The Best Man (22 page)

Kate stepped back and sent him a confused look pleading for understanding. Her tongue flicked out to moisten her lips. Voice raspy, she pushed past him and said. “I have to go.”

Luke almost fell to his knees. Didn’t she realize what that look was doing to him? One glance of her pink tongue reminded him of another night and had his body over-heating like a teenager on his first date. He wanted to beg her not to go.

But if he stopped her now, regardless of the reason, he would destroy every assurance he’d uttered in the past weeks. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Every cell of his body cried out for her softness, the curves that made his mouth water at the memory of running his hands over them.

But his brain registered the determined look in her eye, and despite the need almost overwhelming him, he admired the courage she showed.

In that moment, he realized he didn’t have a choice. He could lose Kate either way.

And he made his choice. Whether he lost Kate from danger or from his objection to her actions, he would not…could not…cheat her out of her chance to help others.

She had come too near death. Suffered untold horrors and her only hope had come from the helping hands of strangers. He could not deny her desperate need to pay that kindness forward. He could not cheat Kate as her father and Joel had.

Luke expelled a ragged breath. His gaze dropped from hers. For split second, his glance settled on the fullness of her lips. He blinked. Thoughts of all he stood to lose filled his head for an instant. He lifted his head. Stared at millions of stars and remembered another dark night when all hope was lost.

He’d wished on the stars that night and prayed. Kate stood before him now, his prayers answered. He couldn’t let her down. But he could pray. “Come on, I’ll drive you over.”

Startled, Kate blinked. “I have to go alone.”

Luke took her arm. “You have to go that building alone, but there is no way in hell I’m letting you go inside without me being in the parking lot, waiting for you.”

Chin high, she started down the metal stairs, but two steps down, she admitted defeat and looked down to see where she was going. If she stumbled on the dark stairs and broke her neck, she couldn’t help anyone. “You can go. But promise you’ll stay out of sight.”

Emotions built in the back of her throat as if she was going to cry. Forcing her breath to come evenly, she fought back tears.
What? She didn’t want to do this. Of course, she wanted to help.

Returning to the Center on this trumped up excuse was the only why to learn if her suspicions were true. Maybe she was imagining the whole thing. The director could have been stating facts. But Kate didn’t think so. No one with that attitude would spend eighteen hours a day helping the less fortunate like the director.

No, something was wrong at the Center.

She could feel it in her bones, and she intended to find out what if it killed her. As the dramatic words echoed in her head, Kate snorted in disgust. Yes, she wanted to check that things were okay at the Center.

She wouldn’t sleep a wink until she made sure. But she wouldn’t sleep, if things were okay, either. Luke’s agreement for her to venture into a potentially dangerous situation destroyed her hopes of building a relationship with him.

If he cared about her, he would stop her. Wouldn’t he?

It was all she could do to keep from bawling like a baby while he drove to the Center. His offer to help dashed all her hopes of a relationship with Luke. Two more blocks until they reached the Center. Two blocks and she must do the best acting she’d done since she entered the church to interrupt Joel’s second wedding.

But when things at the Center were sorted out, she would confront Luke. She would need to do an encore performance, but somehow, she had to find enough strength to pretend Luke’s agreement for her to go inside hadn’t torn her heart right out of her chest.

If he cared for her, he want her to face danger.

After the tsunami, when she learned of Joel’s betrayal, she kept her sanity by thinking Luke would never have left her. And yet, here he was, driving her to a potentially hazardous situation.

Had she been kidding herself about his feelings for her all along? Had she read his signals wrong from the start? Maybe he wasn’t interested in relationship with her. What had their night of love making meant to him?

Questions and more questions raced around in her head.

Then, the Center appeared in the darkness like a huge boulder between tiny islands of light from neighboring houses, and she felt her heart stop. Luke eased past and parked the car down the block from the center, and she almost passed out.

If he care about her at all, wouldn’t he just keep on driving? Was he like Joel, willing to put on a show for the public, but never willing to invest his emotions in a true relationship?

“Ready?”

Kate swallowed a startled squawk as his low voice echoed in the dark car, but she nodded and reached for the door handle.

They walked through the shadows cast by trees lining the street as they made their way toward the Center. Nothing looked out of place. Even the large shadows, appearing to hug tree trunks, remained unmoving as they eased closer. When nothing jumped out of the bushes to stop their progress, Kate straightened her spine, preparing to go in the Center.

So, was Luke like all the other men she’d invested in emotionally? Her father. Joel. Now Luke? Three men and neither of them had loved her as she loved them. What was wrong with her? Had she been born with some deficient gene? Did her DNA carried the rejection trait?

See Kate. Reject Kate.

Her breath shuddered past her lips. Her unease had nothing to do with the risk she faced by entering the Center. After all, she had no proof anything was wrong. This was all just supposition. But still...

What put her emotions on edge was Luke’s willingness for her to take this risk. If he cared so little for her, why had he insisted she stay with the firm? Why pretend he cared for her, more than as a friend? Did he routinely sleep with women friends?

She didn’t think so. Luke kept his emotion in control. So, where did that leave her?

She was just ten yards away from the front door of the Center. Blood roared in her ears. Chills raced through her veins. Her knees were trembling, but rejection was eating a hole in her gut, not fear.

She had let her guard down. Opened her heart to Luke.

He seemed safe, a part of her past worth keeping. A relationship with him seemed worth risking her bruised heart. She had slept in his arms, exchanged kisses with him that curled her toes, and wanted more.

