About that Night (11 page)

Luke was seated next to me on the couch, his eyes focused only on his phone. He had been answering work emails all afternoon, in between defending me from his mother’s barbs. On more than one occasion he had tried to drag me away, but Lola wouldn’t allow it. She was determined to share her life story with me.

“So what about you? What did you do to drive your parents insane when you were a teenager?” Lola kicked her feet up onto the coffee table.

Luke had the presence of mind to realize that his sister was treading on sensitive ground. He tossed an arm around my shoulders and frowned at her. “Lo, I thought you were making dinner tonight. Shouldn’t you get started on that?”

“Pssh. There is plenty of time for that. I’m bonding with your girlfriend.”

Luke glared at her. “Stop being so much like our mother,” he said.

“It’s okay, Luke.” It was true that she was being nosy, but she was also the only member of his family that had acknowledged that I was anything more than the woman that was dating Luke.

“Yeah, calm down, bro. I only asked an innocent question about her childhood. She doesn’t have to answer.” Lola nudged her brother’s foot and turned back to me. “Back to you, Kase.”

“There’s not much to tell. I didn’t get into much trouble back then. I never got arrested, or even a detention.” In fact, dating my boss was probably the most scandalous thing I had ever done.

“Your parents were very lucky to have such a perfect child,” Virginia snapped from across the room. “But I’m sure they told you all the time how wonderful you were.”

“Not exactly.” I felt Luke’s hand tighten on my shoulder. “My parents died when I was fourteen. I moved in with my aunt.”

The room was engulfed by a deafening silence. No one knew what to say. I could’ve easily changed the subject and relieved the tension, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to make Virginia feel better.

“I’m not really in the mood for any pity, or further insulting remarks. So I’ll just say this: Virginia, I’m not here to steal away your precious little boy. I have no intention of using him, or taking his money. I care about him. I came all the way to Montana because of that. If you can’t accept that, fine. I don’t care. But you might as well get used to me because I’m not going anywhere.”

I have no idea what caused my outburst. Virginia had been passive-aggressively dissing me for hours and I had barely heard half of what she said. She was a bitter woman and I had been determined not to stoop to her level. But when Lola had started asking me about my own parents, something had snapped.

After my tirade, there was really nothing more to do but storm out of the room.

It was already getting dark outside, and from Luke’s room I could see the moon through the glass ceiling. I flopped back on the bed and listened to the loud thud of Luke’s feet on the stairs. I could hear him enter the room, but I didn’t say anything.

“You alright?” Luke was still holding his glass of scotch. I noticed that he was drinking it over ice, something he never did.

“Just dandy.” I looked at his glass and raised an eyebrow. “Ice?”

“It keeps the scotch watered-down which keeps me from getting drunk around my family and losing my cool.” Luke twirled his glass, the ice clinking loudly.

“I find it hard to believe that you’re ever not cool.” Even in his jeans and t-shirt, Luke looked irresistible. “Why don’t you come over here and prove just how cool you are?”

This time, Luke remembered to close and lock the door behind him. “I guess that’s only fair since you’re about to show me how hot you are.”

“You are a total dork.” I wanted to laugh at him but even when he was being cheesy, Luke was still completely sexy. “Careful. I’m not sure I can control myself under the circumstances.

“Then don’t.” Luke was very serious now.

When I stared into his loving eyes, I no longer wanted to keep any distance between us. I was ready to let him in. And as I pulled him onto the bed, I knew that I was ready to take a chance on love again.

* * *

I was spent in every sense of the word. It had be a long, but satisfying, day. Luke had allowed himself to slowly collapse on top of me and I didn’t mind in the slightest. As I began to regain some feeling in my body, I stroked his back with the tips of my fingers and felt him sigh against me.

“That feels nice,” he mumbled against my neck.

“I can’t feel anything right now,” I said with a shaky laugh.

