Summer's Desire (9 page)

“Yes, they do.” She swallowed hard and turned away,
not wanting Matt to know her true feelings. She’d just have to get over it.

The front door slammed open, scaring her. Luke was a
blur as he ran up the stairs. Minutes later he was right back down.

“I knew it! I knew it!” He planted himself right in
front of her, his eyes full of anger.

“Knew what?” She tried to sound calm while a shiver
went through her body.

“I told Holden you were a no good thief. He didn’t
believe me. He’ll believe me now.” The triumph in his expression startled her.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Luke laughed a hard sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, right.
Just give me back my money and get your ass off our land.”

Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. He appeared
dead serious. “I didn’t—”

“You did. Now pack your things and get out!”

“Wait a minute, Luke, exactly what are you talking
about?” Her mind whirled, wondering what to do.

“I had money on my dresser when I left this morning.
Now it’s gone. Don’t think I haven’t heard all about you from the kids in town.
You might have Matt and Holden fooled but I’m on to you!”

“Luke, you’re mistaken. I’d never steal from you. I
don’t have any money.”

He crossed his arms in front of him. “Exactly,
that’s why you took money. You were the only one up there unless Matt somehow
flew up the stairs.”

The anger and condemnation in his eyes made up her
mind. She hadn’t been paid yet. Caleb’s offer came to mind and even though it
broke her heart, she decided that was the best course. “Go get Mark. I want him
to know he’s in charge out there. I’ll… I’ll just pack.”

Luke’s dark eyes flashed at her. “You’d better not
take anything else that doesn’t belong to you.”

She glanced at Matt but his face seemed set in
stone. She’d get no help from him. Her face heated in humiliation and she
crossed her arms in front of her to keep herself from flying apart. She’d known
from the start that this would be how it ended. Somehow she let her guard down.
She walked up the stairs and sat on her bed wondering if she should wait for
Holden to come home. The prickling at the back of her eyes decided for her. She
refused to let them see her cry. It still amazed her how one accusation could
follow her like a black cloud, a big, fat cloud of suspicion. Did someone
really take Luke’s money or was he just setting her up? She’d probably never
know.

Soon her suitcase was filled. She didn’t own a whole
lot. Things never made a huge difference to her. The only thing of value that
she owned was her mother’s gold locket. Summer lifted the mattress up. It
wasn’t there. On her hands and knees she searched under the bed. She looked in
every corner of the room. It was gone.

Finally, she took everything out of her suitcase,
shaking out each piece of clothing. The necklace wasn’t there. Her heart plummeted
and she hoped it was just misplaced. The thought that someone had taken it was
too much. Luke was angry enough to want to get back at her but she wasn’t about
to accuse anyone without hard proof.

A few tears seeped out as she zipped up her case.
She dashed them away with the heels of her hands. Taking a deep breath she descended
the stairs, her head held high. She nodded to Mark who stood at the door and
left. It was if she was on auto pilot. Somehow, she finally found herself
parked in front of the
O’Malleys
home.

Caleb came rushing out of the house and opened her
door. He held out his hand and she took it. Tears fell freely now. Caleb pulled
her close and she wrapped her arms around his waist and cried into his
shoulder. She couldn’t even enjoy the comfort of his arms around her. She felt
too broken inside.

*
* * *

The lights shining in his house gave Holden solace.
It’d been a hellish day. Three horses had to be put down. He thought he’d be
used to it by now but each one took a part of him. Why don’t horse owners
voluntarily give up ownership when they could no longer take care of the
animals? The fact that the poor creatures were still alive amazed and grieved
him. How they must have suffered.

All he wanted was a smile from Summer. He’d hardly
seen her in the last few days and he hungered for the sight of her sweet face.
It was late but all the lights in the house were on, it boded well that she was
awake. His heart skipped a beat with hope.

He knew something was wrong the moment he opened the
door and all four brothers were sitting up straight, staring at him. “Okay, out
with it.”

“Summer left,” John said his voice full of sadness.

“Good thing too. She should have been out of here
days ago,” Luke spat out.

“Summer’s gone? What the hell happened?”

“She stole my money,” Luke said, heatedly.

“So you say,” Mark said shaking his head.

“All I know is Luke says his money is gone,” Matt
told him.

Holden put his hands up. “Now hold up. Summer took
your money and left? Are you sure she won’t be back? Maybe she just borrowed
it. I’m sure there’s some rational explanation.”

Luke scowled at him. “Yes there is. She’s a thief
and I told her to get out.”

Holden wasn’t sure what to think. “So, your money
was missing and you told her to leave?”

Luke nodded. “I told her to get her ass off our
property. She packed and left. Good riddance.”

“How much money are we talking about?” Holden
couldn’t wrap his mind around the whole damn thing.

“Does it matter?” Luke challenged.

“Every detail matters. Matt, what happened?”

“Mindy Sue came over and dropped off some magazines.
She left and Summer was in the kitchen making dinner when Luke came storming in
and ran upstairs. He came thundering back down accusing Summer of stealing his
money and fired her. She looked pretty shaken and insisted that she didn’t take
his money. Luke screamed at her and she went upstairs and came down with her suitcase.
She told Mark he was in charge until you got back, then she got in her car and
left.”

John jumped out of his chair. “She was all but
crying and it’s all Luke’s fault.”

Luke jumped up and faced John, squaring off. “Why
you—”

Holden stepped between them. “Hold it right there.
First of all, we don’t fight. Second, I do all the hiring and firing. How much
money and where did you see it last?”

