Pretend You're Mine: A Small Town Love Story (45 page)

The man shoved his glasses up his nose and nodded, “Oh, yeah. There’s no way he’ll see the outside with this.”

“You have no evidence!” Perry scrambled to his feet, still clutching his nose. “These rooms aren’t bugged!”

Rameson stalked to the table and grabbed the sunglasses out of Luke’s shirt. “You’ve been stuck in here too long, asshole. Technology’s advancing. These pretty little things record audio and video.”

“You can’t do that! You can’t record me without a warrant!” He was shrieking now.

Rameson shrugged. “Oh, you mean this little piece of paper here? Know what else we have? We’ve got a full confession from your buddy Glenn Diller. Conspiracy to commit murder carries a max of twenty-five years. Welcome to the rest of your life.”

She turned on heel and stalked out of the room. Luke followed her and paused in the door. “You know what she really feels when she reads your letters? Pity.”

He slammed the door behind him on the feral wails and walked out into the light.

L
uke shrugged off Melissa and Ty’s offer of a celebratory lunch. He couldn’t face the office, either, and instead went home. He needed to be alone. Sort through what happened

He flopped down on the couch and was immediately covered in dogs. “Oh my God, guys. Give me a break. I had a hard day keeping sick psychopaths away from Mommy.”

Lola wiggled her entire back end and Max licked his face.

A knock on the front door interrupted the mauling. “Hey, you home?” Aldo said, letting himself in.

“In here,” Luke answered.

The dogs jumped off of Luke to dance around Aldo.

He stooped to pet them. “What are you doing home in the middle of the day?”

Luke stood up. “What are you doing in my house in the middle of the day? And do you want a beer?”

Aldo shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” He followed Luke into the kitchen.

“So what do I owe the pleasure?” Luke opened the refrigerator and pulled out two beers.

Aldo popped the top and took a sip. “You’re probably gonna want to open yours before I say what I have to say”

Luke sighed. “We’re doing this now?”

Aldo shook his head. “Yeah. So what the hell is your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem,” Luke said.

“You have a huge problem” he jerked his thumb at the boxes of Harper’s stuff stacked in the dining room. “Is this what you think Karen wants?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Do you think Karen would have wanted you to spend your life miserable and alone?”

Luke felt his jaw clench.

“I don’t care that we’re not supposed to mention her name around poor, delicate Luke. You’re being a dumbass, and as your friend, it’s my job to knock you on your ass when you’re being a dumbass.”

Why did everyone keep calling him a dumbass?

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Luke drilled a finger into Aldo’s chest.

Aldo shoved his hand out of the way. “Let’s say you died. You’re dead. Karen’s still alive. What kind of life would you want her to have without you? Would your stupid fucking ghost be happy to see her locking herself away from everyone who loves her? Burying herself in work. Coming home to an empty house every night to relive her misery?”

Luke turned away and put his hands on his head. “Of course not.”

“Then why the hell would you do that to Harper?”

“I didn’t do that to Harper! She was the one that built this whole pretend life —”

“Pretend? So she didn’t love you? She didn’t love us? She didn’t love this whole fucking town?”

“Of course she did.”

“Then why did you take that away from her? For Karen? For you?”

Luke put his hands on hips.

“It’s a completely different story if you didn’t love her, Luke. But if you love her and threw away that life that she built for both of you, you’re a fucking idiot.”

Luke stared at his feet. He felt his throat tighten. “Of course I love her. How could I not? I just don’t know how to be with someone who isn’t Karen.”

Aldo grabbed him in a bear hug and slapped him on the back. “You’re such a stupid asshole.”

“Learned it from watching you.”

Aldo released him but kept a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Do you know that Harp puts flowers on Karen’s grave every week?”

“That’s Harper doing that?”

He nodded. “You aren’t choosing between them or replacing Karen with Harp. You’re allowed to love them both. How do you think parents have more than one kid? They don’t just love the first one.”

“I just assumed that’s what my parents did,” Luke joked.

“No, if they would have stopped at one perfect child like mine did then you’d be right. The human heart can love more than one person. You love your parents, don’t you?”

Luke nodded.

