Good Girls Do (4 page)

Spending some time between the sheets with her.

Oh, yeah. That sounded good.

Too bad she wasn’t the kind to fall right into bed with him. She was the kind who’d make him work for it. But it might be worth it.

Luke paused in front of Maguire’s Pub. The building hadn’t changed much. No surprise there. He entered, yanking open the door.

The air inside felt pre-breathed with all the oxygen sucked out of it, a stark contrast to the fresh air outside. The smell of fried onions and beer overwhelmed him. Or was it the memories?

The past twelve years fell away, whipping him back in time.

A second later, Luke found himself outside again, gulping in air even as he rammed into someone on the sidewalk.

It was the braid guy. Mr. Recycle Man.

“You got a name?” Luke demanded, itching for a fight.

“Tyler.”

The anger seeped out of him. “Okay then.”

“Glad you approve.”

Hey, the guy had a sense of humor. Who knew?

“I hear you’re the new owner of this place.” Tyler jerked his head toward the pub.

“That’s right.”

“I do some handyman work if you’re interested.”

“You got a card?”

Tyler shook his head. “I’m not hard to find.”

“The town fathers give you any trouble for picking cans out of the garbage?”

Tyler shrugged. “It’s a free country.”

“Parts of it may be. I’m not so sure about this place, though.”

“I guess time will tell.”

Luke nodded. That’s what he was afraid of. No, not afraid. Never afraid. Never again.

 

“I’m telling you . . .” Edith leaned closer to Julia. “Mabel over at the video store called Stella, who called me and said Luke tried to kidnap Billy.”

“I find that to be highly unlikely.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why on Earth would Luke want to do something like that?”

“Who knows why people do what they do?” Edith replied. “The world is filled with all kinds of twisted people.”

“I agree,” Luke said from behind Edith. “And plenty of them live right here in good ol’ Serenity Falls.”

Wanting to divert a confrontation, Julia quickly asked Luke, “Did you come back for your keychain?”

“That depends. Where is it?” His gaze lowered to her breasts.

“Not there!”

“Too bad. I was sort of looking forward to retrieving it.”

“Sort of?” Damn. She’d done it again. Let her tongue get away from her.

His slow grin was her only reward. Or punishment.

“A man can only take so much anticipation,” he said.

“I’ll take your word for it.” She handed him a keychain.

The zing was back. In his voice. In the way he looked at her from under those dark lashes of his. He had the kind of Black Irish looks she’d always been a sucker for. Dark hair and brows, intense blue eyes. Deep eyes. Not ocean kind of deep but brooding, I’ve-got-secrets deep. Dylan Thomas deep.

Edith cleared her throat. “I believe we’re getting ready to close things down now.”

Instead of staying and offering to help Julia, Luke just smiled and sauntered away.

“You seem disappointed that he’s left,” Edith noted.

“I was thinking about something else,” Julia lied.

“Walt wanted me to ask you if you’d had time to check the Internet for that project he gave you.” Edith was on the town council.

It took Julia a moment to recall what project that might be. Oh, right. The woolly worms/groundhog prognosticator. “No, I haven’t had time yet.”

“He seems very keen to get that done.”

Walt was very keen about a number of things, most of them having to do with getting Serenity Falls on the Top Ten list of the country’s Best Small Towns.

“I’ll work on it the next chance I get,” Julia promised.

“You do that.” Edith patted Julia’s hand. “And you work on staying away from Luke. He’s nothing but trouble. Your mother isn’t here to warn you, so I feel compelled to do so.”

If they only knew. Julia’s mother would never warn her away. Instead, she’d have hopped on the back of Luke’s Harley in a heartbeat.

 

 

Luke couldn’t believe how long it took for them to close down the so-called Fun Festival. Glaciers moved faster. Finally, his Bo Peep librarian was leaving the crowd, heading back down Main Street toward the library and the pond.

