A Hope Undaunted (48 page)

“You don’t have to do this, you know – kill yourself for the cause.” Parker plunged his hands in his pockets and cocked a hip against Luke’s door, his voice wistful. “Once you and Betty leave, I won’t have anything better to do than work.”

Luke glanced up from the legal documents he was determined to finalize and managed a tired smile. “Sure you will. I’ll bet Betty’s replacement has lots of ideas of things you can do.”

Parker groaned and lumbered in, dropping into the chair in front of Luke’s desk. He passed a hand through sandy hair normally so neat and manicured, and muddled it with an uncustomary gouge of his fingers. “It’s bad enough I have to lose my two best friends, but I have to put up with Carmichael’s niece on top of it. I don’t think the woman can even spell.”

A grin creased Luke’s lips as he signed a document with a flourish and tossed it in the basket. “Come on, Parker, what she doesn’t have in brains, she makes up for in looks. And she certainly likes you. Who knows, maybe you can marry her and hire somebody who can spell.”

“Very funny, McGee.” He rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. “If only I could hire somebody like Bets or Katie.” He paused, his eyelids opening a fraction of an inch. “And speaking of Katie . . . have you told her or Gabe yet?”

Humor faded quickly from Luke’s mood. His jaw tightened as he reached for another stack of contracts. “Not yet, but I will.”

Parker didn’t even blink. “When . . . after you leave?”

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, I know – avoiding the inevitable. You’re leaving in three days. Don’t you think it’s time?”

A sigh loaded with guilt rolled from his lips. He glanced away, absently taking in the clutter of sports paraphernalia he still had to pack. “Yeah. I just didn’t think it would be this hard.” He kneaded his temple with the heel of his hand. “I’m taking Gabe to Robinson’s on Saturday afternoon. I’ll see if Katie can join us and tell them both then.”

Parker nodded and rose to his feet. “That would be good – I know you two have gotten to be close friends. You almost done? I’ve got papers to go over yet and Betty ran the monthly report up to Carmichael, but as soon as we’re both through, we’ll be heading home.”

“Yeah, just let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll head out too, okay?”

“Ahem . . .” A feminine voice drifted in from the door.

Parker spun around while Luke froze, signature midscrawl.

“Parker Riley – are you working this man to the bone before he leaves you high and dry?” Katie stood on the threshold with arms crossed and lips pursed, a definite glint in her eyes. Her gaze shifted to Luke and narrowed. “And speaking of leaving, how were you planning on breaking the news, McGee – in a Christmas card?”

Parker shot him a glance of sympathy before heading to the door and giving Katie a hug. “It’s good to see you, Katie, it’s been too long. How is your father doing?”

She hugged him back. “Weak, but he’s improving every day, Parker, thanks.” Her lips veered to the right. “His health, that is.” She folded her arms again and scalded Luke with a look. “His disposition is failing, I’m afraid.” Her manicured brow lifted to hazardous heights. “Kind of like mine at the moment.”

Parker smiled and eased out the door. “Uh, well, I’ll let you two talk, then. Don’t be a stranger, Katie.” The door shut behind him with an ominous click.

“I was going to tell you, Katie, I promise, but I’ve been so busy . . .”

She strolled forward with hands on her hips and sparks in her eyes, her petite frame actually daunting as she loomed over his desk. “I’ll say. It’s hard work lying to your friends.”

“I didn’t lie – ”

She leaned in, palms splayed wide on the edge of his desk. “You didn’t tell the truth!”

“That’s not fair. You’ve had a lot on your mind with your father. I just didn’t want to add to the mix.” He dropped his pen on his desk and pressed his hand to his eyes, massaging his forehead. “Besides, I was going to tell you and Gabe on Saturday.”

She straightened her shoulders and nodded slowly. “Oh . . . I see, Saturday, yes, that would be good.” She lunged forward, knuckles white on his desk once again. “If it wasn’t two weeks after the fact!”

He shot to his feet, his own temper on the rise. “Look, Katie, we’re friends, but I don’t need your permission for what I do with my life.”

“And just exactly what are you doing with your life, Luke? Tell me, as your
friend
, am I entitled to know that?”

