Give Him the Slip (44 page)

Shoving aside the memories, Luke whistled a Buffett beach tune as
he stopped by the post office to pick up his mail, which included a copy of the
Brazos Bend Standard.
He'd been keeping track of the legal developments
in the Rawlings cases and was frustrated, but not surprised, by the delaying
tactics their high-dollar lawyers had employed. Twice he'd read snippets about
Maddie in the newspaper and he'd been pleased to see that her famous father had
managed to maintain his disguise during the six weeks he'd spent in town during
her recovery. According to Sara-Beth's gossip column, he'd even gone so far as
to finance the construction of a small synagogue for weekenders up at the lake.
Had to like generosity in a man.

That thought brought to mind his own father. Branch had been on a
spree of charitable giving around town of late, and Luke couldn't help but
wonder the reason behind that. Because Branch Callahan most definitely had a
reason that went beyond a simple act of kindness. He always did.

Luke had left Brazos Bend without any final confrontation or
communication with his father. He hadn't known what to say to the man. Branch
obviously loved Maddie and he'd been of help when she went missing, thus poking
a hole in Luke's defenses against him. However, Luke hadn't been ready to
forgive and forget, so he avoided. Not exactly mature of him, he admitted, but
with his emotions already so raw over Maddie, he simply couldn't face a scene
with his father.

Maybe over the winter he could come to grips with any changes in
his attitude toward Branch in the wake of his weeks in Brazos Bend. When he
could bear to think about Maddie again, he'd think about her arguments on his
father's behalf. She'd been right about one thing. His old man wasn't getting
any younger. It'd be good for Luke to have everything straight in his head so
he didn't suffer regrets when Branch Callahan kicked the proverbial bucket.

Luke set all that aside as he paid a call at the vet's office to
pick up Knucklehead following the mutt's checkup prior to the Mexico trip. A
stop at a barbecue place for take-out was the last of Luke's errands before he
headed toward the pier where he kept the
Miss Behavin' II
berthed.
Knucklehead had his nose to the ground on the scent of who-knew-what, until
suddenly, his head came up and he sniffed the air. Luke followed suit.
"Mmm... fried chicken. Mrs. Hardy must be cooking for the captain tonight
aboard the
Wind Whistle,
and her chicken is the best. Maybe we could
talk her into trading some beef for her bird."

He could use some company tonight, maybe shake this sense of
loneliness that had hung over him all day like a rain cloud. But even dinner
with the Hardys, nice as they were, probably wouldn't do the trick. Only a
certain redhead could do that.

Yeah, well. Dream on. Only way you're getting your hands on
breasts and thighs is batter-dipped and fried.

Knucklehead let out an excited bark, then suddenly took off
running. But instead of padding across the gangplank to the
Wind Whistle,
he
leapt aboard the
Miss Behavin' II
and disappeared inside.

I left it locked. I know I did. Somebody's inside.

Probably Matt or Mark come to try to talk him into going back to
work again. Neither of his brothers could understand that he'd lost his fire
for the job. They worried about him. Matt was the worst. And if he started in
about Maddie again, harping on about how Luke was being a fool for walking
away, well, Luke'd just toss his lecturing ass overboard.

Glad at the prospect of company despite the price he'd invariably
pay, Luke smiled as he stepped aboard the houseboat and moved toward the open
doorway where his dog had disappeared.

The sound of Frank Sinatra singing "The Best Is Yet to
Come" stopped him in his tracks. Luke's smile died. His pulse sped up.
I
don't own that CD.

He stepped inside and the scent of Chanel teased his nostrils.
Maddie's scent. Luke's mouth went dry.

Whoa. Wait a minute. Could it be...? Was she really....? Holy
Moses. Why? Why had she come? He wanted to rush forward to find out. He wanted
to turn and run away and never know the answer.

He didn't know whether he had the strength to face her.

It took every bit of courage Luke possessed to take two more steps
inside. All the breath whooshed from his body when he heard the familiar voice
say, "Hello, Luke."

Luke turned around. Maddie stood in the master bedroom doorway,
her feet bare, wearing shorts and a T-shirt and an uncertain smile. She stood
there petting Knucklehead, looking so beautiful, so healthy, so... whole.

No thanks to you, jackass. She got shot on your watch, remember?

He remembered her lying in a hospital bed hooked up to tubes and
machines. His stomach clenched and all his defenses went up. "What are you
doing here?"

"We need to talk."

No. They absolutely didn't need to talk. Luke took a step
backward, though every instinct urged him to rush forward, to take her into his
arms and hold her tight. "Look, Maddie. There's no need for that. I
don't—"

"You shut me out before," she interrupted. "You
walked away. From me. From us. I let you do it because I wasn't strong enough
to fight you. I have my strength back now, Luke. And I'm ready."

"Well, I'm not." He'd never be ready for this. He
couldn't fight Maddie. He didn't want to, even though he knew he should. His
arms ached with the need to hold her. He was the weak one. Just looking at her
hurt enough to nearly bring him to his knees.

"I've done a lot of thinking since you left Brazos Bend.
There is something you need to know. Something you need to understand. I talked
to my father about you. I even talked to your father. I even called Matt. He'd
left me his number in case of an emergency."

Emergency? Luke's senses went on point. He glanced down at her
flat stomach, wondering. Well, crap.
That
would certainly constitute an
emergency.

To his guilty surprise, he actually hoped that maybe... was she?

"I'm so angry at you, Luke Callahan. More furious than I ever
was with Rip, Liam, and Cade. In fact, if I lump all those feelings together,
it doesn't come close to the amount of mad I feel for you."

"That's why you're here?" he asked slowly. "To tell
me that you're pissed?"

"You bet I'm mad. In fact, mad doesn't even come close to
what I feel for you."

