Shelter Me(36)
“How was your run?”
“It was good,” I say slowly, not wanting to tell him about my little run-in with Ben. “I needed it to try and clear my head and all.”
Tilting his head just slightly, he looks into my eyes. “Yeah, I can understand that.”
“Would you like to come inside for a bit?”
“I think that’s a very good idea considering what I have to say shouldn’t be said outside on the sidewalk where everyone can hear.” Turning around and heading toward the house, he leaves me standing there. What the fuck?
I retrieve my key from where it is stashed inside my sports bra and let us into the house. Luke follows closely behind as I head toward the kitchen.
“Would you like some coffee?” I offer, stalling a bit.
“No, Shayne. Look, I need to tell my family about Lucy and I want you to come with me when I do it. That was my father on the phone. I told him we had something important to tell them. They’re expecting us to be there within the hour.”
I hesitate. “Sure. I can do that, but does it have to be today? I have a lot of things I need to get done before Lucy gets here this afternoon.”
That’s not what Luke wanted to hear. “Yes, it has to be done now,” he insists, raising his voice. “We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if you hadn’t kept my daughter from me for six fucking years.”
“Fine!” I huff. “I am not going to stand here and argue with you about that because you’re right. Yes, I should have tried to find you, and yes, I should have looked for you a little harder, but there isn’t a damn thing we can do about that now. Not to mention, Luke, life is a two-way street. Were you out there looking for us? Trying to find me after you ‘bled’ for me?” Without even waiting for a response from him, I stomp up the stairs and throw myself into the shower.
After pulling on a pair of black shorts and a yellow t-shirt and putting my hair up, I slip on my flip-flops and head back downstairs. I stop and my heart instantly melts when I see Luke sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.
Hearing me approach he looks up at me with tired eyes. “I am so sorry. This is just a shock to me and I have no idea what I am doing or even how to be a father. Let’s just go tell my family and I will bring you home when we’re done, okay?”
“Okay.”
Luke drives us in silence to his parents’ house which is about ten minutes away. As we pull into the drive, not only are his parents there, his brother Antonio is just getting out of his car as well. Exhaling slowly, I tell myself this is all for my daughter and the man sitting beside me.
Antonio notices us approaching and waits by his car. He opens my door as soon as we roll to a stop and helps me down from Luke’s Range Rover.
“Shayne, you look great. How are you?” he asks, taking me in his arms for a tight hug.
Despite everything, I’m glad to see him again. “Doing just fine, Antonio. How about you?”
“I am doing really well, busy at the firm and keeping all my women in line,” he grins.
I smile back at him. “It’s good to know that some things never change. You’re still a big hit with the ladies.”
Antonio throws an arm around my shoulders and walks with us into the house. After all the greetings are taken care of and we settle ourselves in the living room, Vincent is the first to speak.
“What’s so important, son, that you had to meet us right away?”
“Mom and Dad, um there's something I need to tell you. I mean, there's something we need to tell you,” Luke says as he grabs my hand and squeezes my fingers tight.
“What is it?” his father says as he looks up from his desk.
"Um, well. Um, you sort of have a granddaughter.”
I’m looking right at Vincent when Luke blurts out our news, and I’m unsettled. His eyebrows have flown up into his hairline, but something is off with his body language. I risk a glance at Luke, who has a quizzical look on his face. I wonder if he senses it too?
“Well, this is a shock. A very unexpected one,” Vincent finally says. In spite of his expression, for some reason I can’t shake the feeling he’s really not all that surprised. Something in his eyes just isn’t right. Is he not happy that Luke and I have a daughter? Before I can process this, Camillia’s voice breaks into my thoughts.
“What do you mean, we have a granddaughter?” she demands, her voice escalating slightly. She looks back and forth between Luke and me with increasing confusion, clearly having no idea what is going on.
Pulling my hand away from Luke’s, I stand up and tell them all about Lucy. Luke’s father never says a word, but his mother rises from her chair and comes over to hug me.