The Teacher and the Soldier (4 page)

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For the hundredth time in the last hour, Luke reached to open his room door then stopped mere inches of touching the cold metal handle.

“Fucking stupid,” he cursed loudly. Jeez. If someone was standing outside this door waiting for him to open it they would think he was losing his mind. But then he was losing it, wasn’t he? He was freaking losing it big time. He needed to get out. Outside in the cool mountain air to breathe properly. He had to stop this crap in his head where people from his childhood accosted him in the street. Even if he did meet someone who had known him before, and known what had happened, no one would ask him questions. Why would they? Ellery was a small town, but there were still over two thousand people, and only a small percentage would even know he was related to Mike Fitzgerald. No one would ask him how he was or how he felt about his dad being murdered. No one would ask him if he blamed Finn Ryan for his dad’s death. No one could possibly think to suggest that Luke was grieving.

Freaking small towns.

Stalking the short distance to his window he angled himself so he could see out without people seeing him standing there. His view of the town was slightly different here, across Main and up to the peaks opposite Ellery. He could see the lawyer’s office from here and imagined the name Bryan Grover on the small silver plaque that was reflecting the sun into his eyes. He had an appointment there in a few days when Bryan returned from wherever the hell he had conveniently disappeared to. Paperwork on the cabins signed, he could be on his way and off to Colorado where the promise of a new job and a new start beckoned. His mom had worked in that place as a secretary. She’d never wanted the cabins, or her husband, or so it appeared, her son. She’d left when Luke had just been a few days past sixteen. Had left then died in a car wreck a few months later. Luke closed his eyes. He wished he missed her, but she’d gone and she hadn’t cared about him. Why should he care?

Fucking memories.

His cell sounded again. The same number that had been plaguing him the last few days and yet another message. He made a move to delete. This was stupid, avoiding calls, staying in his room for the second day. Pressing play he held the phone to his ear.

“I’m hoping this is the right number for Luke Fitzgerald. This is Daniel Skylar. Again. Finn told me you are in town. I’m at the diner for the next hour and will hang around until you come in or I’ll come find you at the hotel.”

Luke hadn’t listened to previous messages so he didn’t know if the other ones had been polite enquiries, but this message was something new entirely. There was an edge to this Daniel’s tone, and a subtle threat. Seems like if he didn’t go to Skylar then Skylar was coming to him. He recognised the surname though. Clearly something to do with Brenda Skylar, the other owner of Ellery Cabins. The same one who had emailed him and who he had passed on to his lawyers. The inevitability of having to meet up with people in the town hit Luke between the eyes. He had to do something to get his life back on track and the first thing was to sort out the money tied to his dead parent. Everything came to him—fifty per cent of the cabins and probably a few empty bank accounts and debt. Another headache he didn’t need. He wanted to sell his stake in the cabins and use the money to try to find the peace he thought he’d had with Zach.

Of course he hadn’t needed to come to town to do that. He could have just called this all in from home, but something in him told him it was time to face the past. It could have been splitting from Zach, losing his job, money or his age. Any one of those things was in his head at any given time demanding that he laid some ghosts to rest.

He moved to the door again. Then stopped. Consciously he searched for a reason that meant he could just get in his car and go without seeing a single person. He came up empty. Shoulders back he pushed his way out of the room and into the hallway. He met no one on his way downstairs and ended up in reception where the only things separating him from outside were two swinging doors. Anxiety gnawed away inside him and he counted backwards from ten to still the rising panic. He hadn’t suffered from panic attacks since he had been nineteen and there was no fucking way he was letting this town push him back to what he used to be. No. Freaking. Way.

The step out onto the sidewalk would have looked to anyone else like that of a tourist checking out his locale, but Luke was checking for pedestrians to see if there was anyone he needed to avoid. He’d had his fill of locale when Finn had found him. The diner was maybe two minutes’ walk and in those two minutes he only met five people, all who simply walked past with no comment. The diner itself was much as he remembered. The red sign proclaiming Ellery Diner remained a gaudy red and there was a chalkboard on the side wall listing the specials. He opened the door and wasn’t shocked when every single eye turned his way. That was nothing new. Both city and small town people always wanted up in his business.

“Luke?” A voice said from his left. Luke swivelled to face the owner of the voice and blinked into the darker corner. His eyes took a little time to adjust, but when they did Luke couldn’t help the instant appreciation of a Grade-A male despite the panic that fought his interest. He stepped forward and shook the guy’s hand.

“Daniel?” he asked carefully.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Daniel said. His voice was low and sexy and…
I am so not going there.

“Sorry. I was busy doing…work…” Luke didn’t know what the hell else to say. He’d actually been hiding in his room and if Daniel knew Finn then he would probably be fully aware Luke hadn’t moved from his room. Luke had seen Finn outside the hotel on a few occasions. Paranoia had him thinking the cop was checking up on him. Or more likely wanting that chat about Luke’s dad’s death that Luke would only be having over his
own
dead body.

“Coffee?” Daniel didn’t call him on the work thing. He was either being polite or Luke was being paranoid that everyone was talking about his return.

“Please.”

Daniel waved to someone behind Luke then shuffled in his seat and appraised Luke. Luke did the same. Daniel wore sunglasses that covered his eyes and his buzz cut screamed authority figure. A cop like Finn? Forces maybe? The way he held himself, all cool, sharp confidence was what Luke aspired to and for a second jealousy spiked through him.
I wish I was this self-assured and calm and certain.
He recalled Daniel from school, four years behind him. Daniel had been the up and coming jock guy, the one with the girls on his arm and the top of the heap attitude. And he had admitted in the call he had spoken to Finn. Interesting.

“You’re a hard guy to pin down, Fitzgerald. Been trying a while now. Thinking you were avoiding my lawyers.”

