Luke's #1 Rule (3 page)

“I’ll think about it,” he said.

An hour later, Spence texted. He’d signed the papers and dropped them at her attorney’s office. She knew he’d put owning the house, mortgage paid, deed in his name, free and clear, before the boys. She’d counted on it, even. Still, an unwanted stab of conscience made her silence it by reminding herself they’d all be better off without him. She didn’t want her boys to see him slide into some sort of worse addiction. She didn’t know what he’d been using before they’d met, but the more she thought about it, she knew he’d been using
something
. The addictive behavior was escalating again. A perfect time to get out of town.

****

Chloe shut her office door and phoned Kristy in Seattle. They’d met in college and remained friends even as their lives took different paths: Kristy up the corporate ladder in Seattle and Chloe raising babies in Michigan. When Chloe returned to work, her first account was an online workshop for Kristy’s company. Kristy knew what a pain Rob could be, so when a position opened up at her firm, Kristy quickly offered Chloe a spot on the human resources team. It came with a VP title, and the salary and benefits forced Chloe to think about how much she could improve her children’s lives if she accepted the job.

“So did he sign?” Kristy knew the story with Spence. She’d been Chloe’s maid of honor in the wedding and never admitted her discomfort with Spence until the divorce.

“Yep.”

“Cold bastard.”

“Yeah,” Chloe sighed. “I think he’s got a new drug. Not sure what.” He was a different man from the one she’d married, but despite his letting them down time and again, the boys adored their dad.

“What did he act like?”

“He seemed nervous and wouldn’t meet my eye. He didn’t smell like pot.”

Kristy was as mystified as Chloe. Their idea of getting high meant a vodka martini. One.

“You going to pay for rehab again?”

“No. I just want to get away from him. Get us all away from him. Bettina can try to clean him up this time.”

“Have you written a letter of resignation?”

“This morning. Haven’t sent it yet.”

“Like I said before, the position opens in July.”

“That’s fine.” More than fine. Perfect. When school let out, Chloe could take the boys on their usual vacation.

“So I’ll fax you the contract.”

“To my home fax.”

“Of course. We are going to have so much fun!”

Chloe thought about telling Kristy about the cute landscape guy that seemed to have a crush on her, but then she decided not to get into it at work. She’d call Kristy later tonight and give her all the details.

Chloe had barely put the phone down when Rob stormed into her office. His body language confirmed what she’d always suspected: he listened in on phone calls. He was too much of a control freak not to wonder why she and Kristy were talking during business hours long after they’d finished the job. She could have used her cell phone, but maybe part of her wanted him to find out this way.

“I won’t be requiring two weeks’ notice,” he said as she tapped the keys on her laptop, emailing him the letter of resignation she’d written that morning after Luke arrived.

****

Chloe came home to an empty house. She went to the kitchen and heard Luke and her mom through the open window. They stood in front of the old swing set the boys hardly used anymore. It had been Chloe’s.

“Chloe’s dad kept it in shape, but I guess I’ve let it go since he’s been gone.”

Chloe thought of her dad with a familiar pang of longing. He died just before she left Spence. At least he didn’t know about Spence’s chronic unemployment, his increased drinking, his pain pills, everything that led to the divorce. She missed her dad every day but was glad to have spared him all that drama. She wiped this worn record from her mind. Forget it. That was then. This is now. And Luke with the luscious hair was in her backyard, talking to her mom.

“We’ll tear this down. Not a problem.”

“You don’t know my grandsons.”

And before she could catch Luke’s response, Chloe heard the unmistakable sound of school bus air brakes and went outside to say hi to the boys. She loved that she was home early to greet them right after school.

“Mom! Grandma! There’s a big truck in the driveway!”

Chloe’s two dynamos came barreling into the backyard, throwing backpacks on the deck and jumping on the swings, pumping their legs in a competition of who could swing higher.

“Hey Mister, is that your truck?” Josh asked.

“I know how to read!” Tommy said. You’re Luke’s La—”

“Landscapes!” Josh pumped his legs harder in triumph.

Luke answered with a clipped yes and backed away from the swing set.

First Josh, then Tommy, jumped into the air and landed a few feet from their swings.

