Читать книгу Back To Luke - Kathryn Shay - Страница 11

LUKE STOOD OVER the foundation of the new Harmony Housing and felt a sense of anticipation, as he always did at the beginning of a construction project. He savored the smell of newly poured concrete for the basement. When the outer shell took shape—the joists and girders, the frame and the plywood, and finally the roof—he experienced a father’s pride for what he’d lovingly created. He’d never told anybody about his sense of connection with the buildings he helped put up, not even Timmy or, now, Jess.

“Looking good, isn’t it?” His brother-in-law Cal Sorvino had come up to him. Cal appeared tired this morning, and Luke noticed again how much weight the man had gained.

“Yeah.” Luke tipped back his hard hat, feeling the sweat on his scalp. April had turned into no-coat weather. “Was it okay helping out with the foundation?”

Cal ducked his head, embarrassed. “Yeah, sure. We need the money, with Louie going to college next year.”

Luke bit back his opinion. Cal was an electrician and good at what he did, but with the economy not doing well, there weren’t a ton of jobs in his field, especially in the winter. Still, he should be making ends meet, but he wasn’t good at managing his money. Luke’s sister Corky did her best—she worked full-time as a paralegal—but for as long as Luke could remember, they’d had financial problems. And unbeknownst to Corky, Luke gave Cal money periodically. “You’re industrious, Cal, taking on construction.”

“Not all of us have stashes in the bank.”

Stiffening, Luke glanced away. He’d made more money than he’d ever need in those years overseas, then again when he returned to the U.S. and joined Madison Conglomerates. The cash had flowed freely, but so had the booze and cocaine. He’d been able to handle the latter, but Timmy hadn’t.

Cal said, “I see you hired on Mick O’Malley.”

“Yeah.” Luke’s gaze strayed to Timmy’s older brother. Unlike Cal, Mick was thin and his shoulders were perennially hunched. “He’s strapped, too.”

“He hates your guts.”

“He’s got a reason.”

“No, he doesn’t. Timmy’s drug use wasn’t your fault.”

Of course it was. Luke had been busy himself, trying to get ahead, and then Jayne Logan had entered his life and he’d got wrapped up in her, spent as much time with her as she’d allowed. If he hadn’t been so enthralled with her, maybe Timmy…

Luke was distracted from the thought when Jess’s Jeep pulled up to the site. He wondered how things had gone over the weekend with Naomi. Jess climbed out of the driver’s side, wearing an outfit similar to Luke’s—jeans, work boots and a navy-blue T-shirt that read Live in Harmony.

Then the passenger door opened and Jayne slid out of that side. What the hell was Jess doing bringing her to the site? She wore jeans, too, and a Harmony T-shirt that fit her…nicely. A blinding burst of lust came out of nowhere and slammed into Luke as he remembered exploring every single inch of her.

“Hey, guys.” Jess looked as if he hadn’t gotten much sleep, but he managed a smile.

“Jess.” Luke tipped his hard hat to Jayne. “Hi. What brings you here?”

Jayne glanced at Jess. “I came to see Jess’s project. I’ve never been to a Harmony Housing site.” When Luke didn’t respond, she asked, “You head the construction, right?”

Luke nodded to his truck, where Corelli Contracting was scrawled across the door. “Yeah.”

Jess grinned. “He runs the show, is what he does. Gives me time for paperwork and supervision.”

“You’ve hunted up a bricklayer and hammered a few nails yourself,” Luke said.

“Not like you.” Jess leaned closer to Jayne. “Luke usually works alongside whoever he hires.”

“A real man’s man.”

“Yep,” Jess said, his tone full of pride. Apparently he’d missed the sarcasm of her quip.

“Come on, Jaynie.” Jess tugged on her arm. “Let me show you the plans for this set of houses. We’re building twenty-five, and ten of them are in this tract.”

Sadness flitted across Jayne’s face. Briefly, Luke wondered what it would be like to be kept from doing the job you loved. He felt a stab of guilt for not having more sympathy for her, especially when he recalled how vulnerable she had been when he’d first met her in New York.

They walked away and Luke stared after them, mesmerized by the gentle sway of Jayne’s hips until he heard a low whistle behind him. Pivoting, he found one of the framers, a young man in his twenties, tracking his gaze. “Andy, I’d watch that if I were you. Sexual harassment is illegal these days.”

Andy snorted. “I saw you undressin’ her with your eyes, boss.”

Shit. He turned and headed over to a nearby truck, where workers were unloading steel girders. Time for some physical labor if his attraction to Jayne Logan was that easy to spot.