“I know.” Luke could lie, but what was the point? He had to stop himself from tripping over himself with excuses and explanations when there were none that made any sense. It made him look stupid.

“Paperwork arrived for your half of the cabins. Our lawyers have been trying to track you down for weeks, because the papers need signing and we should sit and talk the future. Bryan Grover has the master deeds and you need to sign them.”

“I have an appointment to do that.”

“Good to hear. Mom will want to set up some meetings to go over planning, but for the time being it’s me you’re dealing with.” The coffee arrived and Daniel grinned up at the barely legal waitress with a wide and sexy smile that changed his features from forbidding to relaxed in a moment. He was less intimidating with a smile.

“You eating, Danny?”

“Nothing for me. Luke?”

The waitress turned to Luke and whistled low. “You the reason he keeps going to K-ville?” she asked with a leer.

“Monique,” Daniel muttered.

“Well some pretty boy has him out catting all hours.” She smirked. She sashayed away and Daniel sighed heavily.

“Small towns,” he said then cursed more to himself than to Luke. “Monique’s family is new to town, but you wouldn’t know it the way she gets up into people’s business.”

“Uh, huh,” was all Luke could say. So, gorgeous guy liked men, interesting. Impossible, but interesting. Luke wriggled in his chair when he had a rush of interest shooting south to his groin. He attempted to get more comfortable and focused on the banded tattoo around Daniel’s left upper arm and the crest on his right. There was nothing he liked more than defined tattoos on a man’s muscled arm.

“You didn’t make it back for your dad’s funeral.”

The words pulled Luke out of his musings and he wondered if he had been caught staring. Then he realised what the statement was and his back straightened.

“No.” Simple answer to a guileless statement really. Daniel didn’t appear to be digging for information.

“Cabin four is free if you want it. Your dad’s old place is gone. We took photos if you want to see where it was and where your dad died, but all that is there now is an empty space and some remaining debris that is roped off.”

Luke shook his head minutely. “No thank you,” he refused politely. The town he could just about manage, but seeing the place where he had lost everything was not on his to-do list.

Daniel was still talking. “We’ll need some investment to get a new cabin built there, but we decided on leaving it a season. So yes, I can get the photos off of mom if you want them.”

“I don’t need verification in pictures of his place,” Luke snapped. Was Daniel being deliberately deaf to what he was saying here? “I know he’s dead.”

Daniel held up his hands in defence. “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean anything by that. Just sometimes when you’re bereaved there’s a need for closure.”

“I’m not bereaved,” Luke retorted. He began counting down from ten again and covered the awkwardness after that somewhat final statement by blowing on the steaming coffee in his mug.

“Okaaay,” Daniel drawled. “So, yeah, cabin four is yours. You want me to take you up there or do you remember where it is? I assume you have a rental around here?”

“Yes, I have a rental. No, I don’t want to move into four. And hell, why are you shutting four? This is peak season you should keep it open.” Luke may well have left ten years ago, but he had been raised in this shithole town and he was well aware when the smoky mountain souvenirs sold best. Daniel narrowed his expression and his stance stiffened. Clearly he had an issue with Luke pointing this out to him.

“It’s in need of some work. It’s closed down for maintenance and overhaul,” Daniel finally said.

“I don’t want it.” Luke had answered so quickly that Daniel was bound to have seen the flash of fire in his eyes at the cascade of bitterness inside him.

“Seems silly to be paying for a hotel when—”

“For fuck’s sake, back off. I’m not going anywhere near the cabins,” Luke snapped.
Stop. You are being way too emotional here. Daniel is going to start asking questions. Pull this back.
Inhaling deeply then letting the breath out in a steady flow he calmed himself down. “I’m selling my share as soon as we find a buyer,” he said.

“Selling? We thought you might. But it’s been in your family for three generations—”

“I don’t want it. Why would I want a place in bum fuck Tennessee in a bigoted and blind dying town doing something I don’t want to do?”
So much for calm and determined.
“Sorry, Mr Skylar, but you and your mother can go fuck yourselves. You’ve had your face to face time with me and I’ve said my piece. Please pass all communication through our lawyers in future.”

Daniel’s face held shock at his abrupt summing up of the situation. Luke pushed up and out of his chair and left the diner as quickly as he could. Luke hadn’t entirely meant for the announcement to come out that way, but his brain was mush and his mouth was on auto-speak without his brain being involved. He turned right as soon as he left the door then right again until he followed the alley down the side of the diner.

“Wait! What the fuck?” Daniel caught up way too fast and was there at his side, grabbing his arm and asking him to stop. Asshole had followed him from the diner. He was right up in Luke’s space. Luke shrugged off the hold—he had a spike of fear as the grip was difficult to shake—then turned on his heel and carried on the way he had been walking. He kept going until he could walk no more and ended up at the bank of River Black that tracked its way down from Ellery Peak under the town, and beyond. The sound of the water was soothing and he allowed it to centre him even as he sensed Daniel standing next to him.

Why won’t tall, dark and sexy just fuck off?

They were out of sight and sound of town and an unease spread through Luke. Consciously he moved a couple of steps away from the physically intimidating and frankly pissed off alpha male that was demanding a reaction of him, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I only asked questions. What is it with you?” Daniel snapped. “Hell, you used the word ‘fuck’ in the same sentence as my mom. If I had a gun right now…”

Luke wasn’t fazed by that comment or the frustration in Daniel’s voice. He was less concerned about guns than he was fists and belts.

“What? You’d shoot me I guess,” Luke offered dispassionately. His defence mechanism was locking down now.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kick you to the ground after that comment about my mom,” Daniel said evenly. Luke cast a glance to his left and could see tension drawn into every line of Daniel’s body language which belied his composed question.