his latest undercover investigation for the FBI. He’d been gone three weeks and Megan wasn’t happy about the situation, especially when they were supposed to marry in less than a month.
“You can’t just drop the kids off and announce you’re going after Elizabeth, then walk out the door before I can ask any questions,” she said.
He hadn’t been fair to his sister. He had known that as soon as he drove away. His only excuse had been that he’d reacted out of anger and frustration after Cade Emmett called him early that morning, what seemed a lifetime and hundreds of miles ago. The Haven Point police chief called to warn him the new county district attorney, a temporary appointment until the next election, was preparing to file charges against him in the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife.
The wife he had known for months was alive and well and living on the Oregon Coast.
His reaction had been visceral, with not much thought behind it, though he’d had plenty of time to think on the eight-hour drive from Boise to the coast.
“The morning was crazy,” he answered. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking after Cade called. Thanks for taking the kids, by the way.”
“Of course. You know they’re always welcome here. I guess you won’t be back tonight, then.”
“No. A big storm has traffic at a standstill. I’m hoping we can get an early start first thing in the morning.”
“The kids are fine. Since Elliot still isn’t back, I might just take them back to your place so they can sleep in their own beds.”
“No problem. Thanks. I owe you.”
He knew this was only one tiny drop of debt in the vast ocean he owed his sister.
“So. You have Elizabeth with you?”
“Not at this particular moment in time. She’s up in the room. But yes. She’s coming back with me to clear things up once and for all.”
“That will be a relief,” Megan said. “Are you...okay?”
He squirmed at the concern in his sister’s voice. He knew what she was asking. How was he handling seeing her again?
He didn’t know how to answer. He was stuck in a hotel room with a woman he had once loved with all his heart, had grieved for deeply when he thought she was dead and had come to despise now that he knew she had chosen to walk away from the life they were building.
Yeah, he’d had better days.
“I’m fine.” He gave his second lie of the evening. “I just wish I could be home with the kids. How are they doing? Did you have a good day?”
“Yes. I took them to church,” she answered.
Luke didn’t miss the hesitancy in her voice. He knew his sister well enough to sense she wasn’t telling him something. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. You have enough on your plate right now. We can talk when you get home.”
“Megan. What happened.”
She sighed. “I guess I need to tell you. Bridger got in a fight after Sunday school.”
“No, he didn’t!”
“Do you think I would lie about something like that?”
Bridger was not that kind of kid. He was sweet and good-natured, always willing to focus on the good in other people. “I’m sure there was some kind of misunderstanding.”
“Maybe. One of the other parents saw the whole thing and intervened before it could get too ugly. Apparently another kid said something mean to Bridger and he punched him.”
“Who was it?”
“Jedediah Sparks. That kid is a pistol. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, you know?”
He did know. Jed’s father, Billy, and his mother, Arlene, were some of Luke’s most vocal critics, making sly comments about wife killers and criminals going free whenever they happened to inhabit the same space. The boy probably heard all kinds of nasty gossip from his parents.
“Did Bridger say why he lost his temper?”
“He’s not talking. He only said it was a difference of opinion and he wanted to make the other kid shut up. He feels awful.”
“He should feel awful.”
“He’s upset about punching someone in church and thinks God is going to be mad at him. More than that, he’s afraid you’re going to be mad at him. Or at least disappointed. He said you always told him the most important lesson a man has to learn is how to control his temper.”
Megan didn’t say more, but Luke knew what she was thinking. They had both shared the same son of a bitch for a father. Paul Hamilton had never given a single damn about controlling his temper. He had been harsh, demanding, cruel. Both Luke and his sister had barely survived their childhood.
“Is he already in bed? I’d like to talk to him.”
“He is. They were pretty tired after helping me shovel snow earlier at the inn.”
“Are you okay staying overnight with them? I’m sorry to do that to you. I can find someone else if you have things to do. I’m hoping we can get an early start, but I don’t know how long this weather will hold out.”
“We will be great. Tomorrow is a slow day for me. I’m just working on photos and my schedule is totally flexible. I can get the kids off to school and work after that.”
“Thank you. I owe you.” Again, the words seemed wholly inadequate. “I’ll keep you posted about the weather here.”
“Is that all you have to say? You don’t want to tell me your impressions about Elizabeth?”
He shifted, telling himself the sudden warmth seeping through him came from the gas fireplace in the lobby. “Nothing to tell. She’s a stranger now.”
“You must have had a million questions. What kind of explanation did she give? Why did she run off? Why did she change her name? Where has she been all these years while you have been raising your children, living under a cloud of suspicion?”
He gazed into the dancing flames, thinking of the woman probably asleep in the room upstairs. “I don’t know any more than I did this morning. She’s still a mystery. I told her I didn’t want to know anything. I don’t care. She can tell her story to the district attorney tomorrow.”
Okay, that had been a stupid, stubborn thing to say, his knee-jerk reaction. He was afraid that the more he knew, the angrier he would become.
The most important lesson a man has to learn is how to control his temper.
It was the advice he’d given his son and also the advice he most needed to follow himself. He found it tough enough to keep his temper contained around Elizabeth. He feared the task would become impossible once he knew the full story
