Snowfall and Secrets (The Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 1) (5 page)

They were talking, Estelle more animated, and Tess kept glancing at the house. Lukas should have walked out there and inserted himself into the conversation. Surely, Tess needed a rescue.

Estelle gestured toward the house, and Lukas groaned. Maybe he didn’t want to know after all. He called Dio over and got her ready. By the time, he let her out into the cold, brisk morning, Tess was gone, and Estelle glared at him from her snowmobile.

“I’m not sorry about the roses,” she shouted. Lukas shrugged and made sure Dio ran behind the house rather than toward the road. A snowball slammed into the back of his head, and snow plummeted down his coat.

“Estelle!” he roared and shook his head. Damn it, he left his hat inside.

“I said–”

“Yeah, I heard you.” He cut her off.

“That fudge was a gift from you, you fool.” She packed another snowball to throw at him.

“Trust me, she didn’t want a present from me,” he snapped. She dropped her snow with a disgusted snort as Dio skidded around to Lukas’s side.

“Then change her mind.” Estelle started her machine and spun out.

Lukas sighed. The crabby old woman needed to get it. He wasn’t going to try. Ever.

“Stay close,” he ordered Dio and stomped inside.

A couple hours later, his mood hadn’t improved much when his phone rang. Hayden. Friend, frat brother, Doc’s son. Damn.

“What?” he growled into the phone. If Estelle was behind this too, he was going to fire her and put her on a plane south himself.

“Whoa. I’ve missed you too.” Hayden sniggered.

“I’m working.” He wasn’t. His laptop was open, but he’d been staring out the window instead of doing anything productive.

“So am I. I’m running over to the hospital for rounds, but I wanted to make sure we’re still on for next weekend.”

Lukas closed his eyes and punched his knee. He forgot Hayden and Joshua were coming to the island. So Estelle was safe for now.

“I don’t know, man,” Lukas stalled.

“I do. It’s time. Everything in that room has to go.”

“Let’s leave it till spring.” Lukas wasn’t ready.

Hayden decided last month that the spare room where Lukas kept Stacey and the boys’ things needed to be cleaned out. He took over the project without any effort from Lukas. Something about doing his frat brother a favor. Lukas just wasn’t sure he wanted that kind of favor. The reminder was good. It kept him strong.

“I’ve got everything lined up. Joshua and I will be there next Friday, spend Saturday with the fam, and Sunday we’ll load up.” Hayden had it all laid out.

“Hayden.”

“Great. I’ll see you sometime this weekend. Come to dinner. Mom would love it.”

“No.” Lukas dropped his head into his hand. He wanted this conversation over. He wondered if Hayden would break in and take everything if he went to the mainland for the weekend. Estelle had keys, and she’d be eager to help.

Hayden laughed as if he wasn’t torturing Lukas.

“Trust me,” he said and hung up.

Trust him. Sure.

Lukas clicked a couple keys on his laptop and brought up a picture of the boys. One of the last ones taken on the island. They were so innocent with their big eyes and round cheeks.

Dio padded over and laid her head on Lukas’s knee. She had the innate ability to sense the change in his mood, which had gone from bad to worse.

Lukas swallowed past the grief threatening to choke him. The boys deserved better than him.

B
y the end of the week, Tess was exhausted. Her class of only twelve students demanded a lot of attention.

Doc was nice and made sure she had everything she needed, even paying for the taxi during the winter. Once the snow melted and the weather warmed, she could ride a bike. She almost laughed at the idea of bicycling while pregnant.

She steered clear of Whitters and ate her lunch in her room, and Sara quickly grew into a friend. They’d been comparing lesson plans after school, and Sara invited her over for dinner to meet her husband and kids. Tess never had a life quite so normal and quiet. Her Miami friends tended to be the beach babe, party animal type. It might be good for her to see a real mom at work. Maybe help her make her decision with her own growing mistake.

On Wednesday, three moms from the PTA took her downtown to get a few groceries and things. There were only a handful of shops open. The street looked adorable, and Tess couldn’t wait for the snow to melt so she could see the town as it was meant to be. Though, according to most people, that wouldn’t be for two to three more months.

While shopping, Sunny Hinshaw’s mom asked how things were at the carriage house. Tess assured her the accommodations were fine, but Mrs. Hinshaw patted her shoulder.

“It’s not the living quarters I’m worried about,” said Mrs. Hinshaw. “I only want you to be on your guard around Lukas.”

She lowered her voice and leaned in over Tess’s cart.

“That one’s worrisome.”

“How so?” Tess asked, genuinely interested. Lukas probably had a string of broken hearts all over the island.

Mrs. Hinshaw smiled sadly and moved on down the aisle.

Tess laughed. One good look at Lukas and Tess knew she should stay away from him. He was a heartbreak waiting to happen with his chiseled jaw and deep brown eyes. If she kept daydreaming like that, there’d be no hope for her.

Anyway, he kept his distance since the peanut butter incident.

Later Friday afternoon, she arrived home just as her mother started her daily flurry of calls. Tess couldn’t put it off any longer. She sighed and answered.

