Family Man

  Later that evening Luke sprawled on the sofa in Katy’s cottage and brooded about his day as he gazed into the fire. Zeke, having recently polished off the last of Katy’s most recent pesto experiment, had flopped down in front of the hearth. His dish lay beside him. Matt was studying at the kitchen table.

  The whole scene should have felt cozy and serene. But Luke could not shake a nagging feeling that he had left loose ends dangling somewhere. Or perhaps it was simply Atwood’s last words that were getting to him: At least I didn’t sleep with her before I moved on.

  Everyone seemed to agree that Katy was not his type, Luke reflected.

  He glanced up as she came out of the kitchen carrying two small glasses of brandy. She smiled softly as she handed one to him and sat down beside him.

  “You’ve been awfully quiet this evening,” Katy said.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Ah. Never interrupt a Gilchrist when he’s in a contemplative mood, I always say.” Katy took a sip of brandy. “Are you ready to tell me how it went today?”

  “I think Eden can forget about Atwood.”

  Katy put her hand in his. “Thank you, Luke. This is going to mean a great deal to Eden.”

  “I don’t really give a damn how much it means to Eden. I didn’t do it for her. I did it for you. And this had better be the last time, Katy.”

  She turned her head on the cushion to look at him with searching eyes. “What’s wrong? Why does it bother you so much to help the members of your family?”

  “They don’t deserve any help. They resent me, they’re suspicious of me, and they think I’m only here to get revenge for what happened to my parents.”

  Katy raised a brow. “Well, you haven’t gone out of your way to reassure them otherwise, have you?”

  “Why should I bother? I won’t be around long enough to worry about what they think.”

  “You are in a bad mood tonight, aren’t you?”

  “What do you expect from a Gilchrist?” Luke put down his brandy glass. “Let’s take a walk.”

  “All right.” Katy got to her feet and put her head around the kitchen door. “I’ll be back in a little while, Matt.”

  “Okay,” Matt said.

  Zeke picked up his bowl and followed Luke and Katy outside.

  Luke walked in silence for a while, conscious of Katy’s soothing presence. She had a calming effect on him even when he was in a surly mood, as he was tonight. He realized he was beginning to look forward to this strange sense of contentment that he experienced around her.

  He had never known this kind of deep certainty before with any other woman, not even Ariel. It occurred to him now that one of the attractions with Ariel had been the very lack of certainty he had known when he was with her.

  The wildness in her had been exciting, but tonight Luke questioned again how long the relationship would have lasted if Ariel had lived. How long before the jealousy and the passion and the never-ending roller coaster of emotional uncertainty would have combined into a bitter tonic that poisoned the marriage? he wondered.

  With startling clarity Luke realized he did not want a lifetime of chills and thrills. He wanted some peace. He wanted some softness in his world. He wanted happiness.

  Now that Katy had forced him to start thinking about his future, he was finding it impossible to stop. It was as though a small leak had been opened in a dike that had been holding back a great river. The hole was widening daily.

  Luke tightened his hold on Katy’s hand as if she could somehow keep him afloat.

  “How did you persuade Nate to leave Eden alone?” Katy asked.

  “I dug up some information on him. Some false financial statements he prepared a few years ago. Figured where there was smoke there must be fire. Convinced his latest backers that he was a high risk. They folded and left him with a deal that’s dead in the water. I told Atwood there was more where that came from if he kept hounding Eden.”

  Katy looked up at him in amazement. “My God. You make it sound so easy.”

  Luke shrugged. “It wasn’t hard.”

  “Maybe not for you. For anyone else it would have been impossible. You’re incredible, Luke.”

  “Rescuing idiots is not as incredible as it looks on the surface.”

  Katy smiled wryly. “You don’t have to be so hard about it, you know. It really was very nice of you to rescue Darren and Eden. And they’re not idiots. They’re just impulsive. And melodramatic. And naturally inclined to desperate measures. It’s in the blood.”