SEATED IN Jess’s trailer at a table by the window, Jayne pored over the plans for the low-income units Harmony Housing was building. She always did this on her own projects—checked the specs, the slopes and the dimensions like a mother carefully going over her child’s weight, height and girth. What on earth would Jayne do if she lost her babies and couldn’t design buildings anymore? If the architectural board found gross negligence? Or just plain stupidity?

Jess put his hands on her shoulders. “You’ll get to do it again, Jaynie.”

“You always could read my mind.”

He dropped down next to her. “It’s written all over your face.” An encouraging smile. “I can help you wait this out.”

“I’m still not sure…”

“Don’t you want to be part of Harmony Housing? The volunteers always need help.”

Jayne ran her fingers over the blue-lined drawings. “Truthfully, I want to. But it’s not the best thing for you.”

“Can we please get off that?”

“No. Think of how Naomi would react if I was working with you every day.”

He drew in an exasperated breath. “Do you have any idea what it’s like when the person you love most in the world thinks you’re a cheater? That she groups me with the men in her family? It hurts like hell.”

Jayne remembered loving Ben so much. When he betrayed her, she thought she’d die. She’d truly believed he was the man for her, and that he meant it when he said he loved her and they’d be together forever. His betrayal had ultimately kept her from throwing herself into a relationship with Luke. At least she hadn’t invested too much in him.

“I only know how bad it felt when Ben turned on me.” Jayne covered his hand with hers. “It’s different when you’re married.”

“Stay, Jaynie. At least until you find out what’s going on with your career.” She hesitated, and he added, “Can I please have my way for a change?”

When she didn’t answer, Jess stood and drew her into a hug. For a minute she let his easy affection comfort her. She wanted to stay here with him. And she needed something to do if she was to delay new projects until the architectural board decided. “All right. I’ll work on your houses until the board makes its decision.”

The door to the trailer opened. Jayne looked over to find Luke in the entrance. His eyes narrowed, and she realized the way she and Jess were standing could be misconstrued.

“Isn’t this cozy? You said nothing was going on between you two.”

Pulling back, Jess took her hand and brought her closer to Luke. “Nothing is. Like you mean, anyway. Actually, we were sealing the deal.”

“What deal?”

“Jayne’s agreed to work at Harmony Housing until she goes back to California.”

She thought Luke was going to pop a blood vessel. “Why? So she can screw up more buildings?”

JAYNE SHOOK HER HEAD and gave Luke a look that made him feel like he’d just kicked a puppy. “I’m going to wander around the site, Jess.” Her voice was hoarse. Hurt. Without saying a word to Luke, she went out the still-open door. Jess rounded on Luke.

“That was cruel.”

“Maybe, but I don’t care about her feelings.”

His friend’s face reddened. “How can you say that?”

Because she didn’t care about mine when she left me high and dry. “Because you need to hear the truth, even if you don’t want to. That woman isn’t good for you, and having her in town, let alone at the site, is a very bad idea.”

Jess’s features were stern and very un-Jess-like. “I don’t want to talk to you about Jayne.” Jess cocked his head. “You didn’t want to talk about her, either, when you came back to town. I always wondered why, since you worked with her for almost a year.”

Luke just stared at Jess. “That was the worst time in my life.”

“Because of Timmy.”

Luke didn’t respond.

“All right. You’re entitled to your feelings. But you’re not entitled to hurt Jayne. What were you thinking, saying something like that to her? Do you have any idea how fragile she is now?”

Fragile would be the last word he’d apply to the current Jayne Logan, though that look she’d given him had pierced even his hardened heart. “Because of the building collapse?”

“For one thing. But Luke, she doesn’t have family like we do to support her. And she’s had some pretty big blows in life to deal with alone.” He scowled. “How did you know about the Coulter Gallery collapse, anyway?”

“Isabella looked her up on the Internet.”

“So you’d have ammunition against Jayne.” Wearily, Jess sank behind his desk.

After a moment, Luke dropped into the chair in front of it. “Listen, I’m just worried about Naomi.”

Jess shook his head. “This is all wearing so thin. You know what I’ve been thinking about? When you have to keep doing penance for a sin you didn’t commit, you start wondering if you might as well just do it.”

Luke felt his blood pressure rise. The thought of Jayne and Jess together, like that, like Luke had been with her, enraged him. Damn it, he never got jealous. “Oh, great, she’s back in town only a few days and she’s got you thinking about screwing her.”

Jess didn’t say anything. Often his best weapon was silence.