He’d left his Harley parked back there, so he might as well follow her. Even though it was dark, he could see the sway of her hips as she walked ahead of him. Or maybe that was just the ruffles on her dress. The thing seemed to have a life of its own, the skirt shifting back and forth like the hefty bell that tolled every Sunday morning over at the First Congregational Church.

He could have sworn he heard Julia swear softly as another gust of wind threatened to blow her off course.

A gentleman would take her by the arm and assist her. But he was no gentleman, and he doubted she’d welcome his assistance, despite her semi-flirtatious comments a short while ago.

So he just watched her, quietly following behind.

Luke had no idea why she headed for the pond instead of her home. Maybe she wanted to count the koi to be sure none had been eaten in her absence.

She did seem the ultra-responsible type.

Finally he spoke. “What are you doing?”

Julia wasn’t expecting Luke. What was he doing, stalking her? She spun around at his question just as another even bigger gust of wind blew through. The billowing hoop skirt and her unsteady footing joined forces to make her fall backward . . . right into the water.

Julia had the presence of mind to grab the hoop skirt as she went down so it didn’t fly over her head. But now it was soaking wet, preventing her from standing up.

“Here, let me give you a hand.” Luke had his sexy voice on, the one hot enough to melt the polar ice caps.

It didn’t work on her. “You’re the reason I ended up in here!” She was tempted to yank him in right next to her.

The look in his eyes told her that Luke could read her thoughts. And he was practically daring her to act on them. But she refused to sink that low.

“Do you want my help or not?” Luke asked.

She tried to get out on her own but only ended up splashing them both and making herself even wetter.

An instant later, he’d grabbed both her hands and hauled her out. She stood before him a dripping mess.

The next thing Julia knew, he’d undone the ties holding up her skirt. It fell to her feet like an anchor sinking to the bottom of the sea.

“Oh, look, they’re going skinny-dipping.” Julia froze. Surely that wasn’t her mom’s voice? “I’m so proud of you, honey.”

“Looks like we’ve walked in on an episode of
Good Girls Gone Wild
,” her sister Skye drawled from the darkness. “I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Julia
yanked her skirt back up around her waist and slapped away Luke’s hands.

“What are you doing here?” Julia demanded.

“Trying to help you.” Luke reached for her again.

“Not you,” she muttered, smacking his hands again. “Them.” She pointed to her family, standing under the oldest tree in Serenity Falls. If she were the suspicious kind, she’d almost think the tree was conjuring up people to fluster her. First Luke, now her mother Angel and sister Skye. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing over there?” Skye countered. “All wet.”

“I slipped and fell into the pond. I was
not
going skinny-dipping.”

“That’s a shame.” Angel’s curly brown hair glimmered in the moonlight, as did the amethyst crystal she wore around her neck. “It’s so liberating to be free of these artificial restrictions that confine the natural beauty of the human body.” She plucked at the floaty, tie-dyed Indian cotton dress she wore.

Julia was afraid Angel would start peeling off her clothing and step into the water. It wouldn’t be the first time.

She had to get her mother out of here.

How fitting that her wacky family showed up out of the blue right before Halloween, the holiday that celebrated the weird and other-worldly. Both adjectives applied to her mother and sister.

She’d ask how they tracked her down to the municipal pond later. Her mother would probably tell her that she’d sensed Julia’s vibes or something New Age-y like that.

Julia shivered. It had been unseasonably warm all day and evening, but now it was getting downright cold with the edgy wind. “I’ve got to get out of these wet clothes. Why don’t you follow me home?”

“Works for me.” Luke grinned.

“Not you. I meant them.” She tilted her head toward her family.

“I’m Julia’s mother.” Angel moved closer, her clothing flowing around her like a cosmic cloud as she moved. “My chosen name is Angel.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Luke.”

Angel laughed. “You’re very polite, Luke.”

“You’re the first one who’s thought so.”

Angel shrugged. “I often see what others don’t. You should come over to the house, and I’ll read the runes for you.”

“Hello?” Skye waved both hands over her head, her multiple silver bangles jangling. Her neon red hair was short and spiky while her how-low-can-you-go jeans revealed the glint of a navel ring in the street light. “What am I, invisible here?”