Luke shifted, lifting his head so he could look me in the eye. “I can feel you. I can always feel you, even when you aren’t around. You’re under my skin, Kasey.”

I knew exactly what he meant. Luke had enthralled me- I was his. And that scared the crap out of me.

A couple hours passed and we still didn’t leave the bed. Dinner would be ready soon, but the only thing I was hungry for was Luke and I already had him.

“We have to go downstairs eventually,” I said with a slight shiver.  Despite a perfectly functioning furnace, the third floor of his mountain home was drafty and even his body warmth couldn’t quite chase away the chill. “Your mother doesn’t strike me as a very patient woman.”

“Ten more minutes,” Luke said lazily. He continued to comb his fingers through my hair in a steady rhythm. It was an action that calmed both of us, so I didn’t push any further. It wasn’t like I was excited to see his family again.

“Have they always been like this? So… miserable? Or do I just bring out the worst in them?” I couldn’t look at Luke because I didn’t want him to see how much his mother’s words had bothered me.

“No, they haven’t always been like this. But it’s not you.” Luke’s hand left my hair and he tucked it under his head as he stared through the glass ceiling at the night sky. I rolled over so that I could see the stars above us. “You asked me earlier if there were any other siblings I should warn you about. You were joking around, but you were right on the money.”

“You have another sibling?” I flipped over again, propped up on my elbows.

“
Had
another sibling.” Luke kept his eyes away from me but I could see a buried pain within them. “I had a twin brother, Colin.”

My mouth dropped open. “You had a twin brother?”

“Obviously, it’s not something I like to talk about. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone. Until you.” He looked at me pointedly. “Like I said, you’re under my skin.”

Luke and I weren’t exactly known for our personal confessions, so I wasn’t about to let him move on without getting the full story. “What happened to Colin?”

“He died in an accident.” Luke’s blue eyes grew clouded. “On this mountain.”

My jaw dropped again. “Holy shit.”

“He and I used to cause a lot of trouble. Colin had tons of energy and he was so adventurous. I had a hard time keeping up with him.” Luke’s smile was wistful and sad. “We used to come to this mountain every winter. I’ve been skiing since before I could even walk and Colin was the best skier in the family. He was fearless.”

I could tell that Luke wasn’t with me anymore; he was in the past, with Colin. “We were only ten when it happened. He cut off the path and started weaving between trees. I saw it happen and there was nothing I could do. One of skis slipped on the snow, probably had some ice on it. He went straight into a tree.”

I had so many questions I wanted to ask, so many things I wanted to say, but words escaped me. Luke’s story was so incredibly sad and unbelievable, yet it had happened. We were lying only an inch apart but I felt the need to connect with him, to let him know I was there and I wasn’t going anywhere. My hand landed on his chest, just over his heart, and he sucked in a breath.

“He was wearing a helmet, but the impact broke his neck. He was still alive when I got to him. We had to wait for help and I remember holding his hand and saying his name over and over.” Luke’s hand covered mine. “He died three hours later in the hospital.”

“I’m so sorry, Luke.” I don’t know how anyone recovers from a tragedy like that in their childhood. Losing my parents had been hard enough, but Luke had lost a sibling in a horrifying way.

“The worst part was the guilt. It could just as easily have been me.” Luke’s voice was thick with emotion as he blinked at me. He was trying hard to keep tears from his eyes. “It should’ve been me, Kasey.”

“Don’t say that.” I grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “It shouldn’t have happened at all.”

Luke closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. When he opened them again, their pure blueness had returned and he was back in the present. “Stop looking at me like that,” he said with an embarrassed smile.

“I can’t help it.” I shook my head in disbelief. “We just had a moment.”

“We did. And you’re still here.” Luke kissed my forehead.

“What can I say, I like guys that are emotionally unbalanced. With a hint of being totally screwed up.”

Luke poked me in the side and I squealed. “And I like my women damaged. With just a touch of crazy.”

