Forever My Love: A Christian Romance (The McKinleys Book 2) Read online

  Before he could say anything that would increase the tension even more, he said goodnight and left her standing on the porch. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was all he could do right then.

  Brooke sank down on the top step, tucking her skirt around her legs. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, savoring the smell of the freshly cut grass from a nearby yard. It wasn’t her favorite scent though. She missed the lilacs that had been present earlier in June. Back then, the cooler night air had carried the light scent from the neighbor’s shrubs. She loved the smell. It was a familiar scent that she could count on each spring. It was home. Her neighborhood. The small houses. The postage stamp-sized front yards. The cracked sidewalks. It was where she and Danny belonged.

  Her gaze followed the red taillights of Lucas’s car until they disappeared around the corner. The man was wreaking havoc on her emotions every time they were together. What on earth had possessed her to share about her desire to have children? That was a dream she’d shelved when she’d realized what her father had done. What if she married and had children with a man like him? She hadn’t wanted to inflict on them what she and Eric had endured.

  She’d been so shocked—but pleased—when she’d found out she was pregnant with Danny. It had been unexpected and not what she would have planned, but once it was a done deal, she’d been thrilled. And even when Lincoln had bailed on being a dad to her little boy, she’d done her best to be a good mommy for him. And from Lucas had said, it seemed that she’d succeeded.

  Would Lucas want children? From what he’d said in their earlier conversation it had seemed as if he might. And when he’d wiped the tears from her face…it was so tempting to believe that he was different. That he wouldn’t be like her father and put his needs before others. That he wouldn’t be like Lincoln and abandon any children they might have. Nothing he’d done so far supported the assumption that he would be like either man.

  But how on earth would she and Danny ever fit into his world? She didn’t want to move into a neighborhood like where his mom lived. And she didn’t want to send Danny to some elite private school. But Lucas could never live in a place like this. He had an image to maintain being the head of his family’s company.

  Brooke let out a long breath. At least he knew where she stood with regards to how she wanted Danny raised, and it didn’t appear that he felt the need to step in and change things. Yet. They were still really early in this whole situation. Time would tell if he’d be okay with a Hamilton heir attending the local middle school.

  With another sigh, Brooke stood up and went back into the house. Daydreaming about Lucas was something she needed to avoid at all costs. In no way did she want to set herself up for any kind of heartache.

  Been there. Done that. Had the scars to prove it.

  “Are you sure?” Lucas stared at the video chat screen on his laptop, a sick feeling in his stomach.

  “One hundred percent certain,” Than said. There was a bit of a delay between his image and the sound, but the message he’d had for Lucas had been clear.

  Lincoln was still alive.

  “Have you spoken with him?”

  “A few times, but unless he’s an amazing actor, he has no memory of who he is.”

  “So what’s the story then? The authorities said that there was no way anyone could have survived that crash. Is it possible he still intended to stage his death but then something else happened?”

  “Anything is possible, man, but from what I’m hearing from people who spoke to the ones who brought him here, he wasn’t found with a parachute or anything like that. A fishing boat found him floating on a piece of debris and took him to their home. Because it was a more remote place, they tried to take care of his wounds—to stabilize him—before bringing him to a larger town. Given that he didn’t remember anything, they didn’t know what else to do apparently. Some of this Lincoln himself told me.”

  Lucas rubbed his forehead. Of all the outcomes he’d envisioned this search having, this hadn’t been one of them. “How badly is he injured?”

  “Well, he must have broken his leg because he walks with a limp. It was clearly not set properly and healed wrong. Those who found him tended to him as best they could before they brought him to the closest major city which was here but clearly they didn’t have medical training. And because they didn’t take him to the area the authorities were searching, no one realized who he was.”

  “What made you go there?” Lucas asked.

  “Well, when you’ve turned over all the possible rocks, you turn your attention to the impossible ones. Just like others who have survived plane crashes when no one else has, there’s always room for the impossible to actually be possible.”

  “So he remembers nothing?”

  “He knows how to speak English and how to take care of himself.”

  “And you’re certain he’s not faking?”

  “You know, I would never say for certain, but it seems like that. Maybe seeing you might jar something in his head. Any chance you could make your way down here?”

  “I’ll get the jet ready to go. I really didn’t expect you to find anything and definitely not this quickly.”

  “You and me both. And given what Trent had discovered, I really thought we’d find him holed up somewhere laying low for the time being. But I guess it makes more sense now that none of the money he’d stashed away has been touched. He obviously doesn’t remember what he did with it.”

  “Or he’s biding his time.” Lucas still wasn’t sure he trusted his brother to not try to pull one over on all of them. And what was the likelihood of him ever remembering his past? Of being able to answer the questions that were going to be put to him?

  “I’ll leave that up to you to determine. I’m going to hang out here and then catch a ride home in luxury.”

  “I’ll email you the details as soon as I’ve got everything in place.” He blew out a breath. “I have no idea what to tell my family. Or Brooke and Danny.”

  “Yeah, I don’t envy you that task, man.”

