A Better Man(32)

"I'm sorry." Unable to meet the dark emotion in his eyes, Lucy briefly glanced away. "Of course. I completely understand your urgency. So how can I help?"

"I bought her a journal. You know, one of those fancy ones with flowers all over it. And I got her a set of colorful gel pens too. I thought maybe if she had something pretty to look at she might be inspired to write things down and get them out of her system." 

His thoughtfulness and sincerity touched her deeply. Lucy didn't know why it surprised her that he'd gone the extra mile for his sister with no prompting from anyone, but it definitely made her take an extra look. The man sitting at her little kitchen table appeared to be nothing like the person she'd imagined all those years.

"That's a great idea."

He shrugged. "I was just walking down the aisle of some artsy store in town and-­"

"Punkydoodles?"

"That's the place." He set his mug down. "I saw all the bright, colored stuff in the window and figured it couldn't hurt to check it out. Then I saw the journal and pens in an aisle full of total girly stuff. It just looked like Nicole."

"Did you give it to her already?"

Expression solemn, he nodded.

"And it wasn't well received?"

"I don't know. She was so busy hating me I only got the chance to put the bag on her bed and get out of there before she threw an all-­out hissy fit." He shook his head. "She reminds me of a kitten. You know, one of those tiny ones who gets all fired up and starts hissing and spitting like they're ready to take on the world?"

Lucy nodded. That was exactly how she saw Nicole too.

"I threw in a king-­sized Snickers bar for good measure," he said. "Figured if I couldn't win her over with the journal and pens, chocolate might do the trick."

After the fiasco on their graduation night, Lucy had imagined many things about Jordan Kincade, starting with wrapping her hands around his throat and squeezing until his eyes bulged. Before tonight she would have sworn he was a man with a gigantic ego. Instead he appeared to be a man with a gigantic heart. Of course, time would tell. Not everyone revealed his or her true self in the beginning.

She'd learned that the hard way.

"Chocolate is always a good choice," she agreed, feeling herself melt a little at his thoughtfulness.

"If it helps, I'll buy her a whole damn store full of the stuff."

"So, besides being willing to buy massive quantities of white chocolate chunk with macadamia nuts cookies and Snickers bars . . ." Lucy fidgeted with the antique lace doily beneath the Mason jar that held a small bouquet of daisies. "I take it you'd like me to encourage her to write down her thoughts and feelings?"

"Do you think that might give us some insight to what's going on with her?"

"I doubt we'd ever be able to read what she's written."

"True. Unless I played secret agent, snuck into her room, and stole it."

Laughter bubbled from her chest. "You don't really fit the part."

"What? You don't find me debonair like 007?"

She found him hot, sexy, and even a little sweet. "I think you might lean a little more toward the Hulk."

He tossed his hands up and smiled. "Well, there goes all the money I spent on spy school."

For the second time in as many minutes, she laughed. For her, laughter didn't happen very often. She'd always been the serious sort. Tonight, she was learning that laughing felt pretty darned good.

"There's a good chance Nicole had a bonfire with the stuff after I left," he said.



       
         
       
        

"I doubt it."

He shook his head, and the light from the overhead chandelier made his dark hair shine. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"Maybe all she really wants is your attention."

"Hell of a way to get it."

"She's a teenager." Lucy leaned back, feeling more at ease than she had in a while. "Don't you remember what it was like?"

"I remember being a jerk." His eyes searched her face. "I'm sure you can attest to that."

Lucky for him she was rethinking that very thing. "We're not talking about me."

"We should."

Her silence verified she didn't feel comfortable being the topic of discussion.

"So why the name change?" he asked.

"What?"

"Your last name used to be Nutter."

"And I hardly ever got any crap about that."

"So you changed it for professional reasons?"

"No." She pressed her lips together. She didn't want to go there. Not with Jordan. Not with anyone. She'd blocked out that part of her life and she liked the deep, dark grave in which she'd buried it. "I was married."