Shelter Me(65)

“Are you fucking shitting me?”

“No. Adam, he is starting to creep me the hell out. I just have this weird feeling that it is more than you screwing his ex-girlfriend. I mean, come on. First he sees me running on the beach and won’t let me leave, and then he sees me again and this time he warns me about Luke and his family. What the hell is going on here?”

“I really don’t know, Shayne. Before you say anything to Luke, though, let me go have a talk with Ben and tell him to stay the fuck away from you and Lucy.”

I take a deep breath.

“Adam, I don’t want to keep things from Luke like that. We are trying to build a relationship here, and if I keep this from him he is going to be pissed off.”

“Shayne, just give me a few days and let me see what I can do.”

“Fine, but I don’t like this at all. You need to make sure he understands I don’t want anything to do with him. He scares me, Adam, and the way he looks at me…I feel like he is undressing me with his eyes.”

“I got this, Shayne. Just give me a few days to talk to him and tell him to stay away from you.”

I feel somewhat better about the situation but not at all comfortable about keeping secrets from Luke. Adam and I talk about our plans for moving all of Lucy’s and my things back. He explains to me how busy he is at work right now and that it is going to be really hard for him to get away. I tell him not to worry about it and that Luke and I will figure it out.

We spend a few more minutes talking about Lucy’s birthday party before hanging up. I set my phone on the counter and cuddle back up with Lucy, pulling her close to me. Soon enough, we hear Luke opening the front door and Lucy is off the couch as quickly as she can, screaming ‘Daddy!’ as Luke rounds the corner. She jumps into his arms.

As he lifts her up, she tells him about her day and everything she picked out. I sit on the couch admiring the beauty of the bond I see so rapidly forming between these two and my heart just overflows with more love for the both of them than I ever thought possible.

Still holding Lucy in his arms, Luke walks over to me. He puts her down on the couch and kisses me softly on the lips as he runs his hand down the side of my cheek.

“It sounds like the two of you had a good day.”

“We did,” I smile, leaning into his touch.

“You look tired baby,” he says, placing another kiss on my cheek. “Is everything okay?”

I try to put on a fake smile so he doesn’t see that my nerves are about to explode.

“Yes, I am fine. It’s just been a long day with all the shopping. And then afterwards, Lucy and I went to the beach and walked the pier and-”

“And when Mommy and I went to the car at the beach, a man came to talk to us,” interrupts Lucy.

Luke looks from me to Lucy with a disturbed look on his face.

“What man?”

Think quickly, Shayne!

“It was just someone who knew Aunt Judy and wanted to tell me how sorry he was. I don’t even remember his name.”

Wanting to change the subject and to steer Lucy from saying any more, I abruptly stand up and head into the kitchen, calling out behind me that dinner will be ready soon. Once I am safely out of sight, I place my hands on the counter and tilt my head down, trying to get my emotions under control. I can’t be mad at Lucy about this; she is only six years old. No, I am mad at myself for lying. I hate that I had to lie to Luke, but I don’t want him to worry about this because he has enough stress with this tough case he is working on. I am so deep in my thoughts I don’t even realize Luke has stepped up behind me until I feel one of his arms wrap around my waist. He takes his other hand and pushes my hair off of my neck, then leans in and starts trailing soft kisses along the back of my neck,

“You’re a shitty liar, Shayne. Now who was it?”

Taking a deep breath, I decide that I will tell him some of the truth.

“His name is Ben, and he works at the bank where Aunt Judy had all of her accounts. He asked me out, but when I told him about you and me, he apologized for not knowing and we left it at that.”

I feel Luke’s body go completely stiff. I free myself from his arms and turn around to face him and he has a look of rage on his face.

“Ben who?” he asks, looking me right in the eyes.

“I don’t know what his last name is. He never told me.”

“He never told you his last name?”

Luke takes a step away from me and runs his hands up and down his face.

“Let me tell you who he is, then. He is a piece of shit, that’s who he is. Ben is the son of the guy I told you went to prison because of my dad, and now that his father is dead he has been trying to mess with my family. Now I am going to tell you this one time- stay the fuck away from him. I don’t like him and I sure as hell do not trust him.”