Page 64 of After We Fall

“And the bad news?” Harlan asks.

Luke shakes his head once. “I don’t have any idea who broke that vase and left the torn brochure. If I could’ve found who leaked the wedding details, I might’ve caught a break. But I’ve questioned everyone working on the ranch, as well as the vendors involved with the ceremony. All dead ends.”

“Do you think it was just a leftover Hercules fan?” Meredith asks.

Luke shrugs. “I guess it could be. But then I come back to the question of how that person knew about the ceremony in the first place. I’ve kept tabs on media and social media outlets. No one leaked it or used it for clickbait.”

Meredith releases a loud breath. “Well, that’s a relief.”

“Could Marcus have had anything to do with it?” Harlan asks.

“Finley swears she didn’t tell him about the wedding,” I interject. “But he mentioned it to Luke and me. So somehow he knew.”

Luke chomps on his gum, at least having the courtesy to keep his mouth closed. “The officer who’s interrogating him this morning is apprised of the situation. He’s putting pressure on Marcus to get an answer on record.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” I say. “Even if Finley did tell him, what was that incident supposed to accomplish for him?”

“Maybe it’s not about doing anything for him,” Luke says. “Maybe it’s a statement he wanted to make.”

Harlan grasps Luke’s shoulder. “Well, I guess your work here is done. Thanks so much for taking care of the girls while we were gone.”

Luke’s eyes flash to me, and he holds my stare. “Wasn’t that much of a burden.”

“I don’t remember the last time you stayed in town this long. You must be itching to get out of here. Where does your job take you next?”

Luke’s attention returns to Harlan. “Not sure. I’ll have to check with Mary.”

Something unpleasant slithers through my stomach. Is he itching to get out of here? Even after his sweetness to me? And who’s Mary? I glance at Meredith, but she’s watching the conversation in front of us unfold with the same laser interest I am.

“She still operating your office?” Harlan asks. “I thought for sure you’d have run her off by now.”

“She might run me off someday. She commands a tight ship.”

“You need it with all the travel you do.”

Luke shoves his hands in his pockets and shifts his weight.

All the travel he does. The travel that he’s not denying now.

The thing in my belly squeezes.

“What’s the name of the guy you do your goodwill trips with? Your mentor?”

Luke slides his gum to the other side of his mouth. “Robert Kitson.”

“Yeah, Robert. You guys are the Wanderlust Brothers. Any trips on the horizon?”

“He’s got his eyes on an orphanage in Costa Rica. We’re working on the dates.”

The unease slithers from my gut to my throat, robbing me of air. Mary. Robert the mentor. Goodwill trips to Costa Rica. Apparently I don’t know anything about Luke. And apparently he really is leaving soon.

I glance at Meredith again, but that proves to be a poor decision. She studies me, her head cocked to the side. I shift my focus back to Luke, who is now examining his boots. In an effort not to make eye contact with me?

But he wanted to share a pizza with me. In a year. Watch a game with me. In a year. Doesn’t that mean something?

I rub at the pit in my stomach as the reality of the scenario becomes glaringly clear. I’m not experienced with dating. Luke doesn’t feel anything for me. His declaration yesterday meant precisely what he said. He might run into me in a year and share a pizza. Watch a game. Hold my hand. Hold my hand? But that would only be by chance. Not because he chose to hang out with me. Not because I belonged in his life.

That’s fine. Absolutely.