Luke drew her close and looked deeply into her eyes. “Has anyone ever told you that your brand of positivity is contagious. If we could bottle it, we’d make a small fortune.”
Stella shook her head. “Oh, I’ve had my moments of negativity, especially in the last few years. But all in all, I know I’m blessed. Life really is good. I’ve learned to make lemonade out of my lemons.”
“I like your style, Stella Marshall.” He looked her up and down approvingly, his eyes lingering on her curves. “Matter of fact, I like pretty much everything about you. The way you kiss me. The way I catch you checking me out sometimes when you don’t think I’m watching you.” He stood back and openly admired her. “The way you look in those jeans.” He let out a low whistle of approval.
Stella waved her hand in front of her face. “You sure know how to make a girl blush.”
“Oh, babe, I’m just getting started,” Luke drawled as he pulled her into his arms and began kissing her like nobody’s business.
***
Bright and early, Luke woke up and grabbed a quick breakfast of eggs and toast in preparation for his trip to New Hampshire. After putting the Smiths’ address into his GPS, Luke was ready to hit the road. He’d purchased a few audiobooks and a gritty voice filled the car as he listened toMurder on the Orient Expressby Agatha Christie. As the miles passed by, Luke found himself relaxing as he tried to put himself in the shoes of Hercule Poirot and catch a killer. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed a full-fledged mystery written by the grande dame of suspense. He was enjoying it way more than he’d anticipated.
It was a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Renfrew. In addition to his audiobook, Luke enjoyed the beautiful New England landscape—lots of greenery and trees. Before he knew it, he was a half hour from his destination and filled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He had so much to say to the Smiths. So many words he’d bottled up inside of him for the last seven months. Luke hadn’t told Brando he was visiting the Smiths out of fear that his friend might try to dissuade him from going. He’d managed to find their address from an old email the Navy had sent out for sending condolences to Kenny’s family.
One hundred and twenty-six Silver Hill Road. The house was a white clapboard structure with navy shutters. A white picket fence surrounded the property. A profusion of flowers graced the side yard. A vintage baby blue Ford sat in the driveway. It brought a smile to Luke’s face. Kenny had always talked about his grandpop’s old car and how he and his father had worked countless hours to overhaul the vehicle so it would be drivable.
“Somebody has a green thumb,” Luke said out loud as he stepped out of his truck and surveyed the place. The front porch looked inviting with brightly colored Adirondack chairs and a big basket of sunflowers gracing a table. As he opened the gate and proceeded toward the house, a rustling noise gained his attention. A woman was digging in her garden, resting on a kneeler as she went about the business of tending to her flowers and vegetables. She was wearing a sun visor and a pair of faded overalls.
“Hi there. Mrs. Smith?” he called out as he advanced in her direction.
“Not looking to buy anything,” she answered in a brisk tone as she cut her eyes at him. With sepia-colored skin and big brown eyes, she was an attractive woman. Luke’s chest tightened. Her resemblance to her son was striking. There was no question that she was Kenny’s mom.
He took off his Red Sox cap and placed it in front of him. “Ma’am, I’m not trying to sell you anything. I’m here to talk to you about your son, Kenneth.”
She reared back so that she was sitting up. Her eyes were full of suspicion. “Who are you?”
“My name is Luke Keegan. And I was your son’s SEAL team leader,” he said, introducing himself. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you ever since Kenny passed away, but I wanted to give your family some space and time to properly grieve. I know it might seem a bit odd for me to just show up, but Kenny and your family have been on my heart and mind lately.”
“I know who you are. My son used to talk about you all the time.” Dorothea was staring at him with a shuttered expression. “He thought you were the model Navy SEAL. My Kenny wanted to be just like you.” Her lip curled upward. “Only now he’s dead. All because you wanted to be a hero.”
“Mrs. Smith, I never wanted—”
“Save it!” Dorothea called out, cutting him off. She scrambled to her feet and faced him. “You got your Medal of Honor and lots of media coverage, all at my boy’s expense. He thought your word was bond and it got him killed.” She let out a brittle laugh. “He once said the SEAL team would follow you through fire if you asked them to. And that’s exactly what they did!” She let out a sob as tears streamed down her face.
Dorothea’s pain was palpable. It was an explosive thing, pulsating in the air around them. It gutted him to see her like this, so broken and filled with rage. He knew it was grief, but it hurt to know she thought so poorly of him. He’d loved Kenny like a brother. In a million years Luke would never have done anything to jeopardize his safety. And, if it were possible, he would switch places with him in a heartbeat. So many nights Luke had lain awake wondering why he hadn’t been taken instead of Aaron and Kenny.
“I understand your anger,” he said in a gentle tone. “I’m heartbroken too. Your son was one of the finest men I’ve ever known. What he achieved in his service to this country was outstanding. I wanted to see you face-to-face so I could tell you about the things he accomplished and how much we all loved him. Staying away didn’t seem like the right decision to make.” Over the years the importance of honor had been drilled into his head. For Luke, this was his way of living up to the Navy SEAL code.
Luke was speaking to Dorothea from the heart, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that his words were falling on deaf ears.
“Get off my property! I don’t need anything from you.” By this point her voice was raised to near shouting. A portly man with light brown skin and graying hair rushed to Dorothea’s side. Luke hadn’t even seen him coming, he was moving so fast.
“Dorothea. Take it easy. What’s going on out here? I could hear you hollering all the way inside the house.” He looked at Luke with a bewildered expression.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Smith. Your wife is upset on account of me,” he explained. “I’m Luke Keegan, a friend of your son’s. We were on the same SEAL team. I came by to pay my respects. I realize now I should have called first,” he said, ruefully shaking his head.
“Luke. Yes, I recognize your name. I’m Neal Smith.” Neal didn’t smile or extend a hand to Luke, but he got a kindly feeling from him. “Kenneth thought the world of you,” he added.
Just then Dorothea let out a wail that raised the hairs on the back of Luke’s neck. “My son is gone, Mr. Keegan, so I don’t understand what you’re doing here. Go home! You’ve got things waiting for you…things our boy will never be able to have now. You shouldn’t have come here.”
Luke sucked in a ragged breath. His chest tightened. This was way worse than he’d envisioned.
Neal placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “He doesn’t mean any harm, Dottie. He was a friend of our Kenny.”
“If it hadn’t been for him, Kenny would still be alive. Our baby won’t be getting married or having kids. We won’t ever get to see him again or watch him fall in love.” She glared at Luke. “You don’t deserve any of those things if my boy can’t have them.” Her body seemed to give way, and Neal reached out to catch her before she slumped to the ground.
Luke stepped forward to help support Dorothea, but Neal brushed him away. It was a sucker punch to his gut, and nausea rose up in his throat. He struggled to catch his breath. All of his good intentions had gone up in smoke.