“Guess that makes us a perfect fit then.” I got on my knees and stretched. Dinner must have already started by now. “We have to go downstairs. Your mother will stab me with a steak knife if we don’t make an appearance.”

Luke groaned. “Five more minutes. I promise. Just give me five more minutes and then we can face the firing squad.”

He opened his arms and tilted his head, making it impossible for me to resist him. “Fine. You win.” I curled up in his arms and closed my eyes. This was where I belonged.

We were ten minutes late to dinner which meant everyone was almost done eating by the time we arrived. Virginia took one look at me and almost threw up everything she had just eaten. I was still wearing Luke’s t-shirt, at his insistence, albeit this time with pants on. But nothing else.

“Nice of you to join us,” Virginia said, her face about ready to crack from how hard she frowned at me. Simon gave his wife a pointed look that she chose to ignore. “Did you lose your watch, Luke?”

Luke pulled out a chair for me and gave my shoulders a squeeze as I slouched into it.

Virginia was still staring daggers at me, but now she turned her anger to Luke. “Of all days, how could you behave this way today?”

“Mother, don’t start.” Luke reached for his water glass and I could see that his hand was shaking.

“Andrew took the kids out of school to be here. Lola left work to be here.” Virginia shrugged away Simon’s attempt to place a calming hand on her shoulder. “I will not calm down. Not today. I don’t think it was too much to ask for you to spend the day with your family instead of screwing a stranger in your bedroom all afternoon.”

“Mother. You’re out of line.” Luke stood up, knocking over his water in the process. No one made an attempt to clean up the mess. “Kasey isn’t a stranger. She’s the most important person in my life right now and I needed to be with her today. You think this day is only hard for you, but you’re wrong. You aren’t the only one that misses him and feels guilty about what happened.”

As Luke stormed away from the table, his siblings all exchanged a look. I felt completely out of place among them. Virginia left the table only seconds later and Simon begrudgingly went after her.

“I’m sorry, but what’s so special about today?” I asked Lola quietly, hoping the others wouldn’t overhear.

“I assume Luke told you about our brother, Colin?” Lola had unshed tears in her eyes. “Today is the 25 year anniversary of the day he died. It was one of Colin’ favorite places.”

“Well, shit.” That explained a lot. It explained why Luke had been so nostalgic and willing to share with me. It explained why his whole family was gathered on a random weekend in January. And it explained why Virginia was so angry about my presence. “I so don’t belong here.”

“Oh, Kasey. No. Don’t let Virginia get to you.” Lola squeezed my hand. “Luke needs you here. You’re the only person in 25 years that he has let into his life. Please don’t go.”

I was conflicted. This was clearly an important weekend for the family and they didn’t need a stranger poking around, making things awkward. But Lola seemed so sincere, and Luke was on the edge. I couldn’t exactly leave him now.

“I’m going to see if he’ll talk to me. Excuse me.” I stopped by the kitchen and grabbed two glasses and bottle of scotch. If ever an occasion called for no ice, this was it.

I checked the first floor and came up empty. Luke’s bedroom was also deserted, but the door leading out to the deck was cracked open. I found him leaning over the railing, staring down the side of the mountain.

“Don’t jump.” I noticed that his shoulders sagged at the sound of my voice.

“Because you would miss me too much?” His voice sounded impossibly sad.

I set the glasses on the railing and opened the bottle of scotch. “Yes, but also because then I would have to drink alone. And that’s just pathetic.”

I poured two fingers worth into each glass and handed one to Luke. He laughed as he took the glass and my heart jumped at the sound of his laughter. Seeing him so tortured was misery for me.

“Sorry about the meltdown.” He took a long, slow drink.

“Please. That was nothing.” I leaned against him until he put his arm around me. His body was warm and I was freezing in his t-shirt. I burrowed against him and held him tight. “You forgot to mention the whole anniversary thing to me. That was an unpleasant surprise.”