“Soph? Josh? James? Obviously you love me, otherwise you wouldn’t idolize the shit out of me. You have room, and just because you love someone else, doesn’t mean you’re wiping the slate clean.”

“Thanks, Moretta. Sometimes you’re not a complete idiot.”

“No need to be a dick when I’ve been holding back my comments on how fucking creepy it is that you have the lives of two women boxed up in your house. I didn’t want to crush your fragile feelings.”

Luke’s gaze tracked to the boxes. Shit. That was creepy.

***

L
uke stopped the truck at the tree-lined curb. The cemetery rolled on to his right. He always parked here. The slow walk to and from Karen’s grave was as much a part of the ritual as him standing quietly over her headstone. He usually came at night when the chances of running into anyone else were slim.

He could see her plot from here. She had a visitor.

Luke felt his heart stutter at the familiar flash of blond hair. She was wrapped up in a cheery red scarf, but no coat. Probably forgot it in the car or at the office.

He watched as Harper carefully laid something on the grave. She was kneeling next to it, shoulders hunched to the cold.

The vulnerability burned in his gut. He had hurt her, purposely out of fear, and now they both were paying the price. Luke reached for the door handle. But a movement from Harper caught his eye and stalled him.

He watched her straighten her shoulders, kiss her fingertips and lay them lightly on the stone. Luke felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.

Harper stood briskly and brushed off her knees before disappearing.

Luke waited a beat before approaching the grave.

There was a small arrangement of evergreen sprigs and holly wrapped in a checkered ribbon resting against the cold granite. He ran his fingers over the K.

“I’ve made a mess of things, haven’t I?” He sighed and squinted up at the thick December clouds. “I’m just not good at life without you. I don’t know what to do. Things were so much ... easier when you were here. Harper is not easy. She’s a walking disaster.”

Luke sighed. “I worry about her. She’s the kind of person who would offer a ride to a serial killer or open the door to a homicidal clown. She’s flighty and stubborn. When I was gone this summer, I had James mow the lawn because I was afraid she would chop off her foot with the riding mower.

“I don’t understand why I feel this pull to her. Why I want to be near her. Why I can’t wait to hear what she’s going to say next. She’s not you. And I love you. But I love her, too. And I don’t know if that’s okay.

“I don’t even know if it’s okay to talk to you about this. But you’re the smartest person I know and if anyone has the answer, it’s going to be you.”

Luke scrubbed his hands over his face. “Tell me what to do, Karen.”

“She would probably tell you to get your head out of your ass.”

Luke jumped at the voice and turned around.

Joni stood with her hands tucked into the pockets of her charcoal gray barn coat. Her cheeks flushed from the wind and the chill.

For years, it had been his fear that he would run into Joni at Karen’s grave. Confrontation on hallowed ground. There would be nothing to say to defend himself because he was guilty of everything she accused him of.

What would she say now with two women between them? The living and the dead.

“Oh, Luke,” she sighed, moving to stand next to him so they faced the stone together. “We’ve failed our girl in so many ways.”

“I didn’t mean to love Harper. I tried not to.”

“That’s not what I meant, dummy. Do you really think Karen would want you to live alone for the rest of your life?

“What are the odds, Luke, that Harper would end up here in Benevolence? There is no way this was a coincidence. She was meant for you. She needs you. To love her, to protect her, to be her family. And you need her.”

“I feel like I’m turning my back on Karen.”

“By being happy without her?”

Luke nodded and swallowed hard.

“That’s the greatest gift you could give her. It’s the only thing she would want from you, from me. Us living a life full of love and happiness and remembering how lucky we are to have known her. And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of letting her down.”

“Do you think Karen would like Harper?”

“Who do you think sent her to you, Luke? Harper was picked out for you and delivered straight to you.”

He looked at his feet and blinked back the blur. “I miss her so much.”

Joni wrapped an arm around his waist. “Honey, Karen was once in a lifetime. We both know that. But guess what? So is Harper. Don’t turn your back on this gift.”

Luke wrapped her in a bear hug and they stood in silence for long minutes before Joni finally patted him on the back. “I’ll let you talk things over with our girl. But don’t wait too long. She’s leaving town Saturday.”

