Picking up the Pieces (10 page)

“I’ve had half a drink in the past hour. You want to leave? Then leave. I’m not keeping you here. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back to Chase.”

I barely made it around Luke’s massive body when his hand clenched my elbow and jerked me back around. “You don’t even know that guy. No fucking way am I leaving you here alone with him.”

That was all it took for me to snap. I got as close to him as I could without touching and stood on the balls of my feet to be closer to eye level. “Let’s get one thing straight right now: you
are not
my dad, my boss, or my man. You want to have a power trip, do it with someone else because I will
not
put up with that bullshit. If you’ve got an issue with the person I’m talking to, you keep it to your fuckin’ self because it’s none of your damn business. You’ve been gone for eight years, so let me fill you in on some things. You do
not
know me. The person I was before you left has been gone for a long ass time now, so don’t make the mistake of acting like you do.”

All my little speech seemed to do was infuriate him further. “If you think I’m just gonna leave your ass here with some stranger that’s probably just trying to get in your pants, think a-fuckin’-gain! I know what that douche bag’s after, and I’ll break every bone in his goddamned body before I allow him to act on anything in his perverted little mind. Now you’ve got two choices. You can either leave with the rest of us, nice and quiet, or I can carry your ass out. Either way works for me.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You sure that little piece you were talking up early wouldn’t mind you carrying me out of here? She didn’t strike me as the type of woman who likes to share.” I’d crossed a line I shouldn’t have with that statement.

He leaned down so close I could smell the mint and alcohol on his breath. “You jealous, baby girl?”

“Not on your life, asshole. I’m done with this.” I shoved past him and started for the table my friends just vacated.

“Is this you running again?” he asked in a sarcastic tone. “I say a few things you don’t like, so you bail?”

That had me stopping in my tracks. “I’m not running, you stupid prick. You want to go home, so I’m getting my purse. You got a problem with that?” I didn’t wait for him to respond before grabbing my purse and heading out the door. Before climbing into my car and shutting the door, I did something extremely immature that I am
not
proud of. “Goodnight, Deputy Dickhead.” I slammed my car door just as Luke started laughing.

CHAPTER 18

LUKE

“Hey, baby. Buy me a drink?” I unwillingly dragged my gaze away from the dance floor. I would have been perfectly content to watch Emmy dance all night, so I wasn’t too thrilled that this chick just distracted me.

“Sorry. What?”

“I said,” she leaned over and shoved her tits in my face as she whispered in my ear, “buy me a drink and maybe I’ll make it worth your while.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Is that right?” I said, still chuckling.

“Oh yeah, baby.” I let my eyes travel down her long-ass legs and all the way back up to her fake rack. Some guys might be into the whole plastic thing, but I preferred my girl to be natural. There was nothing natural about this chick. Fake blonde hair, fake nails and fake tits. She was hot and all, but I had my eye on the little thing on the dance floor with brown hair and gorgeous gray eyes. There wasn’t a damn thing fake about Emmy.

“Not tonight, sweetheart.” I turned away from her, hoping she’d get the hint. I wasn’t that lucky.

Pulling an empty chair so close she was practically in my lap, she sat down and leaned even closer. “Come on, baby, you know you want to.”

The sound of her voice was grating. Why did women think it was sexy when they used that whiny-ass baby talk? It just made it easier to brush her off.

“Woman, what part of what I said makes you think I’m interested in anything you got to offer?” I didn’t care how cold I sounded. The last thing I needed was for Emmy to see this life-sized Barbie practically sitting in my lap. “I said, not tonight. Translation… get gone. Now.”

She stood up and stomped off in a huff. I caught Trevor laughing at the other end of the table. “You know, you could’ve helped out a little.”

“I could have,” he said, still laughing. “But that shit was just too damn funny.”

“Oh. So it had nothing to do with the fact that you’ve been following Lizzy around like a dog on a leash all damn night?” I knew I had him there. I’d never seen him so in tune to one woman before.

His laughter cut off immediately. “Fuck off, man.” He stood and walked away, and I turned my attention back to the dance floor but Emmy was no longer there.

Fuck!

I scanned the whole area but couldn’t find her anywhere. I finally caught sight of Savannah heading back over to the table. “Where’s Emmy?” I knew I sounded desperate, but the idea of her seeing me with that woman and getting upset had me on edge.

Savannah pointed her thumb over her shoulder toward the bar. The smirk on her face wasn’t the least bit soothing. “Over there talking to that fine specimen of man meat.”

When I stretched to see what she was talking about, anger clouded my vision. Sure enough, Emmy was sitting up at the bar with some tool dressed in a three piece suit. Who the fuck wore a suit to a bar anyway? “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” I muttered as she threw her head back with a laugh and ran her hand down the fucker’s arm.

“What’s
your
problem? It’s not like you weren’t preoccupied over here anyway.”