  After ending the call with Than, Lucas shoved back from his desk and stalked over to the large glass window. So many emotions coursed through him. Anger. Fear. Confusion. He wanted answers because he knew that others were going to ask him for them. But if what Than had said was true, answers were not going to be forthcoming.

  And what of the plans he’d made with Brooke for the cabin. Everything was in place for them to head up there in two days’ time with Lindsay and his mom. Her parents, Victoria, and Eric’s family were to have joined them on the weekend. Now he had to leave and do it without explanation. He might be able to get away with that with Brooke and Danny, but Lindsay was not going to accept a “business trip” as a reason to miss going to the cabin.

  But the sooner he got down there and got Lincoln, the sooner they could move forward and sort out the mess he’d left behind.

  He hadn’t seen Brooke since the night they’d had dinner. After what had transpired, he’d figured it would be better that way. They had talked a few times on the phone about the plans for the cabin, but now a week later, he really wanted to see her.

  Unfortunately, it was going to have to wait.

  Within two hours, Lucas was wheels up in the company jet. Once they were in the air, he phoned Lindsay. He’d decided to come clean with her because he needed her help with logistics. But he figured if he’d phoned before getting off the ground, she’d somehow manage to convince him to take her with him.

  “Hey, Linds, big favor,” Lucas said when she answered. He stared out the window as the plane cut through the billowy white clouds.

  “I’m not doing you any more favors,” Lindsay said in her blunt way. “You owe me way too many at this point.”

  “Believe me, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

  She must have sensed something in his tone because when she replied her voice was more subdued. “What’s wrong?”

  Where to start? At that poin
t, Lucas was wondering if anything was actually right. “Well, depending on your perspective—nothing.”

  “Stop with the cryptic comments, Luc. What’s happened?”

  He took a deep breath and plunged in, telling her about the suspicions he’d had after finding what he had on Lincoln’s computer and then about going to BlackThorpe for help. Finally, he ended with the details of the conversation he’d just had with Than.

  “Are you kidding me?” In Lindsay’s voice, he could hear all the emotions he himself had gone through earlier.

  “No. I would never kid about this. I’m in the plane now on my way down to get him and Than.”

  “This is gonna just shred Mom. Getting him back but with no memory of who he is? Yeah, that’s gonna be horrible for her.”

  “What’s the choice here?” Lucas asked. “Leave him down there and let her continue to think he’s still dead? You don’t think she’d want him back any way she could get him?”

  “What if he doesn’t believe you?”

  “Kind of hard to deny the physical likeness between the two of us. Probably the best way to convince him is going to be just having him look at me.”

  “I can’t believe this. I really…” There was silence on the line for a couple of seconds before she continued. “Do you plan to bring him to the cabin when you get back?”

  “I’ll see what kind of state he’s in. It might be a good place to take him. Out of all the family properties, that was always where he loved being the most.”

  “True. But what about Brooke and Danny?”

  “They have to deal with this news as much as all of us will. We can’t just ignore it. At least she’ll have her family there with her.”

  “Are you going to give her a heads up? I’m not sure she’ll think too kindly of you springing this on her.”

  “Yes. I’ll give her a call when I have a better idea of how things stand with Lincoln.”

  “And Mom?”

  “Again, once I know a bit more about his condition, I’ll talk to her.”

  Another pause. “Let me know what I can do. You don’t need to shoulder this all yourself.”

  “Just contacting Brooke and letting her know I got called out of town and still getting her and Danny to the cabin is a huge help.”

  “Sounds like I’ve got the easiest part of this whole situation.”

  “Well, brace yourself. Once we’re back, nothing is going to be easy.”

  After he promised to call as soon as he had news, Lucas ended the call. He rested his head back against the seat. The jet had been another foolish purchase of his father’s, but he was glad now that he didn't have to rely on commercial airlines to get him where he needed to go. And it would be easier to get Lincoln back to Minnesota this way, too. He had no doubt there were legalities that would need to be dealt with. He’d brought Lincoln’s birth certificate as well as copies of other documents, assuming that he no longer had his passport.

  He’d made a call to their lawyer as well, who was already working on things on his end. And though he hated to do it, if necessary, he would use whatever he had to to grease a few palms. Most important was getting Lincoln back home.

  “Lucas isn’t going to drive us?” Brooke frowned as she finished folding the last towel in the basket, her phone trapped between her shoulder and ear.

  “No. He had to go away on business, but he’ll be back before the weekend and will come join us.”

  “Should we just wait until he’s back?” Brooke wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to spend a few hours cooped up in a car with Lindsay.

  “No, he wanted us to go ahead up there. And it’s still fine for your family to join us there on the weekend. He doesn’t want this to change the plans that have been made.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me himself?”

  “He will be in contact with you, but since I am going to drive you now, he suggested I go ahead and call to line things up.”

  Something seemed off, but Brooke wasn’t going to call Lindsay on it. She didn’t know the woman well enough for that, but there was no reason Lucas couldn’t have called her himself with this information. But she wasn’t going to cancel things. Danny was beyond excited about this trip to the cabin, and he was bringing his best friend along as well.

