Unbreakable 2, The Mystery of Lilly (Cypress Grove Series) (16 page)

             
"Do you think they are related?" He kisses the top of my head.

             
"I don't know, but I didn't want Emma storming in there demanding an explanation." I lift my head resting my chin on Luke's hard pec. 

             
"Oh, you mean like something you would do?"  He chuckles.

             
"Don't even pretend you don't love my feisty side." I laugh
,
slapping him on the chest with my left hand.  He picks up my hand,
lacing his fingers in mine and starts playing with my engagement ring.

             
"I like it most in bed." He laughs. 

             
"Oh yeah, you like your little screamer." I move on top of him so my naked body is flush with his.

             
"That's an understatement, flower." He gives me his half smile lifting his head to take my lips. He sucks in my bottom lip, running his tongue along it.  It seems as if there is something on his mind though.  He is trying to hide it, but I can tell there is something.

             
Lifting my head, I take my arm and lay it over his chest propping my head on it.  "What's wrong?"

             
"You know me so well." His head drops on the pillow.  Using his right arm he puts it behind his head so he is propped up and can look me in the eyes. 

             
"What's up, baby?"

             
"It's Sarah, she's mad at me.  She won't take my calls." He mutters, he still hasn't told me what she wanted to talk to him about.

             
"Why?"

             
"Lilly, she wants the ring back," he says. My first thought is because she doesn't like me. Does she not want me to marry her brother?

             
"Oh," I whisper, looking down at the beautiful family heirloom.  I remember what Carley had said about Sarah giving it to Luke to give to me one day.

             
"It's a prestige thing or something, I don't know," he explains when he sees the disappointed look on my face.  "I told her no, and now she won't talk to me."

             
"Prestige, it's not because she doesn't like me?" I sigh in relief, I can't imagine what I would do if Sarah didn't approve of our getting married.  Not with the way they are so close.

             
"No, God no, baby," Luke says leaning up kissing my forehead.  "Lee can't afford anything nice and Sarah has so many school loans she can't either.  She has been hanging around a bunch of rich ladies trying to fit into the scene there.  Trying to make a name for herself with the board at the hospital. I guess her puny ring Lee got her is an embarrassment.

             
"So you still want to marry me?" That's all I really care about.

             
"More than life itself, I want you to be my wife for the rest of my life." He stares into my eyes, they are dark and serious. 

             
"You know I don't care about the ring.  All I want is this."  I kiss his chest where his heart is. 

             
"You have that, baby, you always will. I love you. I just hate Sarah being mad at me.  She's under a lot of stress, at least that is what Mom thinks."

             
"I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner, did you think I would be mad?"

             
"No, I was hoping Sarah would change her mind.  Actually, I am mad at her. She's never been into material things.  She's my sister and I want her happy, so if it means making her happy I guess. . . ." He trails off as if he doesn't know what else to say.  I scoot up so I am level with his face. 

             
"Why don't you make me scream?" I give him a sexy smile. 

             
"That I can do," he growls, rolling me over so he is on top of me.  "That, my flower, I can always do." He moans taking my mouth. 

             
That is what he did, more than once. 

              The next morning, Emma comes as promised to search the cemetery for clues.  We don't know what we are looking for, but we assume we will know when we find it. 

             
Wading through the overgrown grass, we walk through the iron gate.   Jeffrey still hasn't mown around the graves.  Emma is going to write down what the stones say after I clear them out.  I have a pair of shears and drop to my knees at the first stone.  Ripping and cutting at the overgrown weeds and grass, I slowly reveal the first stone.  The first few rows are flat stones then there are a few rows of monument stones that are sticking up out of the ground.  The back of the cemetery is lined with mausoleum style crypts. 

             
Many years ago, most Louisianan
'
s started
using crypts because of flooding.  All the in ground graves seem untouched so I assume there has never been a flood on this land.  I move to the second stone clearing the growth as Emma starts writing down the information from the first one.  I start telling her about Sarah and wanting the ring back.

             
"So are you going to give it back?" She asks, swatting at a bug that keeps buzzing by her face. 

             
"I had Jacob take it to the jeweler's this morning.  I'm having it reset and having matching wedding bands made," I tell her while yanking at a large weed.  I finally free it from the ground sending dirt flying in the air. 

             
"That is awfully nice of you. I probably wouldn't be that nice about it."

             
"Yeah, well, she's going to be my sister-in-law.  I'm also having Lucy find her student loans and pay those off."  I stop, resting my hands on my knees. 

             
"Really, after the way she's been acting?"  Emma stands moving to the second stone as I move on.  The last few times I have talked to Sarah on the phone, mostly when I answer Luke's phone when he's not around, she's been very short with me.  I just assumed it was because she had called to talk to Luke not me.  Apparently, it was because I had her ring. 

             
"It's more of making a point."

             
"Sounds like you are trying to earn her approval." Emma starts swatting at the gnats floating around her head.  "This is ridiculous. Do you not have enough money to hire a gardener?"  Emma stands to run away from a bee, squealing as she goes. 