  “Katy, I’m warning you right now, I’m not in the mood to listen to any nasty generalizations about Gilchrists tonight.”

  Katy giggled. “I can’t help it. I love the way you rise to the bait.”

  He came to a halt, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her into silence. When her laughter had faded and soft little moans had taken its place Luke was satisfied. He lifted his mouth from hers and framed her face between his hands.

  “How much did he mean to you?” he asked softly.

  “Who?” Her eyes were dreamy in the moonlight

  “Atwood.”

  “Oh, him. It hurt at the time, but I got over it quickly. I don’t feel a thing now.”

  “You never slept with him.” It was a statement, not a question. Luke was certain of the answer.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Well, no. It never felt right somehow. I kept waiting until things clicked. It didn’t quite happen. And then Eden came along, and Nate was gone, and that was the end of it.”

  “You’re sleeping with me, Katy.”

  She touched his mouth with a gentle fingertip. Her eyes gleamed with amusement. “Only occasionally. Very occasionally.”

  He was irritated by her attempt at humor. “Doesn’t matter how often. The point is, you’re sleeping with me. Does that mean it feels right? That things have clicked?”

  “You tell me,” she whispered. She stood on tiptoe and brushed her mouth against his.

  “Katy…”

  “When I’m with you, Luke, I try not to think about that part of my future. It’s easier that way. And you’ve already made it clear you’re only looking six months ahead yourself. Maybe less if you clean up the problems at Gilchrist before that date. So let’s not talk about the future.”

  A slow anger rose inside Luke, chilling his insides. “Everyone, including you, says I’m not your type.”

  “Yes, well, it works both ways, doesn’t it? I’m not exactly your type either. So please don’t play games with me, Luke. Let’s at least keep what we have honest.”

  “Shows how much you know,” Luke muttered. “Take it from me, honesty is not always the best policy.”

  “I think it is in the long run,” she said, looking serious.

  “I’m not so sure of that. But I guess that’s one of the problems with angels. They put too high a value on some of the lesser virtues.”

  He pulled her back into his arms before she could argue. Some of the cold anger in him dissolved beneath the warmth of her kiss.

  Not until much later that night, when Luke was lying alone in his bed, did he admit to himself it might not have been anger he had been feeling earlier.

  It might have been fear. Fear of a future without Katy.

  That realization was too much to handle. Luke went back to being angry. It was easier.

  Three days later Luke strode down the hall to his mansion office. He was feeling good. He did not have to go into Seattle today, which meant that he and Katy could have lunch together. He was looking forward to it. He had already planned a tantalizing menu that did not include food.

  Liz glanced up from some notes she was making as he paused in her doorway.

  “Any messages?” Luke asked.

  “Mrs. Igorson just phoned. She says Mrs. Gilchrist wants to see you and Katy downstairs at t
en. She wants another update on the company’s status.”

  “I’ll just bet she does. Tell her we’ll be there.” Luke glanced over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps in the hall.

  Katy walked toward him looking bright and cheerful in a sunny yellow jacket and royal blue skirt. She had her hair clipped back behind her ears in an unusually polished style, and she was carrying an expensive-looking leather briefcase. She looked as if she was leaving for Seattle.

  Luke frowned, remembering how she had slipped out the other day to see Eden. “Going somewhere?”

  She raised her brows at his peremptory tone. “I have an appointment after lunch with a real estate agent.”

  “What the hell for?”

  “We’re going to look at some location possibilities for Pesto Presto.”

  It was becoming clear to Luke that Pesto Presto was his chief rival for Katy’s affections. He reacted accordingly. “Don’t you have work to do this afternoon?”

  “Nothing that won’t keep.” She slipped past him and went into the office. “Any messages, Liz?”

  Liz glanced speculatively at Luke, and then she smiled at Katy. “I was just telling the boss that Justine wants to see both of you in her quarters at ten for an update.”

