Some Bright Someday (Maple Valley #2) - Melissa Tagg Page 0,14
then I heard you screaming.” He lifted one corner of his mouth in a sheepish half-grin. “I busted a window to get in.”
“Oh. Okay. That’s . . . that’s fine.” Now she just had a broken window to take care of and probably glass to clean up. Add that to the list of all she needed to do to get this house ready to sell. Although why she was thinking about the house when she had three children currently sleeping just down the hall, she didn’t know. At least, she hoped they were still sleeping, considering all the noise they’d just made.
And to think, just this afternoon she’d been pondering decluttering her life.
“Hey, you okay, Jen?” Lucas’s upward gaze was fastened on her face from his spot on the floor, and apparently her nod wasn’t good enough for him. Not according to the concern narrowing his eyes. “I’m sorry about the window. I was just worried.”
“It’s fine. I’ll call somebody. S-someone who fixes windows. A window-fixer. Except it’s late so I can’t do that until tomorrow. And tomorrow’s Saturday, so I guess I’ll need to wait until Monday. Which is fine, because I’ve definitely got more immediate things to take care of in the meantime. Like finding some tarp or something to cover the window and—”
“I think maybe what you should do right now is sit down.”
She squeezed her eyes closed as she slid her back along the attic door until she was on the floor again. Knees bent, head tipped.
A warm hand settled over her forehead.
She opened her eyes to see Lucas crouched in front of her. “What are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Making sure you don’t have a fever. You’re pale. You’re suddenly quiet.” His focus traveled from her face to her bare feet—where had her other slipper gone?—and back again. “You’re wearing sweatpants. Never in the three years since you walked up to me that day in Coffee Coffee and demanded we be friends have I seen you in sweatpants.”
Her stomach growled. Why hadn’t she downed a piece of pizza earlier? “I wasn’t expecting company, thank you very much.”
“I’m just not used to seeing Casual Jen.” He grinned and stood.
“What are you doing here anyway?”
“You never came home. Someone had to check on you.”
Home. Strange how perfectly the word fit her little room at the B&B and not this house she’d spent most of her life in. She glanced up at Lucas, took in his mussed hair—long, and damp at the tips. He always showered at night, which might be a weird thing to know about a man she wasn’t related to. But then, they lived in the same house. His rhythm was as familiar to her as his hawk-like features—straight nose, high cheekbones.
But there were times she wondered if she truly knew him. She had a feeling Lucas Danby held more secrets behind those hazel eyes of his than even this house.
“Where were you earlier tonight, Luke? You never showed up for the engagement party.” Not that they’d had much of a party after finding the kids. No bonfire. No cupcakes.
No Lucas.
“I . . .” He closed his mouth. Opened it again. “Something came up.”
“You could’ve at least called.”
“I’m sorry.” He held out his hand and she placed her palm in his, let him tow her to her feet. She came up mere inches from him, though a head shorter, and huh, maybe she didn’t know all his patterns. Because whatever soap or shampoo he’d used tonight, she didn’t recognize it. Made her think of the trees out back, of a glistening first frost on a late-autumn morning.
Lucas looked back at her, a hint of a grin forming above his shadowed jawline.
“What?”
“Just thinking about you trying to kill a bat with a badminton racquet.”
“Luke, if you tell Sam and the others about this—”
“And the way you looked running down the attic steps wearing that helmet—best thing I’ve seen in a long time, Belville.” He barked a laugh.
“Not so loud.”
“And then when you knocked me down the stairs. If I had been a home intruder, you would’ve scared me straight.” His laughter filled the hallway. “I’m going to wake up sorer tomorrow than when I was in boot—”
She slapped her palm over his mouth. “Pipe down.”
He still shook with laughter, grabbing hold of her wrist and moving it away. But just as quickly, she whipped her other hand into place.