I most definitely wasn’t in the mood to deal with Savannah. And what she said just confirmed my fear. Emmy saw me with the blonde and got the wrong idea. “It wasn’t like that. The bitch just wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Why was I defending myself to her?

“Yeah. I’m so sure.”

“Look…” I stood and stared Savannah right in the eyes. “You don’t believe me, that’s your deal. I really don’t give a shit. But I’m not going to have you running to Emmy and telling her something that isn’t true. I had no interest in that woman. I told her to leave and when she didn’t, I made sure she got the hint. If you want confirmation, just ask Trevor. He was sitting here the whole time.”

I caught a strange expression cross Savannah’s face before she masked it. “I’m gonna be straight with you,” she started. It was never a good thing when she started a sentence like that. “I don’t like you.”

“Yeah. I kinda got that.”

“You’ve hurt Emmy once, and I’m pretty certain you’ll do it again. And when you do, I’ll be on your ass like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew.” She took a deep breath then continued. “For some insane reason, she’s decided to give your friendship another chance which, I might add, I
totally
disagree with. But I support that girl in everything she does, so until you fuck up again, I guess I’m stuck with you.”

“I can feel the love from here, Savannah. Who knew you had so much in your heart?”

She reached out and slapped my arm. “Shut up, ass wipe!”

I took that as my cue. “Well, if we’ve got our bonding out of the way, I got something to take care of.” I booked it straight to the bar and shoved my way between Emmy and Senor Fuckwad. I ignored the look of shock and anger on her face. I was too far gone to give a damn if what I did pissed her off. There was another man touching what was mine. I was
not
down with that.

“You about ready to go?” I interrupted. I vaguely heard her introduce me to the loser she was with. I didn’t want his name; I just wanted to get her the hell away from him. “You ready to go or what? Everyone wants to head out.” That was a total lie, but I wasn’t above anything at that point.

She jerked me away from the loser she was talking to and started rambling on. The blood rushing in my ears was so loud, I barely heard her ask what my problem was. I’m sure I answered her back, but my brain quit running on all cylinders the minute I saw her with another man. I just about flipped my shit when she informed me she was going back to whatever his name was.

“You don’t even know that guy. No fucking way am I leaving you here alone with him.” That was the wrong thing to say. She lit into me without a second thought, and I couldn’t help but think how sexy she looked as she yelled at me.

I was embarrassed to admit it, but I wasn’t hearing a damn word she was saying… that was until she made a comment about me not knowing her any longer. That set me the hell off. I knew what that guy was after, and it wasn’t meaningful conversation. I voiced my opinion along with a threat to do bodily harm. I’d had enough. I wasn’t going to stand there and fight with her about some guy she didn’t even know. “Now you’ve got two choices. You can either leave with the rest of us, nice and quiet, or I can carry your ass out. Either way works for me.” I was really hoping she’d take me up on my offer to carry her. I was itching to get my arms around her from the moment I set my eyes on her again. That night in my truck just made that need even stronger.

I swear, when she narrowed her eyes at me in a challenge, I got hard enough to hammer nails. I loved her feisty little attitude. “You sure that little piece you were talking up early wouldn’t mind you carrying me out of here? She didn’t strike me as the type of woman who likes to share.”

“You jealous, baby girl?” That was probably the stupidest thing I could have said, but I couldn’t help myself. She just looked so sexy standing there. I pushed her buttons to get a reaction, to watch her get angry.

“Not on your life, asshole,” she threw at me. “I’m done with this.”

When she said that, I felt my blood run cold.
Not again
, I thought. I couldn’t lose her now that I was so close to getting her back. “Is this you running again?” I couldn’t stand the thought of that. “I say a few things you don’t like, so you bail?”

“I’m not running, you stupid prick. You want to go home, so I’m getting my purse. You got a problem with that?”

Thank Christ.

I followed her all the way out to her car, relieved that she was leaving without talking to that guy again. “Goodnight, Deputy Dickhead,” she hollered at me. I burst out laughing as she slammed her car door, started up and took off.

I knew she wasn’t anywhere near ready to accept that I wanted us to be together, but I was willing to wait. I’d spent the last eight years comparing every woman that crossed my path to Emmy, and every one of them fell short. I’d spent nearly a decade knowing there was no other woman for me. I just hoped I hadn’t done
too
much damage.

CHAPTER 19

EMERSON

When I walked out of the kitchen, Luke was sitting at one of the tables looking over a menu. I didn’t know why he bothered; he’d ordered the same thing for breakfast for as long as I could remember. “Lenny, gimme a number four for the deputy,” I hollered over my shoulder as I made my way to his table.

I put my hands on my hips and stared him down. He looked up at me with an apologetic expression. “You still mad at me?”

I propped my hands on my hips and made a face that clearly stated not to mess with me. “You done acting like an asshole?”