He exhaled and, his head down, worked the back of his neck, his eyes lidded with guilt. “Yes, yes, you are, and I apologize for not telling you and Gabe sooner, but I’ve . . .” He looked up then, facing her square on, determined to get the truth out. “I’ve taken a job in Philadelphia.”

“So I’ve heard. What I haven’t heard is why.”

He stared at the proud lift of her chin and the blue eyes that glinted with anger and more than a little hurt, and a dull ache throbbed in his chest. “Betty’s in trouble. I have to get her out of Boston, so I’m taking her to live with her aunt.” His gaze returned to the document beneath his hand, studying it without really seeing it. He snatched his pen up and signed the bottom line.

“What kind of trouble?” Worry threaded her tone.

He glanced up, unwilling to divulge the depth of Betty’s problems, but well aware of Katie’s bulldog tenacity. “Ex-boyfriend trouble. The slime has a tendency to beat her up.” Concern lighted in Katie’s eyes, and she swallowed again. “So take her and come back.”

“I can’t do that,” he whispered.

“Why?”

“Because she needs me.” He scratched his signature hard and fast, like a blind man with pen and paper, his name as unreadable as the stone expression on Katie’s face.

In the next slash of his pen, she rounded the desk and stood by his side, her hand trembling as it rested on his arm. Shock coursed through him as he looked up to see that indomitable chin start to waver and those steady blue eyes begin to blink with moisture. “I understand, Luke. So take Betty and get her settled in and come back. Because I need you too.”

Something clutched in his chest and he put the pen down and stood, skimming her arms with his hands. “Katie, I’ll visit you and Gabe whenever I can, I promise. Philadelphia’s only a little over five hours away by bus and less than four by train. Besides, I have a feeling you’re going to be so busy with school and the wedding, you won’t even miss me.”

In nervous habit, she scraped her lower lip with her teeth while a tiny wrinkle puckered at the ridge of her brow, actions he’d long become familiar with whenever wheels were turning in her head. All at once, a death knell rang in his brain at the lift of her lashes, revealing a scared and skittish little girl with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. That deadly look of vulnerability that always took him down. A look that jerked a hook in his heart and reeled him in, confirming what he’d always hoped for, prayed for – tough, independent Katie O’Connor needed him, wanted him. The realization pasted his tongue to the roof of his mouth, dryer than dust.

His pulse seized as she slipped tentative arms around his waist, her manner shy, and then took off in a frenzy when she moved forward, her body grazing his. Her eyes held gentle promise, offering gifts he’d only dreamed about. “Luke,” she whispered, “don’t leave me, please. I need you . . .”

Blood pounded in his body like a tide surging through his veins, hot and hungry as her hands drew him close. His breathing was heavy and his reflexes slow and sluggish, as if she had cast a spell, paralyzing him with her touch. In slow motion, her gaze melded to his lips and she slowly lifted on tiptoe to take his mouth with her own.

“Katie, no!” He gripped her arms so tight, she winced, and his body shook as he held her at arm’s length. “I can’t stay! I wish I could, but I can’t.” His voice rushed from his lips, desperate to make her understand. “Betty’s pregnant . . . her ex-boyfriend raped her, and he’ll hurt her if she stays. She’s in serious trouble, Katie, and I can’t let her do this alone.”

Hurt swam in her eyes. “But I’m in trouble too, Luke.” Her hands bent to grasp the arms that held her at bay, thumbs stroking his wrists. “You can’t leave now,
please
, not when I – ” With a broken sob, she fell against his chest, clasping him tightly as she wept.

“What do you mean you’re in trouble?” He held her away, his pulse pounding in his brain like a painful echo warning of doom. Other than the night he’d taken her father to the hospital, never had he seen Katie O’Connor cry before, but she may as well have lanced him with a knife – he was bleeding all the same.

She looked up then, her body quivering with short, little heaves while tragedy pooled in her eyes. “I . . . I think I’m in love with you, Luke, and I don’t want you to go . . .”

His body went to stone.