“Tell me the truth now.” Luke was thinking about how pretty Jayne was, how passionate she’d been in his arms, how great she’d always made him feel in bed. “In the cold light of day. What if you could have more? Have Jayne in your life permanently?”

“You know, maybe if people would let me have her in my life, without insisting it was going to turn into something sexual, then you’d see nothing has happened—or ever will happen.” He stood. “I’m tired of rehashing this. I’m going out to find her. I hope she hasn’t left the site.”

Guilt, deep and heavy, had Luke standing, too. And something else. Residual feelings for Jayne he was forced to acknowledge. Damn! He could understand the white-hot attraction that kept coming back, but how could he still care about her after all this time, after how she’d left him? “No, let me go find her. I’ll apologize.”

Jess watched him with eyes full of real pain. Luke cursed himself for hurting his friend. Maybe some soul baring was in order. “If it helps any, she reminds me of who I used to be, Jessie. Who I was when I knew her in New York.”

“You say that as if she’s committed a crime by choosing the life she has.”

“I hate her world.”

“I think she does, too. You have more in common than you think.”

Luke frowned.

“Be careful with her, Luke. I mean it.”

Outside, the air had gotten even warmer, or maybe it was being on the hot seat that made Luke sweat. He scanned the area and didn’t see Jayne anywhere. Oh, man, he hoped she hadn’t left. Sometimes Luke could kick himself for his tendency to bully, to orchestrate things, to fix them in a way he thought they should be fixed. In times of stress, he couldn’t seem to control that fault. He crossed to the foundation and was relieved to find her in the basement, inspecting the work that had been done.

Seeing her down there catapulted him into the past. One Saturday morning, when the crews had been off and the site where Madison Conglomerates was building the condos was empty, he and Jayne had been walking around the perimeter, and he’d gone down into the foundation. She’d followed him down the ladder and jumped on his back, her legs banding around him. It was about three months into their relationship and she’d gotten more playful by then, her caution because of asshole Ben Scarborough diminishing. Luke had given her a piggyback ride for a few feet. Then he stopped, pivoted suddenly and anchored her against the cinder blocks. She’d encouraged him, and he’d kissed her senseless. He had her shirt open before he realized where they were. They giggled all the way back to her father’s corporate apartment, where she was staying, and they made playful love the rest of the morning.

After seeing her and Jess together this morning, after hearing Jess talk about committing a sin, Luke realized he wanted to murder anybody who got to touch her. Including his best friend. What exactly did that say about him?

No matter, he thought, picking up a hard hat. He had to go do his least favorite thing—eat some crow.

LUKE’S WORDS PLAGUED Jayne.

Why? So she can screw up more buildings?

Against her will, she remembered how he used to be her champion: You were right to stand up to the building inspector…Good for you, insisting the plumber change what he’d done wrong…Man, you are so smart about these plans. Nobody else saw what you did.

Now he thought she was a screwup.

On top of that, Luke’s pithy comment in the trailer had given her a preview of what she’d face if she was guilty…or maybe even if she wasn’t. Reputation was everything in the architectural world. When she started to panic at the thought of losing the most important thing in her life, the only thing in her life, she took deep breaths and tried to concentrate on the building around her. But Luke’s accusation hammered inside her head and she felt ill.

From the corner of her eye, she saw someone climbing down the ladder. Expecting Jess, Jayne was surprised to see Luke. He descended gracefully for such a big man. She’d always loved that about him—his agility, his gentleness for someone his size. When she began to remember what that meant in bed, she adjusted her hard hat over her eyes to cover her expression as he strode toward her. She had to stand up to him, but he’d taken the wind out of her sails earlier—which hadn’t been hard, because her self-confidence now was only a whisper of a breeze. Still, she steeled herself as he reached her.

“I’m sorry I said that. It was mean and uncalled-for.”

She hadn’t expected an apology, knew he hated to make them, and waited to hear what he’d say next.

“I was out of line, but what are you thinking to even consider working with Harmony Housing? I can’t imagine what Naomi will do when she finds out.”

Jayne shook her head. “I can see how sorry you are.”

“I’m not very good at apologizing.” He rolled his eyes. “I don’t do it very often.”

“I remember.”

“I’m overprotective of Jess.”

She looked away. “My coming to Riverdale was a mistake.”

“Isn’t there somebody in California you could go to?”

Keeping her gaze averted, she shook her head.

“Why, Jayne?” His tone had softened, making her go mushy inside. “Why didn’t you ever find anybody out there to share your life with?”

