Read Online Just a Little (5-8) by Tracie Puckett - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tracie Puckett
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decision whether or not he would share anything, and he would let me know when he believed I was ready. Furthermore, he stressed that he wasn’t about to let Matt operate as a middle man. That pretty much ended any hope of me finding out exactly what kind of relationship Luke had with Rebecca; I wasn’t about to go begging for answers no matter how much I wanted them.
He’d hurt me, and the more I crawled back to him, the more he’d continue hurting me. As much as I wanted to lie to myself and say that I was over it, I wasn’t. I was mad; I was aggravated beyond the point of comprehension that Luke didn’t have the nerve to come to me with the truth. I’d never thought of myself as a person who deserved much, but I knew I deserved something more than what he was giving me. I thought the fact that I’d been his girlfriend merited some kind of right to know what was going on in his life. Apparently he didn’t see things the same way.
I was through trying to understand.
As I turned the corner to take the short stretch of sidewalk home, my cell rang. No doubt it was him , but I pulled the phone from my pocket and answered anyway.
“Luke, leave—me—alone.”
“Julie?”
The voice wasn’t his. It belonged to someone else I loved dearly, someone who’d proven time and time again how much my happiness meant to him.
“Bruno,” I dropped my head, “sorry, I thought—”
“Listen,” he cut me off, “I’ve got news… something I should probably share.”
“Okay?”
“Are you home?”
“About two minutes out.”
“I’m going to swing by,” he let go of a heavy sigh. “I’d rather do this face-to-face.”
“What’s going on? You sound flustered.”
“Let’s not do this over the phone, Julie. I’ll be at the house in ten minutes. We’ll talk then.”
Tuesday, March 05
“Let me get this straight,” I prayed that the sinking feeling in my stomach would subside. I gripped the results of the DNA test between my fingers and read the papers again. “Their genes match ?”
“The kid and Luke, yes. Less than a quarter, but a match nonetheless,” Bruno said, sliding off his barstool. He paced the kitchen floor as I shut the folder, opened it, and then shut it again.
“Do you mind telling me how you happened across these results?”
Bruno took a large gulp from his coffee mug. From the dark circles under his eyes to the lines inset in his forehead, it looked like his caffeine jolt wasn’t doing much to keep him awake. He pinched the bridge of his nose before dropping his hand. “I’ve lost weeks of sleep over this, Julie. I’ve had a hunch; since the day they came into the diner together, something hasn’t felt right. My gut’s telling me something, but I’ll be damned if I believe it before I have any proof.”
“Proof of what?” I eyed him a little closer.
“His tie to Rebecca,” he said. “To the kid.”
“And?”
“I’ve watched him ‘round the clock,” he said. “I’ve listened in on all of his conversations. I’ve kept a close eye on all of his interactions, especially ones with Rebecca. But I keep coming up empty-handed.”
“So you were spying on Luke?” I asked, trying to not to smile at the irony. Just weeks ago, Bruno was breathing down my neck about the consequences of spying on the people you love. Now here he was, looking as though he’d lost more than just a few nights of sleep, telling me that he’d done exactly what he’d warned me away from doing.
“Damn straight. Luke, Rebecca, the kid… anyone who might have the slightest insight on what’s going on.”
“Why?”
“Believe it or not, Miss Julie, I adore you,” he said. “And I promised you that there was more going on than what we saw on the surface. I’m going to prove that for your sake and my own.”
“Losing your sanity?”
“And too much sleep,” he brushed past the topic as though it was the last thing he wanted to discuss. “There’s something here that we’re
He’d hurt me, and the more I crawled back to him, the more he’d continue hurting me. As much as I wanted to lie to myself and say that I was over it, I wasn’t. I was mad; I was aggravated beyond the point of comprehension that Luke didn’t have the nerve to come to me with the truth. I’d never thought of myself as a person who deserved much, but I knew I deserved something more than what he was giving me. I thought the fact that I’d been his girlfriend merited some kind of right to know what was going on in his life. Apparently he didn’t see things the same way.
I was through trying to understand.
As I turned the corner to take the short stretch of sidewalk home, my cell rang. No doubt it was him , but I pulled the phone from my pocket and answered anyway.
“Luke, leave—me—alone.”
“Julie?”
The voice wasn’t his. It belonged to someone else I loved dearly, someone who’d proven time and time again how much my happiness meant to him.
“Bruno,” I dropped my head, “sorry, I thought—”
“Listen,” he cut me off, “I’ve got news… something I should probably share.”
“Okay?”
“Are you home?”
“About two minutes out.”
“I’m going to swing by,” he let go of a heavy sigh. “I’d rather do this face-to-face.”
“What’s going on? You sound flustered.”
“Let’s not do this over the phone, Julie. I’ll be at the house in ten minutes. We’ll talk then.”
Tuesday, March 05
“Let me get this straight,” I prayed that the sinking feeling in my stomach would subside. I gripped the results of the DNA test between my fingers and read the papers again. “Their genes match ?”
“The kid and Luke, yes. Less than a quarter, but a match nonetheless,” Bruno said, sliding off his barstool. He paced the kitchen floor as I shut the folder, opened it, and then shut it again.
“Do you mind telling me how you happened across these results?”
Bruno took a large gulp from his coffee mug. From the dark circles under his eyes to the lines inset in his forehead, it looked like his caffeine jolt wasn’t doing much to keep him awake. He pinched the bridge of his nose before dropping his hand. “I’ve lost weeks of sleep over this, Julie. I’ve had a hunch; since the day they came into the diner together, something hasn’t felt right. My gut’s telling me something, but I’ll be damned if I believe it before I have any proof.”
“Proof of what?” I eyed him a little closer.
“His tie to Rebecca,” he said. “To the kid.”
“And?”
“I’ve watched him ‘round the clock,” he said. “I’ve listened in on all of his conversations. I’ve kept a close eye on all of his interactions, especially ones with Rebecca. But I keep coming up empty-handed.”
“So you were spying on Luke?” I asked, trying to not to smile at the irony. Just weeks ago, Bruno was breathing down my neck about the consequences of spying on the people you love. Now here he was, looking as though he’d lost more than just a few nights of sleep, telling me that he’d done exactly what he’d warned me away from doing.
“Damn straight. Luke, Rebecca, the kid… anyone who might have the slightest insight on what’s going on.”
“Why?”
“Believe it or not, Miss Julie, I adore you,” he said. “And I promised you that there was more going on than what we saw on the surface. I’m going to prove that for your sake and my own.”
“Losing your sanity?”
“And too much sleep,” he brushed past the topic as though it was the last thing he wanted to discuss. “There’s something here that we’re
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