About that Night (8 page)

“How long have you lived here?” he asked Sue, one of the residents I had come to know quite well. We found her in the kitchen, making a snack for her children. She had three children, and six months ago they had left their home in the middle of the night after her husband had smacked one of her sons in the face. They had been in the shelter ever since.

“Six months,” Sue said with a stubborn chin in the air. She didn’t like pity and refused to feel sorry for herself. “Kasey found me a job a couple of weeks ago, and soon I’ll have enough saved for my kids and me to get our own place. It won’t be much, but at least it will be ours, ya know?”

Luke nodded and I detected a haunted look in his eyes. It was a lot for anyone to take, but I thought he was handling it well. Sue grabbed the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and left us alone in the kitchen.

“How old is she?” he asked, nodding his head to the door Sue had just exited.

“She’s twenty-two.” I opened one of the cabinets and began removing party supplies. “She has three kids under the age of six and had her first one when she was sixteen.”

“And her husband hit her?” Luke took the stack of tablecloths from me.

“All of the time. Her kids, too.” I looked him in the eye. “You’re going to see and hear a lot of stuff today. If you’re not up for, I completely understand. Now is the time to decide.”

“Do you really think that little of me?” Luke placed his armful on the counter and did the same with the bags of food I held. He took my head in both his hands and kissed me gently on the lips. “I’m not leaving. Not leaving here, and not leaving you. Deal with it.”

“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it,” I pleaded, ever-so-quietly. I wanted very badly to believe Luke. I needed someone like him in my life- someone to stand by me. But it was a lot to ask.

“Just give me a chance. I’ll prove it to you.” Luke kissed me again, and I knew in that moment I would give him a million chances to prove it to me.

CHAPTER NINE

It only took a few minutes of watching Luke mingle with the shelter residents to realize that I had underestimated him. The women were skeptical when I would first introduce him to them. Many of them had ended up in the shelter precisely because they had fallen for charming, attractive men. But it didn’t take long for them to see that Luke wasn’t like those men. The way the kids flocked to him, scampering for attention, made the mothers smile.

I didn’t have time to stand around and smile. I had food to make, decorations to set up and kids to entertain. At one particularly frazzling moment, I stood in the kitchen staring at the floor where one of the kids had just knocked over an entire container of eggnog. I needed to get the ham out of the oven, but now a river of liquid Christmas stood in my way.

“How can I help?” Luke asked, noticing that I was about to tear out my hair. He reached for a roll of paper towels and tore off a bunch before handing me the roll.

It wasn’t until I looked over at him that I realized the child responsible for the mess was cowering in the corner of the kitchen, quiet tears sliding down his cheeks.

“Timmy, what’s wrong?” I forgot about the mess and knelt in front of the boy. Luke stepped up behind me and Timmy crouched in fear.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Luke said, startled.

“Timmy, look at me,” I said, as gently as possible. Timmy peaked out at me from behind his hands. “It’s okay. No one is mad at you. It’s just a little spill. No problem.”

Timmy stayed frozen, looking from me to Luke. He finally lowered his hands. I held out my arms to him. “Come give me a hug. Please?”

He kept his eyes on Luke as he crawled toward me, looking away only after I held him in my arms. I motioned for Luke to crouch next to us.

“Luke isn’t going to hurt you,” I whispered in Timmy’s ear. He lifted his head and glanced at Luke.

“You promise?” he said in his tiny voice.

I squeezed him tighter. “I promise. I would never let anyone hurt you.”

Timmy wouldn’t take his eyes off Luke, who was doing his best to look unintimidating. “I won’t hurt you, Timmy. I swear.”

Timmy swallowed and wiped tears from his cheeks. “Okay.”

Luke tilted his head at him and smiled warmly. “I was thinking, if you want to, maybe we could go outside and build a snowman. Does that sound fun?”

Timmy nodded shyly. “Okay.”

“Cool.” Luke held out his hand and Timmy took it after just a second of hesitation. Luke glanced at me. “I’ll take the other kids outside, too.”

“What an excellent idea.” I returned Luke’s smile. Watching him talk to Timmy as they left the room, holding his tiny hand, made my heart melt.

“He’s good,” Sue observed, grabbing the paper towels that Luke had abandoned. She stooped to clean up the mess. “Timmy doesn’t trust anyone. Well, anyone male anyway.”

“I know.” I had seen Timmy run screaming from the janitor. “Luke is one of the good ones.”