  “All right.” Katy tossed a smile over her shoulder as she headed for the inner office. “See you at ten downstairs, Luke.”

  Luke scowled at her door as she closed it for all intents and purposes in his face. He realized he had just been dismissed.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Liz advised confidentially. “She ran things around here for so long on her own that she kind of got in the habit of acting like the boss.”

  “I’ll try to keep that in mind.” Luke stalked out of Katy’s office and into his own.

  He sat down behind his desk, switched on the computer, and leaned back in his chair. The mystery of who had been skimming money from the restaurants had been solved, but that still left the problems at Gilchrist Gourmet. He gazed moodily at the screenful of data. Roger Danvers, the computer investigator, was closing in on the troubles that had been plaguing the operation, but Luke was not interested in reviewing the latest information.

  All he really felt like doing was brooding over the love affair Katy was having with Pesto Presto.

  At ten o’clock Luke reluctantly got to his feet again and went out into the hall to join Katy. She was waiting for him, brows drawn together in a quelling little frown. Luke’s spirits brightened somewhat. He knew he was about to get another lecture. At least that meant Katy was concentrating on him rather than on her future for a while.

  “You will be tactful this time, won’t you?” Katy trotted down the stairs beside him.

  “You know me, Katy. I’m the very soul of tact.”

  She glowered anxiously. “I’m serious, Luke. You won’t say anything that might give her a hint about Eden’s little problem, will you?”

  “It wasn’t exactly a little problem, Katy.” Luke reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed the hall toward Justine’s suite. Katy hurried to catch up with him. “Eden skimmed thousands of dollars out of the two restaurants.”

  “Yes, I know, but we mustn’t let Justine know about it. I mean, that was the whole point, if you will recall.”

  Luke summoned up a suitably thoughtful expression. “Are you by any chance asking me to participate in another cover-up?”

  “No, of course not. Just be diplomatic, that’s all. The problem is under control, so there’s no need to bother her with the details.”

  “Is this my honest little angel talking?” Luke knocked on the door of Justine’s suite.

  “Luke, stop teasing me. I want you to promise me you won’t say or do anything to make Justine think Eden might have been involved in the problems the two restaurants were having.”

  “No sweat. Honey, unlike you, I can lie through my teeth without even blinking. It’s in the blood.”

  Mrs. Igorson opened the door just as Katy opened her mouth. The housekeeper glared accusingly at Luke as Katy hastily closed her mouth. “Oh, it’s you.”

  “Who were you expecting?” Luke took Katy’s arm and propelled her gently through the entrance. “A door-to-door salesman? Excuse us, Mrs. Igorson. I’m sure Justine is waiting.”

  “She’s waiting, all right,” Mrs. Igorson muttered. She switched her accusatory glance to Katy. “She wants a few explanations, and I reckon she’s entitled.”

  Katy flushed but managed to maintain her serene smile. “Yes, of course. Excuse us, Mrs. Igorson.”

  Luke watched Katy hurry on ahead. Then he turned to the housekeeper. He deliberately allowed a hint of menace to creep into his voice. “Was there something you wanted to say to me, Mrs. Igorson?”

  “Not hardly.”

  “Are you quite certain? Because if you’re going to say something—anything at all—about what you witnessed the other evening in the conservatory, it had better be to me and not to Katy. Or anyone else. Understood?”

  Mrs. Igorson’s look of scathing condemnation faded slightly. It was replaced with an expression that reminded Luke of a trapped rat. “I know my duty, and it ain’t to you, Luke Gilchrist. I work for Mrs. Gilchrist, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  Luke smiled without any warmth. “You might want to bear in mind that as long as I’m saving Gilchrist, Inc. I can do just about anything I want around here. It shouldn’t be too hard to make life hell for one nosy housekeeper. Mind your manners, Mrs. Igorson.”

  Without waiting for a response he strode down the hall toward the living room.

