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“I appreciate that I don’t have to worry now, butI willpay you back, so get used to the idea.”
Luke grinned as he pulled his hand from his pocket and handed her the wallet she’d left in the truck. “I almost forgot. Your purse spilled on the floor while I was taking a corner pretty fast. I grabbed a couple of things I thought you’d need.” He reached into his left-hand pocket and came out with her cell phone. “I turned it off. Didn’t want those thugs to hear it ring while I was clinging to the side of that mountain.”
Sally stared at the phone and, suddenly, the weight of the world collapsed on her shoulders again. Now she would have to turn it on. Answer it when it rang. Tell Marshal Lambert where to find her. She took it from Luke tentatively and smiled a thank you she didn’t mean.
He caught her arm as she swiveled to nudge Jen. “Hey. You okay?”
His sincerity and concern banished her pity party, and she nodded, raising her lips to his. Luke pulled her closer and she pressed into his warmth as their lips met in sensuous exploration. She wanted to stay right there, but she pulled away as soon as she heard Jen stir and come fully awake. Sally didn’t want to give her daughter false hopes. Until she talked to the marshal and figured out the next move, their lives weren’t their own. She pushed Luke back and frowned at his humorous smirk.
Jen yawned and rolled toward the bucket seats. “Mom, I’m hungry,” she whispered.
“Me too,” Luke said. “I didn’t think you’d ever wake up.” He tossed a wink at Sally, and she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. “Tell you what: Why don’t you ladies wait here while I get us a room? After we’re settled, I’ll run into town and grab us some breakfast. How’s that sound?”
“Can we have pancakes?” Jen slid to the edge of the seat, shook her curls out of her face and grasped the front seats to pull herself up. Her clear eyes and excited manner alleviated some of Sally’s worry. Her daughter appeared no worse for wear, despite the past several hours.
“You can have anything you want.” Luke landed a kiss on the top of her head before he opened his door and stepped out. “Figure out what your mom wants while I’m gone, okay?”
As Luke disappeared inside the motel’s office, Jen crawled into her lap and wound her arms around Sally’s neck. “Mom, what happened to your face?” Her small hand gently touched the bruise on Sally’s jaw.
How could she explain the black and blue marks without destroying her daughter’s trust in men? She’d promised herself, when Jen was barely able to walk, that she’d always be honest with her—something Sally’s own father apparently hadn’t known the first thing about. It hadn’t always been easy. Like when Luke was captured overseas and wounded and Sally had been sure she’d never see him again. Things like that were hard to explain to a child—so she’d omitted parts of the truth to protect her daughter. That wasn’t the same as lying, was it?
“Remember I told you I had a date with my boss last night?”
“Yeah,” Jen said.
“Well, not all men are nice. Some of them are bullies, just like in your school.”
“He hurt you? Did you tell Luke?” Placing her fingers under Sally’s chin, she turned her mother’s head and studied the abrasion on her cheekbone.
“Luke knows.” Sally went for the simplistic answer rather than also explaining Luke’s sudden appearance.
“Good. I bet that bully won’t bother you again. Mom, when can we go home?”
Apparently, her daughter was full of hard questions today. This was one Sally hadn’t wanted to field so soon. She pulled her daughter’s arms loose and took her small hands in hers. “I don’t know, honey. It might be a long time. There wasn’t much left of our house. The landlord might decide not to rebuild.” Sally tucked a lock of Jen’s hair behind her ear. How would her nine-year-old daughter handle such devastating news?
Jen stared at her thoughtfully for several seconds, then leaned into her again, and Sally hugged her small body close. “That’s okay, Mom. It’ll be like an adventure. As long as Luke is with us, I won’t miss home that much. Will you?”
Sally should have known her daughter of nine…going on thirty…would take everything in stride. She smiled, a genuine smile of relief. “Why would I miss home when I have everything I care about right here?” She tickled Jen’s ribs, mother and daughter giggling together.
The passenger door opened and Sally jumped. Jen laughed when she spotted Luke in the doorway. He held out both hands toward her, and she clambered across the seat and flung herself into his arms. Luke let out anoofand mumbled something about her being so big.
He situated Jen on his left side, reached for his duffel and nodded his head in the direction of the line of motel rooms. “Ours is the last one.”
Sally hurried to keep up with Luke’s long stride, but when he reached the last bright green door, he unlocked it, shoved it open and stood aside, waiting for her to go ahead. The musty, closed-up smell hit her first, and she kept walking to the far side of the room, where she wrestled with the window for a few minutes before she gave up. Frustrated, she turned and surveyed the rest of the room. Shag carpet, two full-sized beds with mattresses that dipped in the middle, covered by worn bedspreads of questionable cleanliness. It was all she could do to keep from shuddering as her gaze drifted to Luke.
He set Jen on her feet and straightened. A crooked smile slid across his countenance. “Next time I choose the accommodations.”
His dark brown eyes, sparkling with amusement, were her downfall. She coughed to disguise the laughter that sputtered from her throat, but when Jen and Luke broke up, Sally lost it too. She hadn’t really laughed in so long—since before Luke was deployed. It felt good to be reckless, impetuous and carefree.
Luke collected himself first and eyed Jen. “Did you find out what your mom wants for breakfast?”
“Oh shoot, I forgot.” Jen sounded truly repentant, and Sally was relieved when Luke turned his best smile on the girl.
“No worries. I’ll get it out of her.” He grinned at Jen, and she dropped on the edge of the bed, watching to see what would happen next.
“Okay, pancakes for Jen. You want anything else with that? Sausage? Bacon?” Luke pretended to pull a waiter’s order pad from his pocket and began writing with the tip of his finger.
Jen dissolved into giggles. “No. Just pancakes and milk.”