“I hope so.” But Sue’s eyes said that she didn’t quite believe me. “For your sake, I hope you are right.”

An hour later, the meal was complete and ready to be eaten. Luke had kept the kids entertained outside, and they came to the dinner table with red cheeks, damp hair, and empty stomachs. It didn’t take long for them to clear the table in front of us.

After dinner, we gathered in the large living area and the kids sang Christmas carols while their mothers took pictures of them in front of the tree. Luke and I hung toward the back of the room.

“You were pretty great today,” I said, nudging him with my arm. He nudged me back.

“You are pretty great every day.” Luke put his arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Today has been pretty amazing. You’re really helping people here.”

“I hope so.” I thought about what Sue had said to me in the kitchen. “Sometimes I’m not so sure. It’s hard to make a difference after the fact. These people are pretty damaged.”

“We’re all pretty damaged,” he said quietly.

I thought about my own past. “I guess that’s true.”

A loud knock on the front door caused everyone to jump. Another volunteer, Maria, ran to answer it. “I wonder what that’s all about.” I said. When I looked at Luke, I detected a faint smile. “What did you do, Luke Donovan?”

“Who, me?” he said, his familiar playful smile returned in full force.

“Ho, ho, ho!”

The kids all squealed in delight at the sight of the fat man with a beard and red suit. He was carrying bulging bags filled with wrapped presents.

“Santa!” Timmy jumped to his feet and rushed at the stranger. Santa managed to drop the packages just in time for Timmy’s hug.

“How in the world did you find a Santa Clause on Christmas Eve?” I asked Luke.

He shrugged innocently. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Santa always works on Christmas Eve. It’s kind of his night.”

I poked Luke in the side. “Now who’s the amazing one?” I said, giving him a long kiss.

“Kasey! Luke! Look what Santa got me!” Timmy interrupted us, jumping up and down and waving his present in the air.

“A helicopter?” I laughed at Timmy’s excitement. I had never seen him smile, much less jump up and down. “That’s pretty cool.”

“It really flies!” Timmy explained. “It has a remote control.”

Luke was laughing, too, his eyes as bright as Timmy’s. “Let’s get that thing in the air,” he said. I watched as he helped Timmy open the package and put everything together. He was kneeling on the ground while Timmy sat in his lap, asking questions. Luke carefully explained all the parts of the helicopter and how it flew. After they got the batteries in place, Timmy ran around the room, chasing the helicopter.

The other kids were just as excited about their presents, and Santa even brought presents for the mothers. I stayed in the corner of the room and watched it all, loving the pure innocence of Christmas.

An hour later, I was entering Luke’s home for the second time. He had moved since the last time I’d gone home with him and his new house was beyond impressive. At first, I couldn’t imagine ever being comfortable in such an intimidating place. But that feeling quickly faded with Luke by my side. Cuddled on his couch watching
Christmas Vacation
and drinking spiked eggnog, I had never in my life felt more at home.

Luke must have felt the same way because he fell asleep next to me, both of us fully dressed. The next morning, we woke up tangled together on his couch with the television still on.

“Merry Christmas,” Luke said, his voice heavy with sleep.

“You, too,” I murmured into his chest. I wasn’t planning on moving anytime soon. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans. Luke’s phone rang shrilly from across the room. “Ignore it,” I advised.

“Gladly.” Luke wrapped me tighter in his arms. The phone stopped ringing for a minute and then started up again. We tried to ignore it, but when it started ringing for the third time, I urged him to answer it.

“This could go on all morning.”

Luke’s shoulders tensed as he checked the caller ID. “Hello?” he said tersely.

He paced the room and ran a hand through his messy hair. Whoever was on the other end of the line was speaking shrilly and I could only make out a few random words.

“I was busy.”

“No, I wasn’t avoiding you.”

“Yes, I’m still planning to come today.”

“I don’t know. Later.”

His eyes narrowed at whatever was being said. When he looked at me, he mouthed that he was talking to his mother and rolled his eyes. I smiled and stretched lazily. Luke would be spending time with his family today which meant I could head back to my place and do some laundry. Luke had other ideas.

“Actually, I’m bringing someone with me.”

“Yes, a woman.”

He rolled his eyes again. “Mother, I’ve told you a million times that I’m not gay.”

“I have to go.”

“Mothers,” he said, shrugging helplessly as he tossed the phone onto the table. “Can’t live with ‘em, wouldn’t be alive without ‘em.”

