Read Online To Wed and Protect by Carla Cassidy - Free Book Online Page A

what had prompted this unexpected visit. “Thanks.”
    â€œI saw one of your coffee tables the other day at Susan Milford’s house,” April said. “You do such beautiful work, Luke.”
    He grinned, suddenly realizing a possible reason for their being here. “Let me guess, you want me to make you a crib. Sure, I’ll be glad to do it.”
    â€œOh, Luke, that would be wonderful, but that’s not the reason we stopped.” April smiled at Mark, as if to encourage him. “Go on, ask him.”
    Mark was obviously ill at ease as he looked first at his wife, then at Luke. “Well, you know April is pregnant,” he began. Luke nodded. “Since we found out, she and I have been talking and…well…we’d like you to be the baby’s godfather.”
    Luke stared at his brother and sister-in-law in stunned silence. “Is this a joke?” He couldn’t imagine why they would want him to hold such an exalted position in the life of their child. Being a godparent was certainly nothing to take lightly.
    â€œOf course it’s not a joke,” April replied with a sweet smile. “Mark and I both agree that you would make a wonderful godfather. We both know that beneath your superficial charm and bad-boy reputationis the heart of a loving, caring man, the kind of man we want in the life of our child.”
    Her words caused an unsettling ball of emotion to well up inside Luke, and he instantly swallowed. He didn’t want this.
    How could he be a good godparent and leave Inferno in seven months? He didn’t want chains holding him here, and this felt like an emotional chain of mammoth proportions.
    He swallowed again and cleared his throat. “I really appreciate the thought, but maybe it would be better if you asked Matthew.”
    Luke saw the disappointment in his brother’s eyes and instantly regretted his words. But it wouldn’t be fair to the baby to have a godparent who wasn’t here to share life experiences.
    â€œOkay,” Mark said. “Then I guess we’ll ask Matthew.” He turned on his heels and left the workroom.
    April looked at Luke one last time, confusion wrinkling her delicate brow. “You Delaneys are the most complicated people I know,” she said, then turned and followed her husband out the door.
    In the ensuing silence, Luke got back to work, trying not to think of what had just occurred. The idea that April and Mark would want him as a godfather still stunned him.
    For the first time in his life, Luke felt as if his brother had been reaching out to him, trying to make a connection beyond the superficial one they had shared all their life.
    And he’d rejected it. And apparently he’d rejected it badly. Luke sank down on a bench and raked a handthrough his hair. If he’d wanted a drink before, he desperately needed one now. All he had to do was walk into the house and help himself to the bar stock Matthew kept on hand. A few drinks, and the pain in his chest would disappear.
    Yeah, right, he thought dryly. His pain might go away but he’d be back on the treadmill that led to nowhere. He’d drink himself into the loser his father had always told him he was.
    April’s words replayed in his mind. She was a sweet woman but obviously seeing characteristics that weren’t there. Beneath his superficial charm and bad-boy reputation wasn’t much of anything else. And he was not a good bet for a godfather. Matthew would be a much better choice.
    He drew a deep breath and thought of his siblings. His brothers and sister were fools for wanting to keep this ranch alive, for being sentimental enough to want to hang on to a place where they’d endured nothing but heartache.
    He was the smart one, the strong one who intended to get away. He had a hunger to be somebody, to make something of himself, if only to prove his father wrong.
    Funny, each and every one of the Delaney children