Once Her Man, Always Her Man(5)
“Mrs. Carter hosted a wake, and half of Rockwall attended the funeral.” Irritation crept into her words. “Protestors posted that they planned to demonstrate. Bastards. So the Carters and the Phelps called home everyone who could make it.”
The town showed up to protect his dad. Something heavy shifted off Luke’s heart. Rebecca showed up to protect his dad. The armed forces defended the rights of the people including those protesting. They didn’t like the protestors, but they’d been trained to ignore them and let them exercise their God-given freedoms.
“Thank you.” Her words echoed through him. “Dad would have appreciated it.”
She nodded, clearly done with speaking. The silence stretched taut between them. He considered all the angles. A loss for words was not a familiar handicap.
“Rebecca.”
“Why are you here, Luke?” She turned then, the full force of her gaze striking him. Nothing prepared him for her, the woman, poised, self-possessed and prettier than a runway model. Her head tilted to the side, she stared at him openly. He leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Once upon a time, he could boast no secrets existed between them because her shining face echoed every thought, every emotion. But that book was closed to him. He couldn’t tell what feelings raced through her, whether happy, sad, or terrifyingly indifferent to seeing him.
“I came home.”
Surprise skittered across her face, cracking the indifferent veneer. Another stone slid away from his heart. Maybe she hadn’t realized it yet, but she was happy to see him. And a little upset. But he could work with both.
“Not to Rockwall, I would have heard if you’d moved home.” No artifice existed in those words. They’d grown up in Rockwall’s bedroom community long before the superhighways extended their reach and the franchises moved in. Their tight neighborhood and Lowell still sent out a newsletter to graduates every year.
He relied on those dribs and drabs of information to keep up with her. She’d graduated from the University of North Texas with a 4.0 and offers from multi-billion dollar corporations. She hosted movie stars at her parties in Texas and around the world. The glamorous graduate never released any information about her personal life, just her success. But is she in love or happy?
“No, not to Rockwall,” he agreed easily, shifting until he set a foot on the bottom of her stool, caging her away from the rest of the bar. The smoky jazz, the hushed atmosphere, even the bartender chatting up some regulars faded away. She passed the wine glass from her left hand to her right and set it down.
His gaze zeroed in on the left hand.
No ring.
No line where a ring might have been.
A third rock tumbled away, unearthing his heart from the tomb he’d locked it away in.
“No, not Rockwall. Allen. I had a house built there. I’m opening a rehabilitation center not far from the Village at Allen, specializing in psychiatric and physical disorders for veterans.” The longest string of words he’d managed since seeing her in the bar, but he could talk about Mike’s Place all day.
“Mike’s Place. You’re opening Mike’s Place?” Interest surged in Rebecca’s voice.
“You’ve heard of it?” They’d netted a fair piece of media attention, but the doors weren’t open yet.
“I’m planning the opening gala in three weeks.”
“We have a company hosting that gala. You work for Intimate Introductions?”
“I own it.”
And just like that, the blocks of information tumbled into place. The company’s representatives had taken a huge interest in Mike’s Place, including a prospective fundraiser for the physical therapy wing. The promised funds allowed him to put more of his resources into other areas. James Westwood from his unit had already put him in touch with more than a dozen solid therapists, all with military backgrounds, who’d leapt eagerly at the chance to work with their own, even those who’d be picking up sticks and moving cross country to set up shop in Allen, Texas.
His Rebecca owned Intimate Introductions.
He owed the lady at 1Night Stand a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates.
“I had no idea you were involved with Mike’s Place.” Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper, setting off the warning bells in his head. He jerked his attention back to her as she slid off the stool, away from him. “I’m sorry. I’ll have my assistant manage the onsite coordination. You won’t have to see me.”
Won’t have to see her….
“I’m glad things are going well for you, Luke. It was good to see you again.” A tight smile betrayed anything but and then she walked away, her too-tall heels clicking against the floor like nails being driven into the coffin he’d just busted out of.