“My brothers don’t seem to realize that I’m not ten years old anymore and these are my decisions to make, not theirs.”
“If you need to talk to anyone, you know I’m as close as the nearest phone,” Haley attested. She truly liked Arielle and hoped they would remain friends even after she and Luke parted ways.
“Thank you, Haley,” Arielle reflected, hugging her. “I hope Luke wakes up soon and realizes how much he loves you. I really would like to keep you for my sister.”
Haley tightly closed her eyes to keep a fresh wave of tears in check as she hugged Arielle, too. She greatly appreciated her sister-in-law’s good wishes, but she really held no hope for that ever happening.
Chapter Nine
O n Monday evening, Luke guided Haley to the private room he’d reserved at the restaurant for the dinner meeting with his brothers, and holding the chair for her, smiled at his brothers and their wives. “Sorry we’re late, but there was an accident on I-24 and we had to make a detour.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Caleb spoke up. “We all just got here ourselves.”
“Why don’t you introduce your lovely date?” Jake teased, his knowing grin enough to set Luke’s teeth on edge. “I’ve known Haley for several years, but I don’t think you had the chance to introduce her to anyone at Emerald’s reception.”
“This is my executive assistant, Haley Rollins,” Luke announced, seating himself beside her. “Haley, these are my brothers, Caleb, Nick and Hunter and their wives Alyssa, Cheyenne and Callie.”
With the introductions complete, he noticed that Haley had grown extremely quiet. “Are you feeling all right?” he whispered, leaning close to her ear.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, then immediately turned away to engage the other women at the table in conversation.
Deciding that getting to the bottom of what was wrong with her would have to wait until after they returned home, Luke spent an enjoyable evening getting better acquainted with his brothers. They hadn’t known each other for more than a couple of days, but he knew they were building a lifelong bond and looked forward to staying in touch with them. He was also pleased to see that over the course of the evening, Haley’s mood had improved. She seemed to have opened up and was enjoying the company of his sisters-in-law, as well.
“So, when are we all getting together again?” Hunter asked as the men’s conversation about their various building projects began to wind down.
“If you’d like to come out to Wyoming this summer for a week or two, Cheyenne and I would love to have the company,” Nick offered. “We’ll give the old house a family send-off, then next summer we’ll have a get-together and christen the new log home Luke’s company is going to build for us.”
“Absolutely,” Cheyenne agreed enthusiastically. “And we’d love for you to come for a visit too, Haley.”
“We all went up there last summer and had a great time,” Alyssa Walker added, laughing. “I even learned to ride a horse.”
“I’m sure you’d enjoy yourself, Haley,” Callie O’Banyon proclaimed, smiling. “Please say you’ll try.”
Luke watched Haley give the women a weak smile. “That would be very nice, but I’m not sure what I’ll be doing this summer. If it’s all right, I’ll have to let you know later.”
No one besides himself and Jake seemed to think Haley’s vague answer was anything out of the ordinary. But when they rose to leave, Jake made it a point to pull Luke aside.
“What’s going on, bro? Why wouldn’t Haley be right there with you?”
Luke shook his head. “I have a pretty good idea and you can bet your life I’m going to find out for certain.”
As soon as they were comfortably seated in the back of his limo, Luke pushed the button to raise the privacy window between them and the driver. “You seemed to have a good time this evening.”
She nodded. “I really like your brothers and their wives. They’re all very nice.”
Silence reigned for several more minutes before he asked what he thought might be the likely cause for her moodiness. “Are you still worried that we might not have been successful yet? Because if you are, don’t be. I’m sure if you aren’t pregnant this month, you will be shortly.”
Instead of answering, she simply shrugged.
Trying to get her to open up to him was like trying to pull teeth and he was damned tired of it. “What’s wrong? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’ because you haven’t been yourself for the past few days.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She wouldn’t look him in the eye.
He shook his head. “Don’t play dumb, sweetheart. We both know you’re a lot more intelligent than that.”
When she finally raised her gaze to meet his, the sadness in the turquoise depths caused his gut to twist into a tight knot. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not…go into it right now,” she said.
He’d bet every last penny he had that she was a heartbeat away from the flood gates opening. “Okay, we’ll wait until we get home,” he concurred, putting his arm around her shoulders and drawing her close to his side. “But I want answers, Haley. And neither of us are going to get any sleep until I get them.”
The rest of the ride home was spent in complete silence and when the driver finally opened the limousine’s rear door and Luke helped her from the backseat, Haley’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point. For the past several days, she’d been struggling with herself and having dinner with his brothers and their wives this evening had helped her reach a decision. What she had to say wasn’t going to be easy and Luke certainly wasn’t going to like hearing it, but she had no choice in the matter. Her survival depended on it.
While Luke locked the front door and set the security alarm, she slowly climbed the circular stairs to the second floor and steeled herself for the argument she knew was sure to ensue. She just hoped with all of her heart she could voice what had to be said before she dissolved into a torrent of tears or worse yet, allow him to convince her to change her mind.
When she entered the master suite, Luke wasn’t far behind and after he’d closed the French doors, she turned to look at the man she loved more than life itself.
“What’s going on, Haley?” he asked before she had a chance to speak. “And don’t try to deflect the question again, because we both know that something’s bothering you.”