Angel made the introductions. “This is my youngest daughter, Skye. And her daughter, Antonia.”

“Also known as Toni the Biter,” Skye added. “She just turned four, but she’s got quite a grip with those baby teeth of hers.”

“Be careful, honey.” Julia watched nervously as Toni headed straight for the pond.

Skye wasn’t the least bit concerned. “Don’t worry. She can swim like a fish.”

“Swimming isn’t allowed in the municipal pond.” Julia pointed to the sign.

“Still conforming to rules, huh, sis?”

“Still trying to break them?” Julia retorted, irritated as always by her sister’s attitude.

“Oh, I don’t merely
try
. When I put my mind to something, I get it done.”

“Does that mean you’ve gotten yourself a job?”

“No way.” Skye scoffed. “I’m not participating in the corporate repression of the working classes.”

“Capitalist pigs,” Toni added. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the koi gliding by. “Fishie!”

She made a beeline for the pond. Julia was too far away to stop her. But Luke wasn’t.

“Luke, grab her!” Julia yelled.

“Me? Why me?” He looked panicked, like she’d just ask him to deactivate a bomb.

“Just grab her.”

He did, holding her between his two hands as if she were some sort of alien life-form.

“Here,” he hurriedly handed Toni over to the still water-logged Julia. But not before Toni tried to nip him. He moved fast enough to avoid her teeth. Just barely.

“Nice kid,” he muttered.

“She’s just expressing her frustration at not having the linguistic skills to voice her aggravation with the world situation,” Skye said.

“She cannot go around biting people,” Julia said. “No biting,” she warned Toni with the same kick-butt voice she’d used on Billy earlier.

It had little effect.

“ ‘No’ is a negative element we don’t want interfering with Toni’s life energy force,” Skye loftily stated.

Biting is a negative element I don’t want in my life energy force
Julia wanted to say but didn’t. What was the point? Skye wasn’t going to change. Neither was their mom.

“Here, I’ll take her.” Angel lifted Toni into her arms. “We really should be going.”

“So you just stopped by to say hello?” Julia felt a huge sense of relief. This was the first time her family had come to Serenity Falls to see her. She deliberately hadn’t told anyone much about her life before she came to town. She’d only been as truthful as she’d had to be—and as vague as possible.

“Stopped by to say hello?” Angel repeated. “No, we came to see you.”

“And move in with you,” Skye added.

Angel quickly patted Julia’s damp arm. “I was going to break it to you a bit more gently.”

Julia started shivering so hard her teeth were chattering. She was freezing, or it could be shock. Her family. Living with her? Stephen King couldn’t have come up with a more horrifying scenario.

The next thing she knew Julia was encased in a warm leather jacket. “You’re cold.” Luke’s voice rumbled near her ear. “How far away is your house?”

Julia pointed across the street. Or tried to. Her hands were shaking, making her think of the pointy-fingered stare of the haggard witch in one of those Disney movies.
Cinderella
was it? Or
Snow White
? Or
Sleeping Beauty
?

She hadn’t seen any of them as a kid. Her mother hadn’t approved of the fairy tales or the commercialization of them. She’d rented all three videos a few months ago.

“It’s wonderful that you live so close by.” Angel smiled. “Lucy and Ricky are tired after their trip.”

Angel had brought more company with her? Skye and Toni the Biter weren’t enough? “I only have one extra b-b-b-bedroom.” Julia’s teeth were chattering again.

“This is ridiculous,” Luke growled.

Julia couldn’t agree more and would have told him so had she been able to form words. Instead, she was concentrating on protecting her tongue from getting chewed by her chattering teeth.

Luke scooped her up, or tried to. The heavy, wet Bo Peep skirt didn’t cooperate, the hoop smacking him in the face.

Rip.

The skirt fell to her ankles. He scooped her up again. His warm leather jacket barely covered her daisy-patterned panties. Why hadn’t she worn those damn bloomers that had come with the stupid costume?