Part 20 (1/2)

Chapter 24.

To say Luke's parents were overjoyed to see him walk into the gym carrying both of my suitcases would be yet another understatement.

There were hugs and tears and some shouting. In the end, his parents were just happy to see us safe, and I could tell his dad was a little proud his son would risk his neck to save a damsel in distress. Having never been a damsel, I wasn't quite sure of my role in the drama unfurling.

”Amy! I put a cot at the end for you. And then Rachel said your dad might need one and so we put another one there, but even if he doesn't get here, you get to be an unofficial Parker this weekend, so it's like having a sister. How cool is that?” Tom's breaths came out in little gasps by the time he was finished.

”That's very cool. You want to help me unpack?”

Tom took charge of my hamper, spreading sheets, blankets and pillows and generally making a mess of a small area quicker than the water had covered the bridge. I sat on the extra cot, trying to pay attention to Tom but watching Luke behind him talk with their father. As Mr. Parker continued talking, Luke nodded his head and studied his feet a lot.

”Finally.” Rachel collapsed on my freshly made cot. ”I was getting really worried. Where's your dad?”

”I haven't been able to reach him. Luke's convinced he doesn't exist.”

”Did you try calling him?”

”Yeah, but you know. Circuits and all.” I searched for my phone in the pile Tom had thrown on the floor. ”I left him a note at the house in case he made it home, but I don't think that's possible.”

”Why not?”

”By the time we got past the bridge, it was completely flooded. We were lucky Luke's truck is so heavy so it didn't get pushed into the rails.”

Rachel perked up at that. Her hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist.

”Wait. Luke came to get you? Like rescued you from a flood most likely saving your life and perhaps finally winning your heart in the process?”

I could feel the heat rus.h.i.+ng up my neck and over my cheeks.

”Yeah, he was totally knight in s.h.i.+ning armor guy. He even got my mom's chair upstairs before we left.” I glanced over my shoulder at the Parkers where Mr. Parker was still lecturing Luke. ”I think he's paying for it now.”

”You totally need to marry him. You can be the two percent of high school relations.h.i.+ps that end in successful marriages. It's too romantic a story to waste.”

”I'm not marrying him. I'm just not mad at him anymore. There's still Chris. I haven't talked to him, and I still need to make sense of everything. You know, the fight and stuff. Luke is a really good friend and he did rescue me and it was really cool, but he's still Luke.”

Okay, even I knew most of that was a lie. But, if you can't lie to your best friend, you certainly can't lie to yourself. For some reason, no matter how badly Chris had treated me, I had to do the honorable thing and talk to him first. Tell him I wasn't interested. End whatever we had before being able to make a clean start. Hopefully with Luke.

”And...” Rachel jerked her head at a spot behind my right shoulder. ”More interesting happenings in the land of the soggy.”

I s.h.i.+fted to glance where she'd motioned toward, wondering what had gotten her attention, thinking it was probably just some teen drama to fill her time while Jared played basketball.

Unfortunately, the drama unfolding had nothing to do with the overdramatized teen version and everything to do with adults... and Chris.

Chris stood between his parents, his hand on his mom's shoulder, body turned as if she needed protection from his dad. Beside him, his mom had lowered her head as her hand made angry stabbing gestures where his dad stood dripping wet with a suitcase in each hand.

But it wasn't his parents who drew my attention. It was the younger bottle-blonde woman standing next to Mr. Kent. Before I could pull everything together in my mind, Mr. Kent stormed off, suitcase and blonde in tow, leaving Mrs. Kent to collapse against Chris, her shoulders shaking in quick, snapping shudders.

I should go over there and see if there's anything I can do.

”Don't even think about it.” Rachel's hand had already landed on my knee. ”That isn't your deal. You haven't even met his mother. And, G.o.d forbid you be a girlfriend when he needs you, but not when you need him.”

She had a really great point about not having met his mom. Plus... my gaze slid back to Luke. Luke. Yeah, that was the ”plus”. Plus I had no interest in being near any guy but Luke.

And that was suddenly very okay with me.

An hour later, I still hadn't heard from my dad.

I pushed the speed dial, hoping for the best. When nothing went through, I set an auto ring-back and shoved the phone in my pocket. It wasn't like he'd called me either.

Early evening came and the parents were treated to a hands-on experience of what the school fed us every day. Good to know that those square, frozen pizzas stayed ”fresh” all summer... or not.

I'd almost forgotten the dial-back and was giving up on seeing him ever again. Maybe he'd notice when I left for college.

”Amy!” My dad's voice managed to drown out the entire Parker man-clan. Oh, and the entire Red Cross and displaced Ridge View populace.

As I scanned the crowd, part of me... okay, a lot of me... feared I wouldn't recognize him outside our house. Like when you run into someone you kind of know somewhere you'd never expect to see them. How could this person who'd become a stranger be so eager to get to me?

But, the moment the crowd parted, I knew him.

He had the same short haircut, with the gray around his temples. The black-rimmed gla.s.ses he'd had so long they'd gone out of style and come back in slipped down his nose unnoticed as he rushed toward me.

A woman grabbed a mop-top child out of his way as he stormed through the gym, his briefcase swinging wildly in step.

”Amy,” he called again, stepping over Tom and Mr. Parker's card game. By now, my cloak of invisibility had been completely pierced by his sonic boom. He drew up short, halting before me where I'd risen at his first shout. Had we always seen almost eye to eye?

I stared at him, this man who had pushed me aside, refused to see me, and drifted away day by day over the last six years until he was nothing more than a stranger wearing my father's face. His eyes narrowed as he studied me. I held my breath and worried at what he saw. At how much he saw.

The gym came alive around us again, and I still waited until the silence between us pa.s.sed uncomfortable and exploded into agonizing. I curled my hands into tight, finger-pinching fists behind my back.

A warm hand alighted on my shoulder and slid to where my hands clasped at my back. It stabilized me, centered me. I glanced over my shoulder at Luke who hadn't deserted me in the awkward situation. At that moment, he was even more of a hero than when he'd rushed up the front stairs with a river rising behind him.

In front of me, my father still stood there, briefcase handle clasped between both hands.

”I packed you a bag.” I glanced down at the case and wondered if there was anything I could have brought for him he would rather have had. ”You know, clothes and stuff.”

”That's good.” He nodded. Awkward. Stilted. ”Thank you.”

Behind me, Luke cleared his throat, probably wanting to give me an excuse to let all of us out of the most uncomfortable situation since that time on The Bachelor the guy changed his mind after proposing. I threaded my hand through Luke's and pulled him around beside me. When he squeezed my fingers, I glanced down and saw we held hands, and that I'd grabbed him and was holding tight. Again.

I dropped that hand faster than I'd rushed at him earlier when he'd appeared in my drive.

”Dad, this is Luke Parker.”