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What happened if Kelly died? If he let himself fall for Carly, he’d be raisingtwobabies fathered by Eric. It was a crazy situation, one he needed to guard against. Any feelings that had built for Carly needed to be firmly squashed. His neatly ordered life couldn’t take that much upheaval. Carly’s big brown eyes flashed into his mind, and he pushed away the image.
Vince entered the office and closed the door behind him. A waft of garlic came with him. “There you are. Big news, partner. Kostin is awake, and the doctor says we can talk to him. He’s likely to be a little confused, but he might say something that opens the investigation for us. You got time to go there now?”
Lucas rose from behind his desk. “I’m with you.” He followed Vince down the hall to the parking lot. “I’ll drive.” He clicked the key fob and unlocked his truck.
“I know.”
He and Vince got in and headed for the hospital. Vince smelled of garlic and tomato sauce. Lasagna? Lucas’s stomach rumbled at the thought. Dinner would be in a few hours, but he rummaged in the truck for a snack pack of pretzels. He ripped it open with his teeth and offered it to Vince, who shook his head.
Lucas tossed a handful into his mouth while Vince kept shooting questioning glances his way. He navigated the traffic along Ribaut Road toward the hospital. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Trying to figure you out. What’s happened? You look like someone just stole your truck.” He smacked the dashboard. “But it’s right here, safe and sound. What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Spill it, Bennett. You’re bad off. You got termites gnawing at your bones.”
“Carly took Kelly’s baby home with her.”
Vince’s eyes widened. “To your house? So there’s two babies and five women living with you and Ryan? You’re not getting any sleep. Come crash at my house if you want.”
“It’s not that. I can live on a couple hours a night.”
Vince studied his face. “You worried about raising both the kids? It’d be like raising twins. Me and Nell thought we’d go bat crazy when ours were little. Crying at all hours. One would start and the other would chime in. Sleep was a rare commodity.”
“It’s not the sleep.” Lucas raked his hand through his hair as he turned into the hospital parking lot. “Two kids by another guy is a hard thing to think about.”
“Ah, gotcha. Every time you looked at them, you’d see Eric, right? Little Noah looks like his daddy. That bug you?”
Did it? When Lucas thought about Noah, all he felt was affection. The little guy had wrapped Lucas’s heart around him like a blanket. “Noah is different. Buttwoof them? I can’t handle it.”
“Whoa, I didn’t think anything made you tuck your tail and run. Carly is the best thing that’s ever happened to you, partner. You let her slip away because of this kind of fear and you’re crazy.”
Lucas shook his head. “Marriage is hard enough without mixing in even more stress. I’ll need to pull away, but how do I do that with her living in the house? Maybe work would do it, but I’ve promised to help her find Mary’s twin sister. And there’s the egg to think about as well as the investigation into the break-ins and murders.” He turned off the engine and pushed open his door. “Maybe Ishouldmove in with you for a few weeks. Give me some space.”
“Nope. I withdraw my offer. I’m not going to be party to your cowardice. You ever think the good Lord brought Carly into your life on purpose? You’re a stand-up guy, Lucas. She hadn’t had the experience of meeting a man like you. Eric was a sleaze, and Ryan...” Vince’s voice trailed off, and he looked away.
“You knew Ryan was a player?”
Vince got out and shut his door. “The whole county knows Ryan is like a bee buzzing to the next pretty flower. You’ve worn shades when you looked at your bro. Anyone with one eye could see he’s never going to settle down.”
Lucas fell into step with Vince as they headed for the hospital entrance. “He told Carly this morning that he’d cheated on her when they were dating. I never knew.”
“Now you do, so you can put any guilt away and focus on how you feel about her.” Vince stopped before they reached the door and clamped his big hand on Lucas’s arm. “Don’t blow this, buddy. Most of us only have one shot at the right woman. If you can’t see Carly is the one, you need glasses.”
Was Vince right? Lucas had begun to think it might be true, but today’s events had knocked him into a tailspin. Maybe he could table all this until he found out if Kelly would make it. This might all be a moot point.
***
The pale man sleeping in the hospital bed looked far from a hale and hearty construction worker. He was in his thirties but looked closer to fifty lying there in the white sheets. Lucas raised a brow and shrugged at Vince as they stood and waited for Kostin to open his eyes. The blinds were drawn and the lighting dim. The machines made noises, and a murmur of voices rumbled outside the partially open door.
Vince cleared his throat, and the man in the bed opened blue eyes that he fixed on Lucas’s face. Lucas gave a nod and a restrained smile. “Mr.Kostin, I’m glad to see you’re awake. You’ve had a rough time of it.”
Kostin cleared his throat. “Cops, right?”
Vince nodded. “That’s right. We wanted to ask about the attack on you. Did you recognize the man who stabbed you?”
Kostin shook his head. “Didn’t see him at all. I’d heard a footstep and started to turn but never got the chance.” He spoke slowly as if he were still unsure of how to talk.