I shrank away from him when he took a seat on the couch and reached for me. “Did you have something you wanted to run past me?”

Luke winced. “Yeah… so you’re coming with me to my family Christmas.”

“I am?” I cocked my head. “You’re sure about that? Did you maybe want to ask me, rather than tell me?”

“Well, you kind of owe me,” Luke said. I could see the playful smile lurking behind the surface.

“I do? Why is that?”

“Because of what I’m about to do.” His lips closed over mine hungrily. Just as he started kissing my neck, his phone rang again. He sighed loudly. “Damn it. Hold that thought. I will be right back.”

But once he started talking, I knew it wasn’t going to be a quick call. It was all business talk. When Luke took a work call, it wasn’t something that could be handled in less than fifteen minutes.

I made myself some coffee while I waited for him to wrap things up. His coffee maker probably cost more than my car and it took me a good five minutes to figure out how to turn it on. But when it was done, I was rewarded with the best cup of coffee I had ever had.

“I hope you saved some for me,” Luke said, sliding past me in the kitchen.

“What time is this family gathering today?” I asked. My anxiety must have been obvious because he smiled at me sympathetically.

“We’re supposed to be there for lunch. But don’t worry, it will be very casual.” He gestured to my wrinkled clothes. “You can go just like that.”

I laughed. “Luke. I’m not meeting your family for the first time wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday. I need to change, and maybe even shower.”

“I have plenty of showers here,” he suggested.

“And you also have a female wardrobe for me to choose from?” I asked skeptically.

“Okay, fine. I’ll drive you home.” He hurriedly drank his coffee. “You still look a little worried.”

“Whatever this is between us is just starting and I’m already meeting your family. Don’t tell me you aren’t a little anxious about this?” I would feel a little better to know that he was freaking out, too.

He sighed. “Yeah, okay. I’m panicking a little. But I’d rather face my family with you by my side than going alone.”

“Really?” I was surprised. “Is your family that bad?”

“No.” He brushed a hand over my cheek. “I just really like having you around.”

“That’s only because you haven’t gotten sick of me yet. Give it time.” I knew that I was doing the thing that he hated, making a joke to deflect the intimacy of his words. Fortunately, he was too distracted to lecture me.

“Grab your coat and I’ll drive you home.” He dropped a kiss on my forehead. “And try not to look so afraid. I promise, it won’t be that bad.”

Two hours later, after spending about twenty minutes with Luke’s family, I was pretty sure he had intentionally lied to me. The majority of his family were some of the most miserable people I had ever met.

“Oh, Luke. You are looking so thin. Have you been eating properly?” His mother, Virginia Donovan, hadn’t stopped fussing after Luke since we walked in the door. She turned to me. “Have you been making sure he eats three meals a day?”

We were gathered in the Donovan family kitchen, staring at one another over coffee. Luke was seated to my right, while Virginia and Luke’s new step-father, Simon, were seated across from us. Luke’s younger sister, Alexis, was seated at the head of the table and hadn’t looked up from her phone in ten minutes. Luke’s older brother, Andrew, had yet to make an appearance with his wife and kids. Virginia was staring at me with hatred and I could feel my eyes bugging out of my head. Luke’s hand shot over and he squeezed my leg.

“Mother, I’m eating plenty. Stop harassing Kasey.”

“Humph.” Virginia grunted into her coffee. “What I don’t understand is why you would bring this young lady to our family Christmas but not bother to even mention her name on the phone. I take it this relationship has been going on for some time for it to be this serious?”

“Virginia. Leave the boy alone. If you keep this up, he won’t even come to next year’s Christmas.” Simon shot an angry look at his wife. “Kasey, tell us about yourself. What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a lawyer.” I felt Luke’s hand tighten on my leg again.

“A lawyer? Very good.” Simon gave Luke an appreciative look. “What type of law do you practice? Do you work at a firm in the city?”

My mouth opened and closed several times but no words came out. Luke sighed deeply and said, “She works at Maverick. On the legal team.”

Simon blinked and clenched his jaw. “Is that so?”

“Luke, honey. Should you really be dating an employee?” Virginia shot me another suspicious look. “It doesn’t seem appropriate.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what is appropriate,” Luke spat. His leg was shaking furiously and now it was my turn to give him a squeeze.

“I have to side with your mother on this one. Your lack of good judgment could jeopardize your company.” Simon smiled stiffly at me. “No offense intended, dear.”