His Brown-Eyed Girl Page 6

  “You missed the turn,” Michael said.

  “Sh—” Lucas bit off the curse word. He had to be careful with his language, but minding his tongue when he felt stressed to the limit was hard. “Easy fix. I’ll take the next exit. Little sightseeing.”

  Except it wasn’t great sightseeing on the detour—most of the houses were dilapidated and lonely. Like a neighborhood time forgot…or more like politicians forgot after Hurricane Katrina. Lucas’s artist eye saw opportunity for some emotional photos. Maybe when the kids were in school, he’d come with his camera and play around with some shots. Wasn’t stark landforms against a barren landscape, but the beauty peeking from beneath the cracks and weathering had a rare quality.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were on State Street. Ten more and they were in Addy’s driveway unloading bags containing the wood screws and other supplies. Michael, without being asked, hefted a roll of heavy-duty plastic from the bed of the truck and dropped it onto the grass next to the greenhouse.

  “Careful,” Lucas said. He wished he’d brought his worn work boots, but the newer, shinier cowboy boots would have to do. “We don’t want to tear that plastic.”

  Michael’s mouth flattened into a line. “I don’t know why I have to help do this. I didn’t tear it up.”

  “Because it’s Saturday, the sun is out and a neighbor needs help.”

  No response came from the kid.

  Lucas glanced into the backyard where Chris ignored his younger sister who balanced on her stomach on the swing dangling from the massive wooden play set. His finger swooped across the small screen he held, his concentration centered on the iWhateveritwas in his hand. “Chris, please keep an eye on your sister while we unload everything,” Lucas called.

  “Okay,” the boy said, not looking up.

  “That means put away that thing you’re tapping on.”

  Grumbling, the boy slid the electronic device into his jacket pocket.

  “I can watch Lottie.” Michael crossed his arms.

  “Chris isn’t strong enough to unload this.”

  Michael made a sound that might have been a muttered “whatever” but Lucas chose to ignore it, picking his battle once again.

  A small car pulled into the driveway and Lucas glanced at his watch—1:20.

  A little late, but that could be expected of a business owner. Things came up and had to be addressed before closing for the day. Besides he hadn’t been counting the minutes until Addy arrived.

  Or at least that was what he told himself.

  Lucas wasn’t accustomed to keeping shopkeeper’s hours. As a landscape photographer, he didn’t have steady hours. Though his art brought in plenty of money, he never allowed the business to overshadow the passion, so often he worked in spurts, obsessively working days on end then taking weeks off before beginning the artistic cycle again. Usually after working with no rest and little food, his body demanded the restoration. Then at some point he had to meet with Chavez about the running of the ranch. But he liked his world, liked being able to embrace his passion whenever the mood struck him.

  Addy parked in the spot sitting kitty-corner from the back door, her posturing proving she’d forgotten they were to reconstruct the greenhouse that day.

  How could she have forgotten?

  He tried to deny he’d thought about her over the past few days. Heck, that morning while walking Kermit and scooping cat litter, he’d vowed the attraction he’d experienced nights before had been a figment of his imagination.

  But he knew he lied to himself. Addy was a cool drink of water after walking a desert…otherwise known as Home Depot with three kids.

  Maybe the kids were driving him bonkers, but he suspected the desire to see Addy was more than craving an adult’s company. If he had wanted that, he would have taken Shannon Something-or-other up on her coffee invitation after dropping Charlotte at St. George Day School yesterday morning. Of course, the married and bored Shannon had had more than caffeine on that agenda. Her expression had said, “Let’s have a playdate.”

  But he didn’t want to have a playdate with Shannon or any other “single” mother in Charlotte’s preschool class. He wanted a workday with Addy.

  “Hey,” Addy said, as she climbed from the cute little Volkswagen that somehow looked too cartoonish for such a serious woman. “I’d forgotten we said we’d work on repairs today.”

  Disappointment gave him a little sock. He’d thought she was attracted to him several nights ago. Something had ignited between them…but maybe his lack of sleep from being kicked by Chris, who had climbed into bed with him that first night—probably forgetting his mother wasn’t there—had his mind playing tricks on him.