He gave me a devilish grin. “That depends… are you planning on being alone with anymore strange men?”

“Luke.” I said his name as a warning. “You’ve got to stop this.”

“Emmy, I…”

I lifted my hand to cut him off and sat down across from him. “I’m serious. I’ve already told you that all we can be is friends, and I can barely handle that most days. This is a delicate line, Luke. I need you to appreciate that. You can’t go around intimidating guys that talk to me. It’s not fair.”

“That guy was an asshole, Emmy.”

“How do you possibly know that?” He was unbelievable.

“What kinda guy wears a three piece suit to a club? Christ, he screamed tool bag from a mile away.”

We were quickly getting off topic. I had to put the conversation back on course. “Luke, if you’re going to live here, you have to deal with me talking to other men. I’m going to date and so are you. If this is going to work, you have to accept that.”

It was obvious by the look on his face that he didn’t agree with me, but all he offered was an apology. “I’m sorry. I was out of line and I won’t do it again. I promise.”

He looked so miserable as he made that promise that I couldn’t stop myself from reaching over and placing my hand over his. The same electric charge that I felt every time our skin made contact shot through and I wondered if he felt it to. By the look on his face, it was obvious he did.

I started feeling awkward and pulled back. Luckily, the moment was cut short when his cell phone went off. He lifted his finger, indicating he just needed a moment before he answered. “Allen,” he said in a strong, authoritative tone. His face dropped as the person on the other end spoke. “Yeah, Mom. I’ll be right there.” He slid his finger across the screen, ending the call then looked back up at me.

“Is everything okay?” He stood up and took his wallet out of his pocket. He started to put a twenty on the table but I stopped him. “Luke, you didn’t even eat. You aren’t paying for something you didn’t get. Why don’t I make it to go?”

He looked panicked as he nodded his head, so I rushed to the kitchen and quickly boxed up his breakfast. When I came back out, he was running his hands roughly through his hair.

“Luke, what’s going on? Is everything alright with your mom?”

“She had an accident. I gotta go.” He started for the door, but I couldn’t let him leave in the condition he was in.

“Luke!” I called as I ran out the door after him. “Luke, let me drive. Please. You’re really shaken up right now.” I became even more concerned when he didn’t put up a fight. He just tossed me the keys to his truck and headed around the passenger side. “Where are we going?” I asked as I climbed in and started it up.

“The hospital.”

Shit.

“Okay.” I drove in silence, checking on Luke out of the corner of my eye every few minutes. Anyone who didn’t know him would probably think he was fine, but judging by how quickly his knee was bouncing up and down, I knew he was freaking the hell out. “What happened?”

He rubbed his hands over his face several times before answering. “I don’t know. She just called me and said she had an accident and had to call an ambulance. Since I wasn’t on duty, I didn’t hear the call come in.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing… you know, that you weren’t at work when it happened.” I knew nothing I was saying would make him feel any better, but I at least had to try.

“I guess.” He closed himself off at that point and neither of us spoke another word as we drove the last few miles to the hospital. I pulled into the parking lot, and the car barely came to a full stop before Luke jumped out and booked it to the doors of the emergency room.

Throwing the truck into park, I jumped out, hit the locks and ran after him. He was already at the nurse’s station when I got to him. “I’m looking for Ilene Allen. She was brought in a few minutes ago.” On instinct, I grabbed his hand when I noticed it shaking. He looked down at our joined hands and gave them a squeeze before looking back up at me with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I smiled back, trying to make him feel a little better.

“Mr. Allen, if you’ll just have a seat over there, the doctor will be right with you.”

I hated the disinterested tone the nurse used, but there was nothing I could do about it. I pulled Luke over to the row of chairs lining the window in the mostly empty waiting room. When he rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head, I felt so helpless. All I could think was that I wished there was something I could say to make him feel better but I knew there wasn’t.

I let my eyes wander around the waiting room, taking in the drab gray walls and bright florescent lighting. I hated everything about hospitals: the smell of the disinfectant, the sounds of beeping monitors and the hushed murmur of voices in the halls. It all brought back awful memories that I didn’t want to remember, but I knew I had to stay for Luke.

His voice pulled me back to reality. “You don’t have to stay. I appreciate you driving me, but I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.”

It was my turn to squeeze his hand. “I’ve got nothing better to do. Besides…” I said with a grin, “…we came in your truck.” I was finally able to get a smile out of him.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “It means a lot that you’re here.”

“Of course. We’re friends, Luke. This is what friends do.”

He leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling for a while. “She was probably fuckin’ drunk again.”

I cringed at his words. I knew his mom was a drunk when we were growing up, but I was never really close to her, and after Luke left, there was no reason for me to talk to her. I’d see her around town occasionally but that was all. She never came into the diner, and from what I gathered from other people talking, never really left her house that often. “She still has a drinking problem?”