“Please say something,” Katie whispered. Her fingers curled against his wrists once again and her eyes begged him to respond as he had once before. But he only stared, his eyes glazed with shock and those wide lips – the lips she longed to kiss – parted with shallow breaths.

He released her too quickly and backed away, eyes steeped in pain. “Katie, I . . . I’m sorry, but everything’s arranged.” A lump shifted in his throat. “We’re leaving on Sunday.”

Fear iced her skin. “But you said you loved me once, told me you wanted me.” Panic rose in her chest, quivering her voice and betraying her alarm. “Was that a lie?”

A nerve pulsed at the edge of his jaw. “No, it wasn’t a lie.”

Terror restricted the flow of her air, making her feel faint. She forced the words from her tongue, frail as they drifted from her lips. “But you . . . you don’t love me like that anymore, is that it?” Her gaze fell to the stretch of floor between them, unwilling to witness the truth in his eyes.

“I can’t answer that.”

Her head jolted up. “You can!” she cried, hysteria tingeing her tone. “Tell me now, Luke – tell me if it’s true. Do you still love me?”

He looked away, shoulders bent. “Yes.”

“Then stay!” she said, every nerve and muscle straining within. She took a step forward, her voice an impassioned plea. “Take Betty to Philadelphia and come back to me, please.”

He stared, breaking her heart with his eyes. “Katie, I can’t.”

“But you can – ” She stepped forward to clutch him with a sob.

His hands were warm when he grasped her arms, but the dread they instilled was as cold as death. “No, Katie, I can’t,” he whispered. “I’m taking Betty to Philadelphia for good . . .” His eyes shimmered with grief as he braced her. “As my wife.”

Her world slowed to a stop, body numb and all air depleted from her lungs. She couldn’t feel her skin or her limbs, only a dull ache in her chest that seemed to grow as his face blurred before her. She was vaguely aware of his hands on her arms, caressing her, comforting her, and her eyes trailed to them in a daze, almost seeing the gold band that would sever their love. She closed her eyes, and her heart reeled at the shock. Luke McGee wed to another – the man who had stolen her friendship and captured her heart, wooed her with prayer and stirred her with passion. A strange buzzing filled her brain, and her tongue was paralyzed, unable to release the agony of her soul.

His wife.

Betty, not her . . . wearing his ring, sharing his bed, bearing his children.

A soul mate lost forever.

She swayed on her feet, and he steadied her, his voice fading in her ears . . .

“Parker!” He picked her up and set her in a chair. Words, distant and faint, pierced her consciousness as her eyelids weighted closed. “Get me a wet rag. She’s white as a ghost.”

Movement . . . hovering . . . voices tugging as something heavy pulled her toward the dark.

“Katie!” Her eyelids flickered open at the touch of cool to her cheek. “Are you okay?”

She licked her lips and struggled to focus, her eyes expanding at the sight of blue eyes that pierced and freckles she now loved. And that was when she knew.

She would never be okay again.

There was nothing more to say. He had wanted to walk her home, but she couldn’t bear it. And so he asked Parker to take her back instead – to a life now void of Luke McGee. It was all arranged, Parker said – Father Mac was to marry them on Sunday following mass, a simple ceremony with only Parker and Bobbie Sue in attendance. And then Luke and his bride would board their train for Philly, where Luke would start work the next day.

Katie put a hand to her eyes, every step home taking her deeper into an abyss, a dark, gaping hole where she drowned in her own tears, salty with sorrow. She wept for blocks before uttering the phrase that had ruined her life. “I-I l-love him, Parker,” she said with a heave, her voice nasal and her words mere steam that drifted away like her hope into the frigid night air.

“I know, Katie,” he said. His voice girded her with the same tenderness as the strong arm that now braced her, holding her tightly as he led her through the dark. “And he loves you.”

“Then, why?” The warmth of that awful word billowed into the November night to die in the cold.

Parker’s answer was spoken with kindness, but its meaning was cruel. “Luke knows the pain of an illegitimate birth, Katie . . . He’s determined Betty’s baby will not.” He paused then, perhaps hesitant to add to her grief. His grip tightened, as if to prop her to hear the truth. “And he felt he had nothing to lose since you were to marry Jack.”