“I won’t talk about that with you.”

“Why not?”

Because, once she’d left Luke and dated other guys, she’d realized if she couldn’t make it with him, she probably couldn’t make it with anyone else. And after two failed relationships, she’d thrown herself into her work and only dated casually.

He lifted a hand, dropped it in a helpless gesture. “Never mind. I don’t want to know about you and other men, anyway. Do what you want about staying. Especially if you have nowhere else to go.”

“Before Jess convinced me to stay, I was planning to go to my condo in Florida and work on new projects. Perhaps that was a good idea after all.”

“And be alone while the architectural board is making a decision?”

“I’m used to being alone.”

“I can’t fathom that.”

“Because you’ve always had your family and friends to depend on. You have no idea how lucky you are.”

“I’m sorry about that, Jayne.” He pulled off his hard hat to reveal spiky, wet hair. “I always hated how your family treated you.”

She lifted her chin. “Yes, well. None of that matters.” To change the subject, she pointed to the foundation. “I see you used concrete instead of cinder blocks. It’s not that popular in California.”

He tracked her gaze. “It sets faster, so we can get on with the house quicker.” He was silent a moment. “Look, stay in town if you want, but try to stay out of my way on the site, and I’ll do the same with you.”

She eyed him carefully, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It did. “And try not to cause trouble between Naomi and Jess.” He shook his head. “I hope you both know what you’re doing.” He started toward the ladder without giving her a chance to respond.

As she watched him walk away, she wondered how she was going to be able to avoid Luke on the site. Given the current state of her affairs, she wasn’t sure she had the strength to take him on, too.

THAT AFTERNOON, Luke rounded the corner of the trailer and stopped short. Jayne stood near the flatbed truck that delivered the lumber, hefting one end of several two-by-fours bound together, while someone else picked up the wood in the truck. The load weighed way more than she could handle. Her face was flushed; sweat beaded on it. He strode over to her to shore up the beams.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked hotly as he took the brunt of the weight by standing in front of her and grabbing the long two-by-fours.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He waited until the lumber was set on the ground and the man was off the truck, then turned to the foreman of his general contracting crew, who also oversaw the volunteer work. “Ranaletti, why’d you let her haul this stuff? It weighs a ton.”

“She insisted.” Ranaletti was a good guy and seemed amused. “I thought she’d topple over at first lift. But she didn’t.”

In Luke’s peripheral view, he saw Jayne fume. She bent down, hoisted up the wood and nodded to the guy at the other end. “Let me help you get this over to the foundation, John.” She glared at Luke. “Then I can come back and fight with you.”

“I said I’d carry it.” Not only did her overexertion piss him off, he also wasn’t used to people questioning him on the site.

“Like hell. I was doing just fine until you rushed here on your white horse.”

He stared her down; she moved in closer and nudged him out of the way with her shoulder. “I mean it, Luke.”

Damn it. Let her pull a muscle. Maybe an injury would keep her out of the way. He stepped back.

Though her biceps strained, she carried the lumber—backward no less—over to the foundation. Yanking off her hard hat, she stalked back to him. Those violet eyes looked like purple flame and her damp hair gleamed in the sun. Her face was beet-red. Appealingly, Luke thought incongruously, as she was ready to ream him out. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

“Excuse me? I’ll run this site however I choose. I am the contractor.”

“Damn you, you said you’d stay out of my way. Or did you just mean I should stay out of yours?”

Actually, he had.

“Oh, God, you did.” She stood straight and threw back her shoulders. “Don’t interfere with what I’m doing.” Her expression was haughty and, despite her somewhat bedraggled appearance, she seemed like royalty. “In case you didn’t notice, I carried that just fine.”

He’d noticed. “You’re stronger than you used to be. So what?”

“FYI, I can bench-press my own weight and I run two miles every day. I’m in great shape.”

Because he couldn’t disagree with the proof of her buff body, and because curiosity got the better of him, he asked, “How come?”

“So,” she said, again like queen chiding her subject, “I don’t have to deal with chauvinists like you pushing the little lady out of the way.” She turned and walked back to the truck.

“Ooo-ee,” Ranaletti said, “she sure told you, boss.”

“The bitch.” This from Hank Herman, a framer who had no tact and never dealt well with women in construction.

“Man, how long is she going to be here?” Juan Gomez asked. He was a peacemaker and one of Luke’s favorite workers.

Luke faced his crew. They shouldn’t be letting loose with nasty comments, but since he’d just made an ass out of himself as an example, he didn’t correct them.