Read Online Omega Moon Rising (Toke Lobo & The Pack) by MJ Compton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: MJ Compton
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it.”
“So fond you couldn’t call me for three months?”
His smile faded. His Adam’s apple visibly bobbed in his throat. “I’m trying to do right by you. And I owe you.”
“Luke—”
“I’m sorry. I know you’re hurting. I shouldn’t be dumping all this on you. And it’s probably not the best day to get married, but I think we should stick with our plan.”
She took the dress from him. “You’re right. I am hurting. But I also know we have to try to . . . rise above our circumstances.” She was going to freeze in that dress, but if he was making an attempt, she needed to be open to his efforts.
He stepped into the hall while she changed.
The top was too tight. She couldn’t pull the edges of fabric close enough over her breasts to button. She settled on a wedding outfit of gray dress slacks she couldn’t fasten at the waist and a pale pink sweater that emphasized her daily-deepening cleavage.
She picked up her guitar case and took one final look around her childhood bedroom and wondered if she would ever be back. The grimy pink walls, the limp floral curtains, her narrow twin bed . . . she wouldn’t miss any of them.
Luke carried the plastic bag with her clothes in one hand and pressed the other in the small of Abby’s back as he steered her out of the bedroom. “We need to get going.”
Gary sat in his cracked brown vinyl recliner. Silent. Watching. Probably making sure they didn’t take anything he deemed his.
“Abby.” Libby ran through the front door. “I forgot my pillow. I can’t sleep without my Santa Claus pillow.”
Abby set her guitar case next to the door. “I’ll get it. You wait in the car with Restin. Luke, you go ahead. I’ll be right out.”
“I’m not leaving you with him.” The sentence sounded more like a growl than words.
It took only a moment for Abby to locate Libby’s pillow, Luke dodging her steps the entire time.
When they returned to the front room, Gary was standing, her guitar held over his head.
“No!” She dropped Libby’s pillow and lunged.
Too late. He slammed the guitar down. Hard. On the arm of his recliner. The wood splintered. The steel strings sagged with nothing to keep them taut. Something inside her broke as Gary tossed the scraps to the floor. She hadn’t thought her day could get any worse. Wrong again.
Luke charged Gary, but Restin streaked through the front door and caught him. Stopped him. Why? Why didn’t Restin just let Luke do what needed to be done?
“Outside. Now.”
Luke’s fingers brushed Abby’s hand as he took the ruined instrument from her and gently, almost reverently returned it to its case. His hands shook as badly as hers as he helped her close the hasps. She never would have made it to the Jeep if Luke hadn’t guided her. She crawled into the back seat, cradling the case.
“I’ll buy you a new guitar right after we get married,” Luke said as he climbed in next to her.
Abby shook her head. “It was my father’s guitar. It’s all I had left of him.”
Chapter 5
Good thing Abby had never dreamed about her wedding, because there was nothing fantasy-like about it at all. They were married in the county clerk’s office. No pretty dress for her. No bouquet. There wasn’t even a ring. Not that a ring meant anything. Gary had proved that. Libby stood up for her. Restin stood up for Luke. That was it. She was married. For better or worse. She’d take the status quo. She was already intimately familiar with the worse part.
She stood in the center of the main room of Luke’s minuscule cabin and surveyed her new home. One corner was devoted to a drum set. Another looked like a home office. Luke’s computer set-up rivaled Gary’s in its complexity. A kitchen area occupied one end of the room. Wide plank stairs led to what appeared to be a loft. There were no bedrooms. Where would Libby sleep? Where would she sleep?
Maybe Luke expected her to sleep with him. He might even want sex from her again.
“So fond you couldn’t call me for three months?”
His smile faded. His Adam’s apple visibly bobbed in his throat. “I’m trying to do right by you. And I owe you.”
“Luke—”
“I’m sorry. I know you’re hurting. I shouldn’t be dumping all this on you. And it’s probably not the best day to get married, but I think we should stick with our plan.”
She took the dress from him. “You’re right. I am hurting. But I also know we have to try to . . . rise above our circumstances.” She was going to freeze in that dress, but if he was making an attempt, she needed to be open to his efforts.
He stepped into the hall while she changed.
The top was too tight. She couldn’t pull the edges of fabric close enough over her breasts to button. She settled on a wedding outfit of gray dress slacks she couldn’t fasten at the waist and a pale pink sweater that emphasized her daily-deepening cleavage.
She picked up her guitar case and took one final look around her childhood bedroom and wondered if she would ever be back. The grimy pink walls, the limp floral curtains, her narrow twin bed . . . she wouldn’t miss any of them.
Luke carried the plastic bag with her clothes in one hand and pressed the other in the small of Abby’s back as he steered her out of the bedroom. “We need to get going.”
Gary sat in his cracked brown vinyl recliner. Silent. Watching. Probably making sure they didn’t take anything he deemed his.
“Abby.” Libby ran through the front door. “I forgot my pillow. I can’t sleep without my Santa Claus pillow.”
Abby set her guitar case next to the door. “I’ll get it. You wait in the car with Restin. Luke, you go ahead. I’ll be right out.”
“I’m not leaving you with him.” The sentence sounded more like a growl than words.
It took only a moment for Abby to locate Libby’s pillow, Luke dodging her steps the entire time.
When they returned to the front room, Gary was standing, her guitar held over his head.
“No!” She dropped Libby’s pillow and lunged.
Too late. He slammed the guitar down. Hard. On the arm of his recliner. The wood splintered. The steel strings sagged with nothing to keep them taut. Something inside her broke as Gary tossed the scraps to the floor. She hadn’t thought her day could get any worse. Wrong again.
Luke charged Gary, but Restin streaked through the front door and caught him. Stopped him. Why? Why didn’t Restin just let Luke do what needed to be done?
“Outside. Now.”
Luke’s fingers brushed Abby’s hand as he took the ruined instrument from her and gently, almost reverently returned it to its case. His hands shook as badly as hers as he helped her close the hasps. She never would have made it to the Jeep if Luke hadn’t guided her. She crawled into the back seat, cradling the case.
“I’ll buy you a new guitar right after we get married,” Luke said as he climbed in next to her.
Abby shook her head. “It was my father’s guitar. It’s all I had left of him.”
Chapter 5
Good thing Abby had never dreamed about her wedding, because there was nothing fantasy-like about it at all. They were married in the county clerk’s office. No pretty dress for her. No bouquet. There wasn’t even a ring. Not that a ring meant anything. Gary had proved that. Libby stood up for her. Restin stood up for Luke. That was it. She was married. For better or worse. She’d take the status quo. She was already intimately familiar with the worse part.
She stood in the center of the main room of Luke’s minuscule cabin and surveyed her new home. One corner was devoted to a drum set. Another looked like a home office. Luke’s computer set-up rivaled Gary’s in its complexity. A kitchen area occupied one end of the room. Wide plank stairs led to what appeared to be a loft. There were no bedrooms. Where would Libby sleep? Where would she sleep?
Maybe Luke expected her to sleep with him. He might even want sex from her again.
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