His heart stuttered. Benevolence without Harper?

He nodded and wiped at his face. “Thanks, Joni. For everything.”

She smiled. “You’re a good man, Luke. You’ll make the right choice.”

He hoped so. He watched her get in her car and drive off before kneeling down in the grass.

“Well, you heard your mom. So I’m depending on you to help me. Tell me what to do, Karen.”

The late afternoon sun broke through the heavy clouds. Its light warmed Luke’s face and chest.

He almost missed it. It was only there for a second, but a beam of sunlight fell and held exactly on the phoenix carving on the headstone. 

Luke kissed his fingertips and dropped them to the phoenix. “Thank you,” he whispered.

H
arper took a deep breath and knocked on the apartment door. She her gloves off and shoved them in her pocket.

The door opened on a giggle.

Gloria’s already bright eyes lit up. She was wearing Aldo’s Guard sweatshirt and leggings. Her dark hair was a tousled mess. “Harper! What a nice surprise! Come on in.”

“Am I interrupting?”

Gloria laughed and stepped aside waving Harper in. “No, Aldo’s in the kitchen making grilled cheese sandwiches and trying not to burn the place down.”

“Are you sure I’m not interrupting?”

Gloria laughed again. “Ten minutes earlier and you would have been,” she winked.

Instead of laughing, Harper wrapped her friend in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you, Gloria. I really am.”

Gloria returned the hug. “Me, too. I owe it all to you, you know.”

Harper released her. “Don’t be silly. You got yourself here, in a real home with a sexy man making you grilled cheese. You deserve every bit of it.”

“I’m so happy, Harper. I never imagined life could be like this.” She hugged Aldo’s sweatshirt closer. “Enough gushing. Can I interest you in a half-burnt grilled cheese?”

“Is that my old pal Harpoon out there?” Aldo poked his shirtless torso out of the kitchen.

Harper laughed. “Hey, sport. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“When are we hitting the trails again? Got a new blade that’ll leave you in my dust.”

“Nice. I actually wanted to let you both know that I’m, uh ...” she swallowed hard. “Leaving.”

“Vacation leaving?” Gloria asked, her brow furrowed.

“Happy trails leaving?” Aldo offered.

“Happy trails. Or, just reasonably okay trails, at this point,” Harper said, keeping her tone light.

“It’s not because of Luke and Linc’s fight to the death in the grocery store is it?” Gloria asked.

“I heard they were both banned for life after they destroyed the bread aisle,” Aldo interjected. “Buns and loaves everywhere.”

Harper rolled her eyes. “Well the small town rumors are one thing I won’t miss.”

“Are you giving up on him?” Gloria asked, her brown eyes pools of compassion.

“I have to. For my sake. For his. I can’t change him. And I can’t stay here either.” It’s not safe for any of you if I do, she added silently.

“You have friends here,” Gloria reminded her.

“And I’m so grateful to have you all in my life. But Benevolence is Luke’s home and me staying here is just going to be a painful reminder to both of us of what was.”

“I disagree with you, but as your friend, I will support your decision. As long as you promise to let us come visit you.”

“Of course,” Harper said with a teary smile.

“So where exactly will we be visiting you?” Aldo asked, hands on hips, still clutching a spatula.

“I’m not really sure, yet. I’m leaving Saturday, so obviously I have to have a plan then. I’ll let you know.” She bit her lip. “Listen, when I do tell you where I am, do you promise not let anyone know?”

“Anyone meaning Luke?” Aldo crossed his arms.

Harper shook her head. “No. Just anyone who doesn’t need to know. Like if a stranger asks you ... or something.” She was fumbling this, making a mess.

“Are you in trouble?” Gloria asked, concern showing.

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to tell you both personally. “You’ve been such good friends to me. I’m really going to miss you.” Her voice cracked, but she battled through it. “I love you guys so much.”

Gloria wrapped Harper into a hug again. “I wish I could talk you into staying.”

“Is there room for me in there?” Aldo grabbed them both and squeezed.

“One joke about a threesome and I’ll smack you with that spatula,” Harper threatened.