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“Your wish is…” Addy turned off the kitchen light and in the glow of the nightlight sitting above the counter and extended a hand to her aunt, seeing the woman couldn’t handle the memories of a love unrequited.
“-my command,” Aunt Flora finished, winding her arm around Addy and pulling her into a hug. “Your father called earlier and wanted you to give him a ring.”
Addy’s heart sank.
Robbie Guidry. Her father had gone to talk to the assistant DA who prosecuted Robbie, taking all the evidence tagged by Lt. Andre. But Addy didn’t want to talk about parole boards and safety issues at the moment. Nor did she want to talk any further about taking risks with a big, sexy man living temporarily next door.
She wanted to lose herself in a world somewhere far away, and maybe later find out what Sheriff Cade and Sophia were up to.
Ha.
As if she didn’t know.
The phone woke Lucas from where he dozed in the recliner. All the lights were still on and ESPN blared on the TV. One of the announcers mentioned a trade deal between the Oakland As and the Texas Rangers for a pitcher, but the incessant ringing kept him from hearing what player it was.
“Hello,” he said, trying to sound awake and read the Closed Captioning at the same time.
“Lucas?” It was Courtney.
“Hey.”
“Sorry I’m calling so late. I’d meant to call earlier but got tied up.” She paused dramatically. “Luke, he’s awake.”
“Ben?”
Courtney laughed. “No, the Easter Bunny.”
“Of course I know what you meant. How is he?”
“He’s still weak and a little confused. He thought at first he was still in Germany and wanted to know how I got a passport so quickly. Oh, and your parents arrived this evening. It’s been crazy.”
Relief blanketed Lucas. Until that moment he hadn’t realized how much he wanted his brother to heal. The betrayal was still there, but somehow lessened.
He didn’t know if he wanted it to lessen. He’d held on to his anger and pride for so long it had become like a favorite sweatshirt, easy to pull on when needed.
“Lucas?”
“I’m here. Sorry, I had fallen asleep and was a bit disoriented. Still surprised to wake up somewhere other than my own bed.” He folded the bottom of the recliner down with a grunt. “I’m glad to hear he’s awake.”
“Are you?”
He stiffened. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You haven’t cared in years.” Her voice was solemn, not the least bit flippant. He figured she’d been thinking about him and their past. Being alone with fear picking at a person gave him or her plenty of time to examine and reexamine life.
“Did you think I wanted my brother to die? Jesus, Court. I’ve been angry a long time, but I never wished harm on either of you.” Lucas stood, outrage coursing his blood. She thought him that sort of monster? Had she ever really known him?
“We haven’t seen you since the night we told you we had fallen in love. You disappeared and blocked us out of existence. What do you think we were supposed to think?”
“That you broke my heart. That my brother betrayed me.”
Silence reigned on the other end.
“This is a bad time to bring up the past. Ben’s awake. That’s what matters. Be happy and don’t jab old wounds.”
Courtney inhaled and exhaled. “Yes, that’s the most important thing, but I’ve been thinking about you and about Ben. What happened to you both doesn’t seem fair. That was my fault. I’m the one who ruined everything. I shouldn’t have… I should have resisted him.”
“And been untrue to your feelings for Ben? Pretended to love me when you didn’t? How would that have been better? It wouldn’t. What happened happened, Courtney. From the looks of things around here, I’d say it worked for the best.”