“Impressive, but I told you not to jump off those swings.” Chloe knew they were showing off for Luke. Not that he’d noticed. She discreetly checked the yard, but he’d disappeared.

“Wanna play basketball, Mommy?” After being cooped up in the house all winter, the boys loved coming home to sunny warm days. Josh ran into the garage to find the basketball. Tommy and Chloe followed.

Luke stood at her father’s workbench holding a measuring tape in one hand and a pencil in the other.

Josh found the basketball and brought it with him over to the workbench. “Wanna play horse, Mr. Luke?”

“Mommy’s going to play, aren’t you?” Tommy edged closer to Luke, who hadn’t answered or even looked at them.

“I am.” She waited for Luke to make a polite excuse. He didn’t say a word but continued scribbling notations on his paper. What was his problem? All morning he had eyed her like she was a chocolate milkshake he wanted to drink straight down, and now his eyes ran right through her. “Mr. Luke has to work. He’s cutting down the tree.”

“We can help.” Tommy still looked up at Luke, heartbreaking hope in his eyes. Tommy, the sweetest kid in the world, loved everyone. He must have got to Luke, because the thick-haired, thick-skulled asshole from up north finally turned away from his calculations at the workbench.

“How about you stick to playing basketball, and I’ll do my work?” Luke tried a weak smile to soften his words, but Chloe wasn’t buying it.

“Want to see me ride my bike?” Tommy asked. Next he’d be showing an uninterested Luke his skateboard moves.

“Tommy, honey, come on, it’s your turn,” Chloe said. “We seem to be bothering Mr. Luke.” The hoop attached to the garage peak.

“No,” Luke said. He used the side door of the garage to circumvent Chloe and the boys. A minute later, Chloe heard his truck start up.

After dinner, Chloe stood at the kitchen window, doing dishes. While she worked, she watched Luke unloading fencing from his truck, stacking it in the garage. The night darkened into black, so he had all the outdoor lights on. Her mother had insisted they save him a plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but he’d probably had something to eat while he’d been out. From the mountain of supplies he moved from truck to garage, he’d bought out Home Depot.

She watched Luke finish unloading the truck and close up the garage. One by one the lights out back darkened. The stairs to the basement were right there at the kitchen door, just a little landing one step down. He didn’t look her way as he brought in a duffel bag and descended.

Chloe’s mom called out that she’d saved him dinner.

He didn’t answer, and after a few minutes they heard the clunk in the water pipes that signaled he’d turned on the shower.

Chloe made a face.

“Why can’t you be nice to him?”

“He’s rude and mean. Especially to the boys,” Chloe whispered, even though the boys, engrossed in a video game, paid no attention to the kitchen talk.

“He’s not comfortable yet.”

“That’s not it. Before he knew I had kids, he practically ate me up with his eyes.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. And we both know you and his mother are hatching a plot to get us together. Obviously, it’s not going to work.”

Any guy who couldn’t love her kids was not a guy for her. Not that she’d been searching. Time enough for love when she settled in Seattle. Any man could see that her boys were adorable, easy to love, eager to please. And Luke, what a jerk.

****

After his shower, Luke put on a pair of clean jeans and a fresh shirt. He was hungry but didn’t want to deal with the people in this house. He’d never been good at apologies but knew he had to make one. If not to the boys, then to Chloe. He’d been so rude to her kids. Shame washed over him. And hunger. He’d wait for everyone to go to bed and then creep upstairs to eat the meatloaf Ursula had saved for him.

He slumped on the sofa, trying not to think about anything except the job. Christ, had his mother known Chloe had kids? Before he even thought about it, he’d pulled his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and pressed the number for home.

“Hello, son. How’s it going down there?”

His dad. Who had no idea what his wife had been up to. They talked about the job for a while, then his dad put his mom on.

“Honey, everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to let you know I got here safe and sound. And the woman you wanted to set me up with? She’s gorgeous.”

“I, um, well.” His mother wasn’t sure how to respond. The notorious matchmaker usually pretended she hadn’t tried to fix him up and that was the end of things. “I’m glad you like her, son.”

While his mother chatted about long-distance relationships, and Ursula’s move upstate, Luke mentally willed his boiling blood down to a simmer. It wasn’t his mother’s fault.