“Twenty bucks and it was on my dresser this morning.
I remembered what was said about her being a thief so I ran home to make sure
it was still there.” Luke held his ground.

Holden’s shoulders slumped. “Oh hell, I took the
money, Luke. Damn, I should have left you a note. I didn’t have any cash on me
and I wanted Mindy Sue to get some magazines for Matt.”

Luke stood there studying the floor, shuffling his
foot now and again. He didn’t say a thing. Holden was hoping for an admission
that he’d been wrong. John stepped toward Holden his eyes full of hope. “Can
you go get her?”

Holden wished for all their sakes he could smile and
say yes. “It’s not that easy, John. I don’t know where she went for starters. Truthfully,
I don’t even know if she’d even come back here. Being accused of something you
didn’t do is powerful. All of you know it.”

John’s eyes grew damp as he laid his head on
Holden’s middle, wrapping his arms around his waist. “I really like her.”

“I know, kiddo.” Holden held John’s small body to
him. They’d all suffered too many hardships of late. John wasn’t usually a
crier and each sob went straight to Holden’s heart. Holden sighed. “I suppose I
could go find her. It’ll have to be tomorrow.”

John took a step back and wiped his eyes with his
sleeve. He nodded glumly. “First light.”

Holden gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
“First light. Now time to hit the hay.” He watched as all except Matt climbed
the stairs, his heart heavy.

“I should have done something,” Matt lamented. “I
just let her leave.”

Holden sat in the chair next to him. “Listen, Matt,
we are all responsible for each other but we can’t be responsible for each
other’s actions. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“We look out for each other but we can’t control
what the others do?”

Holden smiled and patted Matt on the shoulder. “I do
believe you are no longer a boy after all.”

Matt’s grin was rewarding. “What do you think I’ve
been
sayin
’?”

“Goodnight.” His steps were heavy as he walked to
his bedroom and weariness settled over him. A long couple of days and now all
this. He stripped down and slipped into Matt’s bed. There was no way he was
sleeping in his own bed. The scent of Summer would give him no peace. He wasn’t
too worried about her. He knew she fled to Caleb’s, despite what he told the
boys. He just hoped that Caleb really did think of her as a sister.

He understood why she left. It
just hurt that she didn’t come straight to him. Ever since Summer came into his
life, she had turned his world upside down. He’d sworn off women and here he
was yearning for her to come back. He hoped he’d be able to talk her into
coming home. Hadn’t she used that word
“home”? Pain
lanced his heart as he realized how much Luke’s accusation must have hurt her.
To be accused once again of something she didn’t do probably devastated her.
All she’d given to his family, the kindness, the understanding, and she was
ordered to leave. He was more unsure than ever that she’d even talk to him, let
alone come back.

Luke had his issues too and Holden could understand
his lack of trust for females, but hadn’t she proven herself? Luke had seemed
angry these last few days and now he was kicking himself for not finding out
why.

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
Had it only been a little over a week since Summer entered his life? She evoked
such emotion from him, passion, yearning, and protectiveness. No one had ever
made him feel the way she did, no one.

He hoped that tomorrow would be a good day for all
of them.

*
* * *

Summer lay in bed reliving her day. How had
everything gone so horribly wrong? If she had seen it coming it wouldn’t have
hurt as much. She told the truth about her past and everyone seemed fine with
it. She wiped away a tear. Everyone but Luke.

She’d poured her heart out to Caleb who kindly and
patiently listened and offered her a place to stay. She knew she couldn’t stay
long though. They couldn’t afford to pay her and she couldn’t afford to work
for room and board. She needed escape money.

The loss of her necklace pained her. How could it
have gone missing? The locket meant more to her than anything else. It had her
parents’ picture in it. She could remember her mother wearing it every day and
now it was gone.

Life had certainly slammed her to the ground the
last three months. She kept getting back up to fight but maybe enough was
enough. What if she didn’t have any fight left? Her best bet was to get out of
town, but the only way she could do that was to ask for Holden to pay her.

The pain of being accused of something she didn’t do
was all encompassing, pushing her down again and again. She was raised to own
up to her mistakes, apologize and hope the apology was accepted. You can’t
apologize for something you didn’t do, and the anger builds until finally it
becomes too draining.

She deserved to be in a place where her character
wasn’t in question. Summer laughed to herself. People had often told her that
she was too nice. It was her nature and that she couldn’t change. Sleep came
hard but she was grateful that she had a place to lay her head.

*
* * *

Summer awoke to the smell of coffee and quickly slid
out of bed. She had wanted to make breakfast for Colt and Caleb. She dressed
quickly, brushed her teeth, ran a comb quickly through her hair and bounded
into the kitchen.

Caleb sat at the big wooden farm table, holding a
cup of coffee and grinning at her. “Morning, Summer.”

His grin was always infectious and she found herself
smiling in return. “I hadn’t planned to sleep so late. I want to earn my keep.”

“I have a feeling you won’t be here long enough.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I can’t stay? I’ll
only be here a few days.”

“Whoa, slow down.” The wooden chair creaked as he
stood up. He quickly poured a new cup of coffee and handed it to her. “You can
stay as long as you like. I just meant that the O’Leary clan will be here for
you in a bit.”

Her eyes widened. “Caleb, what are you taking
about?”

Caleb laughed. “I just got a secret call from John.
He must have been standing in the closet or something. He is coming to bring
you home and so are his brothers.”

Stunned she sat down and stared at Caleb, searching
his brown eyes for some sign of a joke. He was serious. “Why?”