Read Online Back to Luke by Kathryn Shay - Free Book Online Page B

asked.
    “Mick O’Malley. The brother of one of my best friends.” Elise was new in town, having come to Riverdale Glass as an engineer this year, so she didn’t know all his relationships with people in town.
    She touched his arm. “The one who died?”
    Jayne pushed away from the post and turned so Luke could see her better. Her smile was stiff and forced, probably due to the tiff she’d had with Naomi.
    “Luke? I asked about your friend.”
    “Yes, Timmy’s the one who died.”
    And the man flirting with Jayne blamed him. On more than one occasion, Mick had attacked him. You bastard. You’re responsible for Timmy’s death.
    To which Luke had no retort because, ultimately, he believed he was responsible.
    “Luke, are you all right?”
    “Yeah, I need another beer. Want something?”
    “No thanks.”
    “I’ll be right back.”
    Preoccupied, he made his way across the lawn where he met up with his sister Corky and her oldest son, Louie.
    She kissed him on the cheek. Her eyes seemed sad and he could tell she was tired. “Your gazebo is beautiful.”
    “Thanks.” He socked Louie’s arm. The boy looked just like Cal, with sandy-brown hair and hazel eyes. “Hey there, kid.”
    “Hi, Uncle Luke.” His tone was off.
    “Something wrong?”
    Louie shrugged. “Dad didn’t come home after work. He was supposed to be here with us.”
    Corky’s face reddened. “He was seeing an old friend.”
    That sounded strange. Before Luke could ask about it, his high school math teacher approached him. Small towns, he thought as his sister excused herself and Mr. Lawson asked him about building a new deck. When Luke finally arrived at the porch, Mick was at the bottom of the steps at the cooler.
    Lifting the lid, he grumbled, “Where the hell is the beer?” Then he saw it was Luke next to him. His expletive was cruder than Luke’s earlier slip had been.
    Up close, Luke noted that Mick’s eyes were glazed and he was slurring his words. The guy was drunker than Luke had realized. “Doesn’t look like you need more. If you want a ride home, I’ll take you.”
    Mick’s hands fisted at his sides. “Why, so you can plow into a tree and kill off another O’Malley?” Shaking his head, he stumbled away.
    Luke felt like pond scum.
    But the birthday girl came up to him, forcing him to pretend he was all right. She frowned down at the cooler. “Luke, dear, could you get some…oh, what’s wrong?”
    He stared after Mick. “Nothing.”
    A gentle hand on his arm. “He’s suffering, even after all these years. As you are.”
    Luke sighed. What could any of them say? Instead, he pointed at the cooler. “I’ll get more beer.”
    Miss Ellie gave him a comforting squeeze. “I asked Jess to do it. I wonder why he didn’t.”
    He was too busy fighting with Naomi. “I think he and Naomi went for a walk.”
    “How nice. They need time alone together.”
    Luke excused himself and took the stairs to the porch. Inside, as he opened the fridge, he heard scraping overhead. Someone was in the house, in the room above the kitchen. Closing the refrigerator, he walked into the living area and climbed the spiral oak staircase that not too long ago he’d helped Jess strip and restain. At the end of the corridor, in the room over the kitchen, a door was ajar and someone was rummaging around. He hurried to the entrance.
    The desk was at an odd angle, as if she’d attempted to move it, but now Jayne was standing on the chair trying to get something from a high shelf in the closet. She was yanking on it when, suddenly, the chair swiveled.
    “Oh,” she said as she began to fall.
    Leaping across the distance between them, Luke caught her before she hit the ground. Unfortunately, her foot snagged in the arm of the chair. Then the thing swiveled again, knocking both of them off balance and onto the floor. He managed to take the brunt of the fall and landed on his back with her on top of him. At the physical contact, the first between them