He let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. But that’s not really surprising, is it?” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I remained quiet.

We sat there in silence until the doctor came out to talk to Luke. It turned out that Ilene was, in fact, drunk and had taken a tumble down the stairs in her house. “We did some x-rays and nothing is broken. She’s extremely lucky. No concussion, just a gash on her forehead that required stitching. It could have been much worse.”

I relaxed a little at the news that she was going to be okay. “Thanks, doc. Am I gonna be able to take her home today?”

“I don’t see any reason why not. But I need to make you aware of the fact that when your mother was brought in, there was alcohol in her system.”

Luke let out a laugh without any humor. “You aren’t tellin’ me anything I don’t already know, doc. That woman’s been drunk pretty much every day of my life.”

The doctor shrank back at Luke’s harsh tone, unsure what to say to Luke’s admission. I decided that maybe it was time for me to step in. “Can we go back there and see her?”

The doctor gave me an appreciative smile, and I could have sworn I heard a growl come from Luke. “Sure, go on back. I’ll get the release papers set and you’ll be able to leave shortly.”

The doctor walked off, and Luke and I started down the hall to where his mom was. “I don’t like that guy,” he stated firmly.

“You talked to him for all of five seconds
and
he took care of your mom. How can you not like him?”

“Didn’t you notice him staring at your tits the entire time he was talking?”

He was being completely irrational but I knew I couldn’t lay into him. He was already under enough stress as it was. “I’m gonna let that slide, because I know you’re upset right now. But I just want you to know that under normal circumstances, I’d have punched you in the junk by now.”

It felt nice to finally see him laugh. “Duly noted. Come on.”

I pulled back slightly when he started for the curtain where his mother was. “Maybe I should just wait out there?” I was suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of seeing his mom. “She might not like other people seeing her like this, you know?”

“Then she shouldn’t drink,” Luke replied curtly.

I couldn’t stand seeing him so angry. He wasn’t normally so callous and mean. “Luke, stop. I know you’re upset, but she’s still your mother.”

The angry expression fell from him face and I could see the stress that lay behind it. “I need you with me right now,” he said quietly. “Is it okay to admit that?”

It broke my heart to see him so lost. There wasn’t much I could deny him at that moment. “No, it’s fine. If you need me, I’ll be right there with you.” He smiled and pulled my hand to his lips. My heart stopped beating as he pressed a kiss to my knuckles.

I wasn’t able to pull in a breath until he turned away from me to pull the curtain open. “Hey, honey,” Mrs. Allen said from the hospital bed. The bandage on her forehead seemed to bring out the dark circles under her eyes. It was a shame she never got help for her drinking, because she really was a beautiful woman. But the years of alcohol abuse had taken a toll on her body. She was too thin and sallow-looking, her skin hanging in some places. Her eyes were a little sunken in and her hands shook constantly.

“Hey, Ma. How you feelin’?”

“I’m just fine, darlin’.” At that moment, she noticed I was standing behind Luke. “Well, I’ll be. Emmy Grace. Aren’t you looking beautiful.”

I gave her a shy smile. “Hey, Mrs. Allen.” I stepped forward next to Luke to address her. “Are you okay?”

She gave me a bright smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back. She looked genuinely happy to see me. “I’m fine. Just had a little accident, that’s all. How have you been, honey?”

“I’ve been good, Mrs. Allen.”

The doctor came in with the discharge papers, breaking up the little reunion she and I were having. “Alright, Mrs. Allen, all your scans came back good, so you get to go home. Just take it easy for a few days and try not to get the stitches wet.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied kindly. “Thank you for everything.”

He gave her a warm smile. “My pleasure. Just take better care of yourself. I don’t want to have to see you under these circumstances again.”

I stifled a laugh when I noticed Mrs. Allen blushing. I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that the doctor was a handsome man and clearly neither was she.

He walked over and shook Luke’s hand before turning to me and smiling, showing the dimples in his cheeks. “It was lovely meeting you.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to me. “If you ever need anything, please feel free to call me.” Luke stepped beside me possessively as he gave the doctor the stink eye. All I could do was politely take the card and thank him before he left.

The two of us tended to his mother, carefully getting her into Luke’s truck and back to her house. Luke got her into bed, and I made her a sandwich so she could take a pain pill. After making sure she was going to be alright, we got back in his truck and headed for the diner.

Luke pulled into the parking lot but didn’t bother turning off his truck. “Thanks for sticking with me today,” he said. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate that.”

I gently touched his forearm. “I already told you, it was no problem. I’m glad I was able to help out.” I reached over, opened the door and stepped down. “You gonna be okay?”

He gave me a sad smile before mumbling in the affirmative. With no clue what else I could do, I shut the door and just stood there watching him drive away.