to have boyfriends but she never let them slow her down, or knock her off her course. But this guy … she met a young soldier who was between deployments and he just knocked her sideways. I met him. He was knocked sideways too. Seemed nice enough, though really grim, for someone as sunny-natured as Lucy. He’d just qualified as a Navy SEAL. At the time I didn’t really know what that was, but I’m good at research. Everyone nowadays knows about SEALs, the tip of the spear and all that, but I didn’t then. He scared me. Lucy was head over heels in love with a man who ran into danger for a living. With a gun. And something else scared me. He was Bard Redfield, Court Redfield’s only child. Court Redfield was a state representative at the time, a man on the rise and burning with ambition. He went on to become California’s governor, Deputy Director of the CIA, currently a Senator. They say that eventually he wants to run for President. And he is a cold-hearted ruthless son of a bitch.”
This time Hope pressed pause. She kept her finger on the button, frozen.
She was still for so long Luke started worrying. “Hope? Honey?”
She didn’t answer. Just drew in a deep breath and pressed the pause button again.
On screen, Frank Glass unfroze.
“Court Redfield had no intention of letting his only child marry ‘trailer park trash’.” Glass’s hands rose, trembling, as he made air quotes. The video glitched. It had been edited. He reappeared, sitting down as before, but with a sweater on.
“Sorry,” he wheezed. “Had to stop to catch my breath. It’s getting harder and harder. Okay. To pick up where I left off, in April of 1990, Bard disappeared on a mission and Lucy heard nothing from him. Then his father showed up.” His face tightened, grooves running down his cheeks. “Lucy said he scared her. Showed up in this huge black SUV, with two bodyguards, armed and standing at attention outside. He came in, didn’t sit down, told her Bard had been killed in action. He never wanted to see Lucy again. Told her never to contact him.” He sighed, bowed his head. “Two days later she found out she was pregnant.”
Luke looked sharply at Hope. She was still, barely breathing. There it was. The reason for everything that had happened to her. And he saw, with a sudden uncomfortable flash, that it was going to end in heartbreak.
The monitor showed a different image. Hope drew in a shocked breath.
“There he is. Hubbard Redfield. Known as Bard,” came Glass’s voice offscreen.
Up on the screen was a photograph of a young man in dress whites. Luke could read his uniform like a book. He was a SEAL, which meant he had discipline and smarts. Among the many medals decorating his chest was a Navy Cross and a Silver Star. The man was brave and had seen combat. He had that young/old look of men who’d been in combat while young. Their bodies were still supple and able and they were at their physical peak but something inside them would never be young again.
He was compelling — grimly handsome with a narrow face, dark hair, green eyes.
He looked exactly like Hope, down to the slightly uptilted eyes, narrow nose, well-defined mouth. There could be no doubt at all they were related.
Hope was staring, hand over mouth, frozen. Luke reached out and pulled her gently toward him. She was stiff, unyielding, more like a life-sized doll than a person. Shock had hollowed her out. It was awkward holding on to her like that but he didn’t yield. She needed to feel human contact. He held her less like a woman he cared for and more like a wounded comrade. She’d been hit, was bleeding, even if it didn’t show.
He held the back of her head, giving her the comfort of his body heat. One hand shielding her head, one hand against her back, protecting the head and the torso. She lay her forehead against his shoulder and shuddered out a breath.
Fuck it. Luke opened his arms, picked her up out of the chair and settled her onto his lap.
He held her tightly, tucking her head in under his chin. Making her warm, making her feel safe.
Shock — even psychological trauma — could be deadly. Her blood would have rushed to the core vital organs, leaving her dazed and confused. He gently held her hand, which was icy, and surreptitiously