Gwynne Forster - Secret Desire

“Where’s Marcus?”

“In Portsmouth. He should be getting home any minute. You didn’t see him today?”

He stared at her. “Good grief. I told him I’d have lunch with him. I completely forgot it.”

She looked at him as though he’d changed faces. “You forgot an appointment?” He understood her surprise. He had a reputation for having a memory like an elephant. She sat down, seemingly oblivious to having Todd examine her face and ears and yank on her hair and clothing. “Luke, you’re either working too hard on something or someone has your undivided attention.”

He couldn’t help laughing. Amanda knew him better than the men who worked with him eight hours a day. “It’ll soon be time to open up my place on the Sound, and that guarantees me some lazy weekends for the next four months.” He reached for Todd. “Come here, fellow. It’s time you and I got to be good friends.”

The doorbell rang three times in rapid succession, and pain shot through him as Marc and Amy ran squealing to the door and Amanda broke off her sentence in the middle and followed them. He shook it off. After years of a lean life, his brother deserved all the happiness he’d found with Amanda and their children.

“I didn’t realize you expected to have lunch here…this evening,” Marcus said to Luke after they embraced each other.

“Sorry about that, but I got into a set-to with Axel again, and had to straighten him out. I forgot about eating.”

“That guy knows how to ring your bell.”

Luke shrugged. “One day, he’ll take it too far. How’s it going at the factory?”

Marcus glanced at his wife, his eyes afire with love for her. “Things couldn’t be better. How long you staying?”

Luke stretched out his long legs as Amy joined him in the swing, put his arms around his niece and gently rocked. “I’m going straight from here to work Monday morning, unless—”

“Great. Maybe we can get in some fishing while you’re here.”

After dinner, his cell phone rang as he and Marcus cleaned the kitchen. “Captain Hickson.”

He hadn’t expected that Cowan would have to call him about Kate, but he’d told the sergeant to keep him posted. As a detective, he’d learned to avoid the pitfalls of It might have been. He listened to Cowan’s report and wondered whether he ought to go back to Portsmouth.

“Nothing you can do, Luke. The man ran away when he saw the squad car, and we couldn’t find him, but I turned that corner just in time.”

“Continue to patrol that store. Good job, Sergeant.”

“What was that about?” Marcus asked him. “Sounds like she’s more to you than a professional responsibility,” he added after hearing Luke’s story. “If she is, I’m happy for you. It’s time you got some joy in your life. Who is she?”

Luke stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and looked toward the garden. “If she wasn’t somebody’s target—at least that’s what she thinks—I’d go for her, but I can’t let myself in for that again. I keep thinking of Eunice. She thought nothing could happen to her, that I’d keep her safe, but when she needed me, I couldn’t be there. Because she’d called me rather than 9-1-1, I lost her. I can’t live through that again. A woman loves me and believes I’m larger than life, bigger than anything that can happen to her, and calls for me because she trusts me more than any other man—more than those who could have saved her.”

Marcus stared at him, his eyes wide in astonishment. “You care for her.”

“Could be. I’m not sure. It’s happened so fast I can’t figure out where the heck it came from.” He eyed Marcus, who’d begun to laugh. “What’s so funny, man?”

“You are. Have you forgotten? This thing gets you right away, and when it grabs you, you might as well quit running.”

“If anybody can attest to that, it’s you,” Luke said dryly. “I never saw a man run so hard from pure heaven as you did.”

He’d never been able to figure out how Marcus could look so innocent when he was about to wade into a person. He waited for the blow, and Marcus let him have it. “Having witnessed that, brother, it seems to me you wouldn’t waste your time running. Trust me, it’s useless, anyway. You are not responsible for Eunice’s death, so quit using that as an excuse to persecute yourself. And mark my words, if this woman gets into you, either get out of her way or enjoy it.” He winked. “I suggest the latter.”

“You’re loaded with wisdom tonight. Excuse me while I make a phone call.”

“Sure thing. What’s her name?”

“Kate,” he called over his shoulder, and strode down the hall to his room.

He dialed Kate’s home phone number and paced back and forth in his room, waiting for her to answer. Where the heck was she? Strung out with anxiety, he redialed to be sure he’d used the right number.

“Hello.”

“Randy. This is Captain Luke. Where’s your mother?”

“She’s out back. Captain Luke, I have to make my first deliveries Monday.”

He was anxious to speak with Kate, and he hoped his impatience didn’t show, because getting the boy’s confidence was proving more difficult than he’d expected. “You’ve done well, Randy. I’m proud of you.”

“You are?”

“You bet I am,” he said truthfully. “And you’ll be a fine role model for the boys in your group.”

The small voice appeared uncertain. “I guess I have to try. They seem to like me.”

So that was it. All the blustering, preening and bad manners were a cover for insecurity. Maybe he’d have to spend more time with the child.

“Randy, of course the boys like you, and so do all of us officers.”

“You, too?”

He stared at the phone. “Son, the reason I insist you obey is because I want you to grow into a fine man, one people will admire and respect.”

“Like you?”

He hesitated, but only for a second. “I’d be pleased if you wanted to be like me.”

A long silence ensued, but he waited. “Gee. Okay. I’ll get my mom.”

“Luke. What a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you to call.”

“Cowan told me what happened. Did you get a good look at the man?”

She described the man who accosted her and added, “He wore glasses, but they might have been a disguise. Also, he wasn’t the man who locked Randy and me in the store. This one was older and rougher. Robbing my store wasn’t his priority. He was after my house keys.”

None of it made sense to him, and its strangeness increased his concern. “I want you to put alarms on your door and windows, but we’ll take about that when I get back. Is your garden fenced?”

She told him it was, and eagerness laced her voice when she added, “When are you coming back?”

Was she telling him she wanted to see him? Oh, hell, he had to stop thinking about her in that way. “I’m debating that right now. I have a feeling that hood knows me, and that he’s seen us together, because he gave me forty-five minutes to get way out of town. And he didn’t wait till dark to make his move. Did it occur to you that even though you closed more than an hour early, he was there waiting for you?”

He hadn’t reasoned it out before, and now a pain scissored his belly. Simple robbery wasn’t the man’s motive, and until he knew what the guy wanted he’d be handicapped in his efforts to catch him.

“Be careful, Kate. I…Look, I don’t want anything to happen to you and Randy. Keep him close to you this weekend. Kate—”

Her voice, soft and sweet, could tempt him to do things he didn’t want to do. “What is it, Luke?”

“I’ll call you when I get back there. Take good care.” A strange, indefinable emptiness suffused him, but he hung up without telling her he wanted to see her right then, that he feared for her well-being, and would go to any lengths to protect her.