Page 20 of His Secret Obsession
I smirk, loving the way she narrows her eyes at me.
“Are you worried I’ll forget to check under your bed for monsters?” I quip, my smirk widening when her nostrils flare.
She throws her hands up in the air with an exasperated groan, ignoring my laughter as she turns on her heels. Then she disappears up the staircase, mumbling something about “grown men who act like children.”
“Think she’ll knife me when I’m not looking?” I wonder aloud.
“Can you just try to get along with her, please?” Luke asks, his voice strained. “And keep an eye out for her? She doesn’t have much family left.”
Something tight clenches in my chest. “Yeah, her parents. I remember.” I take a large gulp of beer, my amusement drying up.
“Yeah. She doesn’t say it, but I think she’s still messed up over it.”
I roll my eyes. Of course, it still affects her. She was riding in the back seat of their car the day they wrecked, and she was trapped inside a mangled vehicle with their dead bodies still bleeding out in the front seat.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
“I’ll watch out for her,” I assure him, meaning it this time.
As if I would ever let any harm come to that woman. She may not be mine, but I’ll protect her just the same.
“Thanks, man.” Luke sounds tired, and I notice the dark circles under his eyes. A twinge of concern pushes itself to the front of my brain. As he turns towards the staircase, his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He hasn’t been home much this week, and it makes me wonder what he does with his time when he’s not with Maddie.
“Luke?”
He pauses on the bottom step, turning to give me a questioning look. For a moment, I remember the little boy who used to ride his bike up and down the driveway. He would fly down the hill so fast that pieces of gravel would fling out behind him. I would stand in the open doorway of the shop, my hands covered in grease as I watched him. Oftentimes I would call after him, warning him to slow down before he wrecked. And inevitably, he would spin out and come hobbling over to me with a skinned knee.
And I would wash it out before patching a Band-Aid over the bleeding wound, his quiet sniffles pulling on my heart strings.
“Is everything okay?” I ask him quietly. I take another swig of beer, so he won’t see the hope on my face, the yearning for him to let me in. A long moment of silence follows, and I begin to fidget.
“Yeah, man,” he finally says, blowing his cheeks out and exhaling loudly. His voice is quiet, resigned. “I’ve just been…trying to figure something out.”
“Is it—is it something to do with Maddie?”
He shakes his head. “No, she’s great—I…We’re good.”
And why does that feel like a kick to the chest?
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
His downcast eyes make me want to shake him for answers. Then he opens his mouth to speak. And for a moment, I think he’s going to let me in again, like he used to.
“It’s nothing,” he says instead, shaking his head as his fingers tap on the stairway banister. “I just…have a lot going on.”
I hate the dejection in his tone.
But I remember what Maddie said about Luke needing me to be more of a brother figure and less like a father. I decide not to push for any more information, even if it goes against my natural instincts. Despite my disappointment, I still recognizethat this is more than he usually gives me. And I should give him something in return.
“I miss you,” I admit.
His eyes soften, and his shoulders relax. “Yeah, same. I think this job will be good for me. Maybe the time away will give me some perspective. And when I get back, maybe we can hang out sometime?”
Something warm swells inside my chest at the thought.
“Yeah.” I duck my head, unable to stop the grin from stretching across my face. “We haven’t been fishing in a while. Or maybe we can take out the four-wheelers if it’s warm enough.”
“Sounds like fun,” Luke says, his own grin looking genuine. It slips a little as he nods towards the stairs, his eyes lingering on the vacant hallway. “I’m going to go talk to her.”