             
I start laughing at her, but stop instantly when I start hearing the buzz.  "Run for the house!" I shout to Emma. I get up fast running after her.  Luckily we get out of there before we disturbed the whole hive.  The dogs who have been wandering the grounds come running behind us after hearing me shout.

             
"Shit, that could have been bad," I say once we reach the house and realize we aren't being followed by a swarm of angry bees.  "Okay, so we will have to wait on that project."  I laugh when I see the terror in Emma's eyes. It fades and she starts laughing herself.  The dogs are pacing, not sure of what is going on.  I command for them to sit and settle.  They do, but Gus lies down with a sigh resting his head on his paws. 

             
"Maybe we should invite Adeline over to have a look in the cemetery after all." Emma cackles evilly. 

             
Just then Luke and Jacob walk around the house both shirtless and sweaty back from their run.  They are still breathing heavy and are on their cool down. 

             
"Why do you have dirt in your hair, flower?"  Luke asks coming up to me picking a clump of dirt out of my hair.  "You look flush, are you okay?"

             
We tell them about the beehive. "I thought since your dad had his construction crew he would be here more often." 

             
"Well, he would if he wasn't up their asses," Luke says, sitting in one of the patio chairs and pulling me down on his lap. 

             
"You're all sweaty."  I wrinkle my nose as he pulls me to him.  I love it actually, he is amazingly gorgeous all glistening with sweat. The smell of him like this does things to me also. 

             
"Well you're all dirty.  You know you love it."  He grabs my face with one hand squeezing my cheeks bringing my lips to his. "You know you love it, don't you?" He whispers so only I can hear. 

             
"Yes, I do," I moan back in his ear.  I feel him go hard under me. No one can see because my ass is hiding his erection. 

             
"All right, I didn't come over here to watch this," Emma says putting her hand up walking into the house.

             
"I'll be in the basement if you want to finish our work out," Jacob chuckles walking in after Emma.   

             
"You're so fucking beautiful. I had you three times last night and here I am ready to have you again." He groans wrapping his hand around the nape of my neck pulling my lips hard onto his.  I moan into his kiss, my belly burning at his touch. 

             
"Emma's here," I reluctantly pull away from him as he growls. 

             
"Fine," he lifts me off his lap swatting my ass, "I'll just go pump some iron. Later you are all mine."  He winks at me pulling me with him into the house.  Leaving me in the kitchen with one more passionate kiss, he stops when he hears Emma groan.  He heads toward the basement flipping Emma off as he goes.

             
"Real mature!" She yells after him, but laughs as she does.

Chapter
24

              "I need to ask you what you know about Maria's family." Emma and I are sitting at the table with a bunch of books in front of us.  Both of us had cleaned up and started going through a fresh pile of books from the library. 

             
"Why do you ask?" She draws out the question, very intrigued suddenly. 

             
"The woman at Bon Dieu's said something." I flip through a few pages before looking up to see Emma staring at me.  "She said that the girl in the article was 'practice.'" 

             
"So what does that have to do with Maria's family?" Emma had her fist under her chin, her elbow propped on the table with a very stern look.  She knows I'm not telling her something.

             
"Just tell me about Maria's family first." I insist, maybe she will think clearer if she is not jumping to conclusions.

             
"I know she never married, has no kids.  Her dad died when she was a teenager and her mom died a few years back."

             
"Sisters?"

             
"I don't know, she's never mentioned any siblings. Now, what do you know damn it?" Emma has been more patient than I expected.

             
"When I asked her about the article she said, "The Mantha girl was practice," and something about covering it all up," I say, watching Emma's eyes grow the size of quarters. 

             
"What? Holy balls! Do you think?" She asks. I can see her mind going a mile a minute.

             
"I don't know. I don't know what any of it means.  What was she practice for?  If she was practice, did it have something to do with her being pregnant?  Does it have something to do with how my mother died?"

             
"Who? Why?"  Emma squirms. "I mean, why would someone practice on a pregnant woman?  What were they practicing?" She shudders and I can tell she is imagining horrible things. 

             
"Why can't anyone give me a straight answer? Also, if she was related to Maria, do you think that is why your father left?" I say before thinking. The horror on Emma's face makes me back
track instantly.  "I mean, not that he did
anything just that he knew about it.  Maybe he didn't want to bring up old painful wounds." I mumble on, but I already put the thought in Emma's head.

             
"Shit, this is a bunch of bullshit.  What am I supposed to do now? Obviously I have to ask Maria, but how the hell am I going to ask this?"  Emma is fidgeting in her seat.

             
"Maybe we can do it together? If we sit down with her and tell her everything we know, you know together, see if she opens up then."  I tell Emma, thinking that a gentle approach might work better than Emma demanding that she tells her what she knows. 

             
"Yeah, maybe you're right.  If you come over we can start out with some tea and ease into it."