk to Lexi. Then, again, I guess I couldn’t blame her.

The night she left the apartment, I called Veronica and Martin and told them everything. They were upset, just like I was, and figured Delaney needed a little time to get her head straight. They promised to keep me posted if they heard from her, and they had. But I couldn’t take another lonely night without the woman I loved.

Things weren’t any better on the home front. My parents’ lives had also been turned upside down. A part of me hated my mom more than ever, while the other part felt bad for her because of what she was facing. The dark side of me felt she deserved it, for all the shit she put Lexi and me through, and especially Delaney. My father disappointed me, but learning that my mother was ten times more controlling and demanding before his affair helped me understand why he did it. It still didn’t make it right, but at least they had stayed together for us and had been trying to make the best of their marriage.

As I pulled out of my parents’ driveway, I contemplated going home or taking the freeway that would lead me to Greenville—where Delaney was staying. She needed to know what my mom had decided to do. Maybe it would bring her peace knowing that justice would be served. If not, she at least needed to know how much I missed her and that I needed her back by my side. I turned on my signal, and took the exit that would hopefully bring back the woman I loved.

An hour later, I turned on to the old farm road. Gravel crunched beneath my tires, and a cloud of white dust billowed behind my car. My heart thundered in my ears, and no matter how many cigarettes I smoked, I couldn’t seem to relax. Over and over, I rehearsed what I needed to tell her, but I wasn’t sure I’d get it right. I had no idea if Delaney was still at her parents’ house or if she had gone somewhere else. As I entered the Dukakis property, the evening sun reflected off of Delaney’s car, causing a smile to surface on my face. She was there.

I turned off the engine and stepped out of my car. Taking one last drag, I flicked the bud to the ground and squashed it. My legs shook with each step I took, and I prayed she wouldn’t have her dad shoot me on the walkway. A large white swing hung on the front porch, and through the front window, I saw images dance across the TV screen.

Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell. I shoved my trembling hands in the pockets of my shorts, trying to hide them. It took a minute or so for the front door to open.

“Luke.” Martin stood in the doorway with a surprised expression on his face.

“Hi, Mr. Dukakis. Is Delaney here?”

“Yes, come on in.” He unlocked the screen and pushed it open. “How are you doing?”

I gave a slight shrug, but I was sure my unkempt beard and messy hair, not to mention my wrinkled clothes, made it obvious that I wasn’t doing that well. “Getting by.”

“I see that.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Have you talked to your folks?”

Releasing a heavy sigh, I nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

“Who’s at the door, honey?” Veronica appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Oh, Luke.” Her eyes popped open when she saw me. “Please, come in.”

“How are you, Mrs. Dukakis?”

“Fine.” Her arm wrapped around me in a tight a hug. “Would you like something to drink?” She motioned to the kitchen. “I just put some tea to boil.”

“No, that’s okay.” I shook my head, looking around the house. The last time I had been there was just a month ago, when I had asked permission to marry Delaney. I wondered if they still approved? The real question was, did Delaney still want to marry me?

“I guess you want to talk to Delaney?” Veronica asked.

“Yes, that’s if she’ll see me.” I looked at her with hopeful eyes.

Veronica glanced at Martin, as though seeking his approval. “She’s out back, in the barn.” He pointed to the back door.

“Okay, thanks.”

I started to make my way through the kitchen, but stopped when he said, “Hey, Luke.” I turned around and he approached me. “I can’t promise that she’ll talk to you. She’s still upset about everything.”