“She’s not for me, Mom.”

“Really? Why’s that?” She must have heard the tone in his voice, because she whispered her words. A long moment of telephone silence ensued. He’d have to say it. He was so damn disappointed he couldn’t form the words.

“Luke?” His mother’s voice rose a notch, but still sounded uneasy. She must not know.

“She’s got kids, Mom. Not a kid, but two kids. Little guys.” Luke’s gut twisted saying the words. They were nice boys. Josh and Tommy. He hadn’t wanted to remember their names, but he did.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“It’s okay. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up, that’s all.” He said good-bye and let the phone fall onto the sofa. He wasn’t hungry anymore.

Chapter Three

Two hours of tossing and turning later, his stomach growling all the while, Luke gave in and got up. The house sounded absolutely still. He turned on the staircase light and slipped upstairs and into the kitchen, where a nightlight burned. He opened the fridge and saw his plate of meatloaf right away. He pulled it out, ripped off the plastic wrap, and took a bite without bothering to microwave the food first.

“You might want a fork for the mashed potatoes,” Chloe said. She sat on the sofa in the almost-dark, holding a tea cup in one hand. In the pale light, he saw that she wore the blue nightgown he’d seen on her bed this morning. In his mind, the nightgown fell off. He almost dropped his plate.

Luke swallowed the bite of meatloaf. “Yeah,” he said, opening drawers at random until he found a fork. Then he put the plate in the microwave. “Okay to nuke this plate?”

“Yep.”

She sounded distant and cold. He wanted to run back down to his hole and hide. He’d acted like an idiot around those little boys today. He should apologize right now. She probably thought he’d been angry or annoyed, but that wasn’t it. He’d been trying to swallow the lump of disappointment in his throat, because he’d really liked her, but Luke only had one rule for dating: No single mothers. Been there, done that, had the broken heart to prove it.

He turned around to tell Chloe he was sorry, but she’d vanished. He sat down at the kitchen table to eat his first meal since breakfast. He didn’t taste a bite. And he felt bluer than Chloe’s nightgown.

Then she suddenly came back and got right up in his face, wearing a blue silk robe over the nightgown. “I don’t appreciate your attitude toward my children. I’ll do my best to keep them out of your way, but if I ever see you dismiss them or ignore them again, I’ll kick your ass all the way back to Blue Lake.”

Luke heard her but as if through a veil of gauze. Because she stood in front of the light from the stove and lit from behind like that, he saw an outline of her body.

“I’m sorry.” He choked out the words and wrenched his eyes back to her face where they belonged. “I never act like that. You have to believe me. It’s just—”

Chloe must have noticed his wandering eyes, because she crossed her arms over her chest. Her lovely breasts. And she clearly didn’t expect his response, because her mouth hung open just a little bit. Just enough so he could see her white, white teeth and pink tongue as it darted out and did a quick lick around her full lips.

“Okay, then. Fine.”

She turned and stalked back to her room. She was fine, she was foxy, but he had to stick to his rule. It would save him heartbreak. Another relationship with a single mom would kill him for sure when it ended. And relationships, for him, always ended.

He made his weary way down the stairs. Almost all of his friends were married with kids of their own. Hell, some of them had been married twice and had stepkids. What was wrong with him? He must be defective in the love department.

****

Chloe hadn’t slept well. Her anger at Luke’s treatment of her children made her sick. Sure, he’d apologized, but still. What an ass. And now here he came, up the stairs, the clunk of his heavy construction boots exciting the boys. Men. Rob. Spence. Luke. They made her heart hate.

“Morning, Mr. Luke!” Tommy said. His smile spread over his face like butter on toast.

Josh didn’t say anything, but his eyes were glued to Luke, who might have mumbled a general hello on his way to the coffee pot.

“Okay.” Chloe took the empty breakfast bowls to the sink. “Wash hands, then find your backpacks. The bus will be here any minute!”

The boys took off for the bathroom, leaving her alone with Luke. Her mother took the opportunity to sleep in since Chloe didn’t have a job to go to anymore. And she probably lay wide awake in bed, giving Luke and Chloe some time alone.
Not gonna work, Mom.