“Hey, Mom.” She hadn’t talked to her mom since she left Miami.

“Tess. Finally. I’d begun to think you froze to death.”

“I sent you an email,” said Tess in her own defense.

“An email doesn’t let me hear your voice. Doesn’t tell me if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine. I’ve been busy. You know, teaching is pretty demanding.”

“Of course I know. Another one of my teachers just quit. Any chance you want to come home?”

She snorted. “We went over this before. I need to be on my own for a while.”

“I don’t understand why you ran away again. We miss you.”

She rolled her eyes. Her mother was a master manipulator. Twenty-five-year-olds didn’t run away. She frowned. Except that was exactly what she did. But she couldn’t tell her mom why. Getting knocked up was one mistake Mom would never forgive.

“This is different, Mom. I need to know I can be alone. Miami isn’t good for me.”
“Not good for you. You make it not good for you. But, whatever. How’s the weather there?”

“Cold. My apartment’s got a good heater though.”

“Can you send me pictures? I want to see where you’re hiding out.”

Tess smiled. She missed her mom but couldn’t tell her about this huge mistake. Plus she hadn’t fully decided whether or not she was going to keep the baby, and that was a decision she had to make on her own, free of her mom’s opinions.

“I’ll try to take some tomorrow.”

She heard a loud thud at her door.

“I gotta go. I’ll send pics tomorrow.”

“Do more than try. Love you, sweetie.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up the phone and opened the door. Dio flew into the little house spraying snow everywhere. Tess looked out but didn’t see Lukas anywhere, so she shut the door. Dio danced around her living room trying to fling off her booties.

“Come here,” Tess said. She took off those absurd shoes and the vest. Dio jumped onto the couch and curled into a ball, staring at Tess with enormous brown eyes.

She grabbed her phone and sat down on the couch with the dog, who climbed into her lap. She laughed and scratched Dio behind her ears.

“Lukas wasn’t kidding about you coming around.”

She found Lukas’s number. With a knot in her stomach, she dialed. They hadn’t talked since she’d overreacted and they had an argument.

Maybe he wouldn’t answer, and she wouldn’t have to deal with it. Dio could stay for a while.

“Hello,” he said.

She sighed.

“Do you know where your dog is?”

“I just let her out, why?” His voice made her toes curl. She hated the effect he had on her.

“She’s not out anymore. She came scratching at my door, and now she’s on my couch. It’s not a big deal, but I wanted you to know where she was.”

He groaned, and she imagined that sound in a different context. She had to get a grip.

“I’m sorry. I’m in the middle of something. Can I come get her in twenty minutes or so?” he asked.

“Sure.”

She hung up the phone and focused on building her resolve. Do not pounce on him was her mantra. Her stomach grumbled, and she thought of getting up to find something to eat. That would distract her, but with this sweet dog on her lap, food could wait.

A
s if Lukas needed another excuse to see Tess. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, and his chest burned where she touched him. But with Estelle hounding him and Hayden’s impending visit, Tess was a welcome diversion.

Every time he saw the lights on at her house, he wondered what she was doing. Not that he had any intentions of pursuing things with her. She was exactly the wrong type of woman—young, gorgeous, and sweet. He didn’t deserve someone like that, but a little flirting never hurt anyone.

Now he had to go get his dog. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. Maybe she had on headphones or was upstairs or in the shower. He wouldn’t mind finding her in the shower. Not at all. He turned the knob and poked his head into the door.

“Tess,” he called. Nothing.

He quietly shut the door behind him and walked into the living room, keeping his eye out for her or Dio. He found them both, fast asleep, curled up together on the couch. His heart skipped a beat. She was even more beautiful asleep. How was it possible that she wasn’t married or at least in a committed relationship? If he had her, he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. He shook his head. Thoughts like those had to go. He’d never have her. That would be a huge mistake for the both of them.

He’d get Dio and let her sleep. She had to be tired from work. He poked at the dog’s ribs, and she lifted her head and yawned. Then she tucked her nose under Tess’s cheek as snug as she could get.

“Come on, girl, we need to go home,” he whispered. He pulled at her collar, but she pushed closer to Tess.

Tess’s eyelids fluttered open, and she looked up in confusion.

“Sorry,” he said. “Dio won’t get off the couch.”

She sat up, and Dio grumbled and reluctantly slid off the couch.

“How was your first week? Better than that first day?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. Now that he woke her, he had to say something, but he felt like an idiot standing there.

“Yes. The kids are sweet.” She yawned. Her stomach growled loudly, and she blushed.

He laughed. “Have you eaten dinner?”

Tess shook her head.

“I’m getting ready to eat. I always make way more than I should. Why don’t you join me?”

She rubbed at her eyes. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You won’t be. It’s just me and Dio, and she obviously loves you. Come on.”

T
ess took a few deep breaths and splashed some water on her face. She needed to be on full alert tonight. It would be rude to turn down the meal, and she wanted to spend some time with him or at least not be at home by herself.