  “Okay, so when are we leaving?”

  After they hammered out the details and it was decided that Brooke and the boys would meet Lindsay at the mansion, she hung up. As she stood there with the phone in her hand, she was tempted to tap the screen on Lucas’s name. Surely he could have spared five minutes to tell her himself what was going on. Unless he hadn’t wanted to talk to her.

  That thought was a bit unsettling, but at the same time, he’d had no trouble calling her over the past week for other things. No, something had happened, she was almost sure of it. For now she’d wait for him to call her, but she’d want some answers when he did.

  “How’s it going?” Lucas asked when Lindsay answered her phone.

  “Pretty good, but why haven’t you called Brooke yet? She is going to take your head off when you do. She knows something’s up.”

  Lucas glanced around the cabin of the plane. They had managed to get Lincoln onboard, but he was still more comfortable with Than than he was with his own brother. And from what Lucas had been able to tell, Lincoln wasn’t faking the memory loss. Knowing his brother as well as he did, he would have known in a way that Than might not have. They had some issues to deal with once they landed back in the U.S. but for now, Lucas was just glad to have Lincoln under his care. He looked pretty rough, but a haircut and a shave would help with some of that.

  “I’m going to be calling her when I’m done with you.” Lucas rubbed his fingers over his forehead. “And go ahead and tell Mom. I’m going to text you a picture of him so she can see for herself. We’ll be in Minneapolis later today and hopefully can get him through immigration without too much hassle. I’ve had Evan working on the legal end of things while I’ve been down here. If all goes well, we’ll come out to the cabin tomorrow. I’m just glad that reports of his death didn’t garner much attention, so there should be little to no press about his return to life. Here’s hoping, anyway. That’s the last thing I want to have to deal with.”

  “I know this has been hard on you,” Lindsay said, her voice soft. “Don’t think I don’t know that Brooke has stirred things in you that have never been stirred before. Having Lincoln back in the picture, especially like this, has got to be the best and the worst case scenario for you.”

  Had he been that obvious? “Well, it is one reason why I haven’t tried to push to spend more time with her. When it comes to girls, Lincoln has always come out ahead. And they have that link now with Danny.”

  “You deserve a shot at happiness, Luc. Don’t step aside for Lincoln in this situation. Be there for her. From what she’s said over the past few days, men have let her down like they have me. The most attractive quality in a man now would be to have one stand beside me while I’m going through a difficult time. Not trying to fix everything, just being there to offer support and understanding.”

  “Well, let’s just see if she’s still talking to me after I make this phone call to her.”

  “Do you want me to tell her? Would that be easier?”

  “Easier, definitely. The right thing? No.” Lucas sighed. “I’ll call her. Is she able to talk now?”

  “Yep. She’s sitting out on the dock with her phone while the boys are swimming.”

  “Okay. Thanks. Give me a call when you’re done talking with Mom.”

  After disconnecting with Lindsay, Lucas clutched the phone in his hand and bent his head. He wasn’t sure he’d done the right thing in not telling Brooke about this sooner, but it had seemed best at the time. He had wanted to have more information before letting her know what was going on.

  After breathing a prayer that God would give him the right words to say to Brooke, Lucas let out a deep breath and tapped the screen to bring up her inf
ormation.

  “About time you called,” was Brooke’s greeting when she answered.

  “Yes, I’m sorry about that. I’ve had a lot of stuff going on that I needed to take care of.” Lucas stretched out his legs and leaned back in his seat. “How are things going at the cabin?”

  “Well, I was right about one thing. This place is not a cabin. At least not by most normal people’s standards. It has marble countertops and jetted tubs. Those don’t belong in any cabin I know of.”

  Lucas found himself smiling. It was truly refreshing to view his wealth through the eyes of someone who hadn’t lived that lifestyle. He realized how much he’d been taking it all for granted for most of his life. “I hope you’re still able to enjoy it despite having to suffer the presence of marble countertops and jetted tubs.”

  “Shut up,” Brooke said, a humorous lilt to her voice. “You know it’s absolutely beautiful here. I don’t know how you ever leave.”

  “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” Forever, if she wanted.

  “If Danny didn’t have to go to school… This place is winterized, isn’t it?”

  Lucas did laugh at that. “Yes, it is. And you can just ice skate across the lake to it in the dead of winter.”

  “Are you kidding? I expect to be ferried across on a sleigh with bells and lap blankets pulled by two glorious white horses.”

  “I’m sure I could make that happen for you,” Lucas told her. And he would. If she was still talking to him after all this was sorted out, he’d do whatever he could to give her the desires of her heart.

  There was a beat of silence then Brooke said, “I was just joking.”

  “I wasn’t.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  MORE silence, but this time Lucas knew he had to break it before it got any more intense. “Look, Brooke, there’s more to my trip away than I’ve told you.”

  “Well, considering you haven’t told me anything about it, that’s pretty much a given.”