  Addy’s shoulders were tight and something in her expression worried him. She looked so different from the way she’d looked before. Sure, she’d seemed guarded—a private woman with a side of mystery.

  But today she looked spooked.

  What could make a woman look so hunted?

  *

  ADDY PUSHED A few tendrils of hair from her eyes and studied the big man. She hadn’t actually forgotten Lucas. She had, however, temporarily forgotten about the greenhouse and repairs. Messages from Robbie Guidry tended to do that. Rattled her so that she forgot to stop for eggs or pay her water bill on time. When she got reminders from the man who had stalked her, attacked her and nearly killed her, it put her off balance for several days. So she’d canceled on Wednesday night and stayed inside. Even taking the letter by Lieutenant Andre’s office stirred anxiety and it took time for the reality that Robbie was behind bars and she had control of her life to permeate her brain.

  But how much longer would he remain behind bars? She inhaled and exhaled, knowing she had no control over when Robbie Guidry would be released from prison.

  Lucas approached her as if she were made of glass. She willed her thoughts to settle.

  “You okay?”

  “Of course, I am. Busy morning at the shop.” She hated lying but didn’t want to talk about her life. About how she’d been a victim. That was her past.

  “No, I don’t think so. Something’s wrong.”

  “Not really. Just have a lot on my mind.”

  “What do you have on your mind?” His question wasn’t soft. He pried into her thoughts and she didn’t want him there.

  “Nothing you need to worry about. Let me change and then we’ll get started.” Addy pulled her purse out of the car, pausing to slide the cell phone out of a side pocket. She’d texted her father to let him know she’d talked with Lieutenant Andre yesterday, but he hadn’t replied. But then again he didn’t check text messages often—they seemed beyond him. She didn’t want to call because then her mother would know something was up, and Addy hated when her mother worried. Maybe she would drive out to New Orleans East to corner her father and share what Andre had told her.

  Addy’s father was her go-to man. When she’d first received an anonymous drawing of a single brown-eyed Susan, she’d reported it, but with no evidence the drawing came from Guidry, there was nothing to be done. Still, Don Toussant kept track of the evidence and haunted the parole hearings making sure Guidry didn’t get out until he paid his entire twenty-five-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon, attempted rape and attempted murder. They were a team…a team who couldn’t do much but wait.

  Addy dragged her gaze to Lucas, whose dark eyes weighed and measured her.

  “Something’s off with you, Addy. You seem…scared. Did something happen—”

  She pushed by him. “My life is none of your concern. I don’t like people shoving their nose in my business. I said I was okay, so leave it.”

  Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Wow. Defensive.”

  She yanked her keys from her purse as she turned toward him. The anger pressed beneath the fear slipped out. “Maybe I am defensive, but I didn’t invite you to examine me. I didn’t even invite you to fix my greenhouse. You’re the one who insisted. I said I would help you with the kids becau
se I’m trying to be a good neighbor to Ben and Courtney. That’s all I offered and there is no reason for you to think you can dig into my past, looking for a reason I don’t want to talk about my day with a stranger.”

  Lucas didn’t say anything. Merely studied her more intently.

  Something about the way he looked at her made her want to apologize. He’d tried to help and she’d been a bitch. Then again, guys trying to help, not taking no for an answer and buddying up to a woman who hadn’t opened the door either literally or figuratively—all were indicators of a man being potentially harmful. Even so, she knew in her bones, Lucas wasn’t harmful to her. At least not in that way.

  “Look, I know you’re trying to be nice, but I’m good. Okay? I’ll change, we’ll fix the greenhouse and then we’ll talk about how I can help with the kids.”

  Lucas nodded. “I didn’t mean to pry. Guess I thought I was being neighborly.”

  “But you’re not my neighbor.”

  Something flashed in his eyes and she knew she’d pissed him off a little with that one. “Good point.”

  Then he walked away from her. Just like she wanted.