"Are you pregnant, Maddie?"

That stopped her. Her mouth gaped while her eyes widened with
shock. "No!"

Well, hell. Luke looked away, his gaze falling on Knucklehead,
whose brown eyes stared at him as if to say,
Dumb-ass. Why is she busy
petting me instead of you?

He cleared his throat. "All right, then. I can't blame you
for being angry, Maddie. I'm pretty pissed at myself, too. I let you down, and
I'm damned sorry for it."

"Just so I understand, how did you let me down?"

"A gunshot wound for starters. Need I go on?"

Disgust flashed in her eyes as she folded her arms. "Well,
I'll be. Wouldn't you know it? Branch Callahan was right on the money. I should
never have taken that bet. Your father knows you better than you'd like to
think."

"I don't want to hear about Branch!"

Ignoring him, she continued. "He told me you felt guilty
about what happened. So did my father. So did Matt. But I argued with them. I
told them they all were wrong. I thought you wanted fishing and freedom and
Buffett at sunset, but I was the one who was wrong, wasn't I? I was too hurt
and too blind to see what was plain to everybody else. You felt guilty."

"Of course I felt guilty. I didn't do my job. Again. And you
paid for it." His voice trembled with emotion as he declared, "It's
just by the grace of God that you didn't end up dead like my last
partner!"

Maddie's brown eyes glowed with determination. "Is that what
I was to you, Luke? Your partner?"

Ouch. She wasn't going to make this easy, was she? And damned if
he didn't deserve every last blow. He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned
away. "Let's not do this."

"You left me."

"I made sure you were going to be okay."

"Did you?" She laughed without amusement. "You
thought I'd be okay? Why? Because my dad was there. Because you left me in
Brazos Bend and thought someone would take care of me. Someone other than you?
My lover. The man I thought... Yeah, well. It's funny, Luke. I didn't feel
okay. You broke my heart, Luke Callahan." Her eyes filled with tears.
"You shattered it."

Don't cry, Red. Please.
If she cried, he'd lose it,
and he had to keep it together. Him leaving had been the best thing for her.
Didn't she see that? "I did what I thought was best. You belong in Brazos
Bend, Maddie. I saw it firsthand when you were in the hospital. You have
friends there. People who are closer than family. You've made a place for
yourself. You've made a home."

"What good is a home if I'm living there alone?"

Luke didn't have an answer for that, and when he didn't reply, she
continued. "It's lonely, Luke. I'm lonely."

He knew all about being lonely. Being... split in two. Being...
lost. But this wasn't about him. It was about her and what she needed.
"Maybe you should..." He cleared his throat again. "You need to
find someone. Someone who deserves you."

Just don't let me see him with you, Red. Not ever.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Maddie advanced on him then,
her hands braced on her hips, her eyes flashing. "You have as much nerve
as a broken toe. Find someone? How dare you say that to me, Luke
Callahan."

She snorted with disgust. "Is that the best you can come up
with? Honestly. Admit it. You don't want anyone else to have me." She
poked him in the chest. "You love me!"

Everything inside him froze. "I never said that."

"Yes you did. You said it to me in the hospital."

"You were unconscious!"

"Doesn't matter. Women are attuned to such things. We hear
those words when they're said. I heard them. And guess what else? I know that
unlike the Terrible Trio, who said them to my face and lied about it, you told
the truth. You said it and you meant it and then you walked out on me. Damn
you." She poked him once more, then added, "And, curse your sorry
hide, I love you, too!"

He took it like a punch to the gut. "Maddie... I—"

"Shut up. You're going to stand there and listen to me,
Callahan. I didn't come all this way for you to talk your way out of it,
either."

"I wasn't going to—"

"You fell in love with me.
Me.
Maddie Kincaid. Not
Baby and her entourage. Not the rock princess with a past and a big bank
account. You wanted me. You loved me. How could you leave?"

I was an idiot. I'm still an idiot.
Because
he couldn't think about anything but her saying those three little words that
just changed the universe. Those three little words that he desperately needed
to hear again. "You love me?"

"Yeah. Isn't that pitiful? I swore I'd never do this again;
three strikes and I'm out and all of that. I was never going to bat again.
Little did I know that Rip, Liam, and Cade were little league. But you...
you're the blessed World Series! How does a girl battle that?"

"Uh..." She really loved him? Well, damn.

"I have one question, Luke, and I want an answer. If it
wasn't for your misplaced guilt, would you have pulled away from me? Would you
have shut me out? What would you have done if I'd told you I loved you and
asked you to find a way to stay with me in Brazos Bend? Hmm? What if I'd laid
it all out right then and there under my father's rented magnolia tree? What
would you have done? Would you still have run away? I never took you for a
coward, Callahan."

She'd blindsided him with that one. Luke turned away from her and
paced the room. He raked his fingers through his hair. "What kind of
question is that, Maddie? I'm not a coward. A coward would have stayed, because
let me tell you, Red. It was a class-A bitch to walk away."

"Then why did you?"

"Because I had to."

"Not good enough, Callahan. Answer the question."

Frustration rumbled up and burst forth in his words. "The
answer doesn't matter! I left! I can't live in Brazos Bend. I can't give you
the life you want. Your question is irrelevant."

"I don't care. Answer it anyway."

"Fine." He threw up his arms. "I don't know what
I'd have done. That's the damned truth."

"Don't lie to me, Callahan. You're no good at it."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Honey, I worked undercover
for almost ten years. I can lie like a rug."

"Not to the woman you love, you can't. Now, one more time. If
you hadn't been wracked by guilt, would you have stayed in Brazos Bend for
me?"

"Maddie, my father—"

"This isn't about Branch. I know the two of you are still a
long way from kissing and making up. I'm asking about me. What would you do for
me? Would you have stayed for me?"