  “She’s too good for you,” Mrs. Igorson hissed behind him, her tone filled with brave defiance. “Too good by half. You’re not her sort at all.”

  Luke set his teeth, but he did not pause or turn around. He walked straight ahead into the living room, where Katy and Justine were already seated. A silver tea service gleamed on a small side table.

  Justine eyed him coolly. “About time you got here. I certainly hope you have more information for me than you did last time. I do not like being kept in the dark about events in my own company.”

  “Gilchrist is going to survive, Justine. Stop worrying about it.” Luke went to stand at the window. “These things take a little time. I warned you about that.”

  “I understand, but I want to know exactly what’s going on. Let’s begin with the trouble we’ve been having at the two restaurants that are losing money. Any progress there?”

  “Yes,” Luke said.

  Katy shot him a warning glance.

  “Well?” Justine demanded. “What progress? I want facts. Why have they been losing money when they’ve been functioning at full capacity?”

  Apparently not trusting Luke to handle the pointed question, Katy made an effort to step into the breach. “We think there might have been a few problems in the accounting department.”

  Justine turned on her with the shrewd instincts of a woman who had survived in a cutthroat business for nearly sixty years. “Embezzlement?”

  Katy instantly went pale and started to stutter frantically. “Heavens no, Justine. Nothing like that. I mean it was just an accident. One of those things. Bookkeeping problems. Luke has taken care of everything.”

  Luke sighed inwardly as he listened to her flustered rambling. The problem with angels was that they always had a tough time when they tried to play out of their league. It took one Gilchrist to lie to another Gilchrist. He stepped in to handle the situation before Katy screwed it up completely.

  “The losses were being caused by an error in the computer program that handled supplier accounts,” Luke told Justine. “It was no big deal. The glitch has been found and fixed. There won’t be any more problems.

  Justine eyed him narrowly. “Are you quite certain of that?”

  “You can bet on it,” Luke said.

  “W
ell, then. That’s one thing out of the way.” Justine sipped tea. “What about Gilchrist Gourmet? Are you going to be able to repair the damage there?”

  Luke thought about the information he and Danvers had put together. “Yes.”

  “What is your verdict on the problems there?” Justine persisted. “Do you feel we’re in the wrong market, as Fraser Stanfield insists we are?”

  “We can compete in that market if we want to continue doing so,” Luke said. “But it’s a tough one, and I’m not sure it’s worth our time and effort.”

  “I want to see this company diversify,” Justine reminded him. “I would feel better if I knew that the next generation of Gilchrists will have more than just the restaurants to sustain them. Restaurants are too dependent on the state of the local economy.”

  Luke kept his gaze on the sea. “I’ll clean up the problems at Gilchrist Gourmet, and then we can talk about its future.”

  “Very well.” Justine looked at Katy. “Would you mind very much leaving us, my dear? I have a few things I want to discuss with Luke.”

  Katy flushed and stood up at once. “No, of course not.” She glanced uneasily from Justine to Luke, obviously not trusting them alone together. “I have some things to do upstairs.”

  “I’ll be up in a few minutes,” Luke said.

  “Good-bye, Justine.” Katy leaned down and gave her a quick, affectionate little hug. “See you later.”

  “Good-bye, my dear.”

  Justine watched Katy leave the room. Luke mentally braced himself. He was fairly certain he knew what was coming next.

  Justine did not hesitate. She rounded on Luke as soon as the door closed behind Katy. “What is going on between the two of you, Luke? Mrs. Igorson was very upset by a scene she apparently witnessed the other night in the pool.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Don’t you dare take that tone of voice with me. I told you the day you arrived that I did not want you playing games with Katy. I meant it, Luke.”

  “I’m not playing games with her.”

  “You have seduced her, according to Mrs. Igorson. What do you call that?”

  “I call it nobody else’s business.” Luke turned around to face her. “My relationship with Katy is personal and private, and it stays that way.”