  Chapter Five

  ADDY’S WORDS HAD surprisingly hurt him. They shouldn’t have. He didn’t know her beyond a couple of hours spent together. But somehow meeting her defensiveness when he’d tried to be helpful, tried to nurture a stable relationship with the only rational nearby adult, made him feel less than what he was.

  He was honorable, damn it. And no one had ever called him nosy.

  Aunt Flora bumbled out the back door and gathered the children, directing Michael and Chris to unload pots out of Addy’s car and giving Charlotte a spoon for worm digging. The three-year-old made a strange face, but allowed the older woman to lead her to the compost pile in the corner of the yard.

  For a moment, Lucas fought feeling inferior. What the hell was wrong with him anyway? He was a man who rarely cared what others thought of him, a man who rarely cared if he pleased others.

  But he knew one thing—Addy’s past had made her fearful.

  The phone attached to his belt rang, and Lucas glanced at the screen. He was waiting on his manager at the Manhattan gallery to call about some pieces for a renovation. But it wasn’t Gerald. It was Courtney.

  Dread knotted in his stomach.

  Was she calling merely to check on the kids or had his brother worsened?

  “Hey,” he said, as Addy reemerged from the house still wearing the dark dress and casting an apologetic glance at him. Something moved within him at that look in her eyes. Something weak. He turned away.

  “Hey,” Courtney said, her voice weary…almost defeated. “Thought I better call and check on the kids while I had a chance. They’re changing Ben’s bedding and I’m in the waiting room.”

  “The kids are fine.”

  “Are they? I’ve been worried. I left without saying goodbye.”

  “Wasn’t ideal.” He’d arrived early Monday morning. Courtney had taken a cab to the airport minutes later, leaving him with sleeping kids and a page of instructions that didn’t cover jack.

  “No, it wasn’t but it was the best way.”

  “Not sure about that, but you can smooth things over a bit if you tell the kids about Ben’s condition. It would be easier—”

  “On you?” Her voice also held anger. “All I asked was for you to be their caretaker. That’s it. I’m truly grateful, but I can’t tell them their father may be dying over the phone, Luke.”

  He hadn’t been called Luke in many years and the sound of his name on her lips confused him. On one hand it swept him back to a time when he’d loved hearing her say his name, and on the other hand, it caused the anger of betrayal to eat away at any pleasure left in hearing her voice. “And I complied, Courtney, but I’m a stranger. Not knowing what’s going on makes it harder on them. Not me. Them.”

  Michael came around the corner of the house followed by Flora. He caught sight of Lucas on his phone and some kind of internal homing signal went off and the boy started walking toward where Lucas had slipped into the shadows.

  “Hey, is that my mom?” Michael asked.

  Courtney dropped a curse word. “Tell him no. Please, I’m not ready to talk to him about Ben.”

  Lucas pulled the phone from his ear and turned to head off Michael. “This is my call and you’re being rude interrupting it.”

  Michael’s chest expanded in outrage. “If that’s my mother, I have a right to talk to her. It’s her, isn’t it? Let me have the phone.”

  Lucas shook his head and pointed toward where Chris held a stack of planters. Addy appeared, her forehead crinkled in concern. Chris watched his brother, mouth slightly open, anticipation of the confrontation in his eyes. Charlotte happily dug in the compost heap looking for worms, which she promptly dumped into a can sitting beside her. The girl didn’t seem to know there was anything else in the world except fat, squiggly earthworms that probably both fascinated and repelled her.

  “Go help Addy’s aunt with the wheelbarrow.” When Michael didn’t budge, Lucas added, “Now.”

  “This is bullshit. If that’s my mom, I want to talk to her. She won’t text me or call me. Her. Not you.”

  Courtney said with a sigh, “Give him the phone.”

  Lucas didn’t want to concede to Michael. He’d read in one of the parenting magazines consistency was the solution to many behavior problems in children of all ages. He wanted to stand firm on telling Michael no, but he wasn’t the kid’s parent. Courtney was, and maybe she’d finally tell the boy about his father’s condition.