But Luke couldn’t give her more. She understood that now. So, why was he here?

She gave Luke one last penetrating glance. “When this is over, we need to talk.”

“I know,” his shadow whispered back.

She watched as he merged with the shadows hugging the trees along the walk. Then, holding her head high, eyes straight ahead, she filled her lungs with air and marched forward with new resolve. So what if Luke didn’t want her, she’d lived through rejection before and come out stronger. She could do it again.

she blinked rapidly, clearing the mist from her eyes. At least, she had the comfort of knowing Luke couldn’t see the evidence of her distress in the dark. After they had their little talk, she intended making yet another new start in her life. One with her rules.

Heart racing, her thoughts on how she would say goodbye to Luke, when she finished this, Kate punched the doorbell.

After what seemed like a lifetime…with thoughts of starting over without Luke in her life filling her head, She heard the sound of shuffling on the other side of the door. Then a wobbling voice called. “Who’s there?”

The director? Kate thought of the tension in the muffled voice and frowned. The director was one of the strongest women she’d ever met. Her voice wouldn’t tremble just because someone knocked on the door after dark. Unless...

“Director? It’s Kate Sommers. Can you let me in?” Kate pounded on the door.

“It’s late, Ms. Sommers. We’ve already secured the building for the night.”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I lost my phone. I think I left it here when I met with a client.”

Silence followed.

“I’ve got to find it.” Kate gulped, trying to calm her nerves. Had she been too obvious? Had the Director sounded tense, or just tired? Was she imagining this whole thing?

“I’ll search in the morning and call you, Ms. Sommers.”

“No, please! Help me. I need my phone.” Kate’s panic sounded clearly. She swallowed back fear convinced her instinct had been on target. Something wasn’t right. “I really need it tonight. I had a fight with my boyfriend. My cell phone is the only way he can call to make-up. I won’t be a minute, I promise.”

Silence followed.

But not the same silence she’d heard first. She heard a sliver of sound, similar to the leaves rustling behind her. She visualized the strong male hidden there. Luke was close. Instant comfort flooded over her.

But thoughts of Luke were followed by what she must do when this was over and her sense of comfort waned. How could she say good-bye to the man she loved?

Noise sounded inside the Center, and her nerves tensed. She heard whispers through the heavy door, hushed voices in a hurried conversation. Something thumped against the door. A body? A boot?

Oh, help. Was she doing the right thing? Would Luke miss her if anything happened to her?

The door creaked open as far as the security chain allowed. “Tell me where you were sitting, and I’ll look for your phone.”

Kate stared in the one eye showing in the cracked door, and tried to conceal her tension. Then she realized if her story was true. She was about to end her connections with Luke and when that happened, she would be frantic to get hold of her phone.

Impulse sent her closer to the door. So close, she heard the director’s gasp. Kate threw herself into the role she had created. If this was a hostage situation, she needed to get inside. What could she do? Not much, but if she didn’t come out, Luke would call for help. She was confident of that.

“Please! I know this sounds silly to you. But I live alone. I don’t have a landline. I-I need my phone in case my boyfriend calls or I won’t sleep a wink.”

The director’s one-eyed stare looked like the shark on a recent television special as it held Kate captive for long seconds before the woman said. “Just one minute.”

The door closed.

More hushed noises sounded through the wooden door. Kate thought she heard the rough tone of a male voice. Shivers shook her body. She waited, unsure if the door would open again, or if the director would ignore her plea.

Kate didn’t dare glance over her shoulder. She was supposed to be here alone. But…what if…the director refused to let her enter? Should she call the police? Would they take her fears seriously, or shrug her off as a hysterical female? She didn’t like either implication.

Even if she turned in a false lead, her intentions were in the best interest of the women seeking shelter in the Center. Would the director appreciate her interference?

Kate’s stomach was roiling enough to make her nauseous by the time she heard the metallic clink of the safety chain. When the door eased open, she almost fainted with relief.

“Thank you so much. I’ll just run look for my phone and be out of your hair in a jiffy.” She took one step forward and froze in panic. What if she made the situation worse by butting in like this? What if the intruder became violent because of her presence?

“We don’t like visitors after hours, Ms. Sommers.”

The director’s stern tone stopped Kate for more long seconds. Was she hinting that Kate should leave while she had the chance? Kate stepped through the door and gulped when the director turned to replace the chain. Every nerve in her body creamed.

Don’t. Wait. Help.

“I’m really sorry about this.” Kate rushed forward. “I won’t be here but a minute.”

She had no wish of being locked in this house with a mad man. She wanted to rush outside to the safety of Luke’s arms.

Then she remembered the women in this shelter needed her help. Women she’d spent time and effort to rescue from abusive relationships, needed her assistance. She lifted her chin and marched forward.

She’d been kidding herself all these weeks since her return. She didn’t have the right to seek solace in Luke’s arms. She wouldn’t be the one inside a building where she suspected something was wrong, if he cared for her. Luke’s protective instinct would send him rushing to the rescue, leaving her in safety, if he cared.

Courage and determination drained out of her, at thoughts of Luke not caring for her. Kate wrapped her arms around her middle to stop the pain and threw every acting skill she had into her role. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, Director. I-it’s...so hard, not knowing if he’ll call. And it’s spooky, living alone.”

There, she had dropped enough hints to attract every menacing type in the city. Why had she done that? She didn’t know who was listening. “I hope I didn’t wake you?”

The director walked down the dark hallway at Kate’s side. “Make your search fast so we can get back to bed.”