  “Mom, what’s going on? Why did you leave us with him?” Michael said into the receiver. He plodded toward the low screen of bushes lining Addy’s home.

  Lucas watched as Michael nodded, made a defiant face then shook his head. Several heated words were exchanged before the boy’s shoulders sank in defeat.

  Lucas knew Courtney hadn’t told him about Ben’s injury and complications from the surgery. If anything, Michael swelled even more with resentment as he handed Lucas the phone and stalked away.

  “Courtney?”

  “What?” She was crying.

  “Why won’t you at least tell Michael about Ben? He’s old enough to understand.”

  “Shut up, Luke. You don’t understand how vulnerable Michael is. He and his dad are close. If I tell him Ben might die, it will be real. So shut up, feed them, make sure they brush their teeth, but don’t tell them anything about their father. You hear me?”

  “Avoiding reality doesn’t help Michael.”

  “Ben is going to get better. I have faith. This can’t happen to me again, and I’m not going to put them through what I went through with Mom and Dad. You understand? Just tell them I’m with their father and everything is okay.”

  “I know what you went through, Courtney. I was there. Remember?”

  “Of course I remember. It was excruciating seeing my mother the way she was, seeing my daddy die. Those memories are in my head, Luke. I can’t get them out, and I don’t want my children to have that same hopelessness.”

  “But what if you hadn’t been there? What if you’d been kept in the dark? It’s not pleasant to be lied to.”

  He hadn’t intended to throw the extra meaning in, but it was there nevertheless. It would always be between them. Lucas had been in the dark, Courtney and Ben had kept their affair in the shadows, skulking around, betraying him.

  No, it did not feel good being lied to.

  Courtney’s crying grew louder. “Ben’s going to get better. I know it, Luke. He’s got to. Just give me a little more time, that’s all. Time will fix it. The doctors said the antibiotic might be working. His blood work looks better.”

  “Is he still on the ventilator?”

  A choked sob was his only answer.

  “Okay, okay. I won’t say anything to the kids, but consider it…for Michael’s sake. He’s hurting with the unknown and somehow that seems worse than knowing the tru
th about his father.”

  “The truth is not always best, Luke. Don’t you remember how much it can hurt?”

  Oh, he remembered. The truth about Ben and Courtney had crushed him, not so much with what he lost in a future with Courtney, but in the loss of faith in his brother, in a girl he’d grown up loving. Yeah, the truth hurt, but it was a hell of a lot better than pretense. “Just think about it.”

  “I will. How’s my girl?”

  “Right now she’s digging for worms.”

  “Worms?” The sob ended with a choke of laughter. “Well, I guess there are worse things. Why’s she digging for worms?”

  “Well, Chris had a little accident a few days ago. Don’t worry, he’s fine.”

  “An accident? How?”

  “He forgot your neighbor had a greenhouse built in her yard and took the dirt bike for a spin while—”

  “He’s not supposed to ride the bike without adult supervision.”

  Lucas started to mutter No shit but bit down on the smart-assed comment. “I went inside to wipe Charlotte.”

  “Charlotte knows how to wipe herself.”

  He allowed silence to speak for itself.

  “She likes attention.” Courtney sighed. “I wish I could have given you a handbook instead of a page.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I know it’s not easy, but I knew if any single guy could swoop in and take care of three kids, it was you. You’ve always been so competent, never messing up in life. Really, Luke, I don’t know what I would have done. With your parents in Europe, I—”

  “I make plenty of mistakes, Courtney, and I don’t know shit from shinola about raising kids, but we’re all making do.”

  “What about Flora and Addy? And the greenhouse?”

  “We’re working together on the repairs now. Chris’s dirt bike is in the garage and I’ve hidden the key. We’re good.”

  “Okay, apologize to Addy for me and keep the receipts for the repairs. I’ll make sure you’re reimbursed.”

  Lucas said goodbye and hung up, not feeling at all comfortable with continuing to lie to his brother’s children. But he wasn’t their parent. He was merely their caretaker, not involved enough in their lives to offer an opinion. He opposed what Courtney was doing, but he understood.