Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
ERIN
ONE WEEK LATER
“ Y ou sure you're okay?” My best friend, Liza, doesn’t look at all convinced as she sits at the table and stares at all the containers of food I’ve been brought.
“I’m as fine as I’m expected to be, considering I’m a widow now,” I assure her, topping up her mug with coffee before I try and find some more space in the refrigerator to store it all.
The people in Fork River have been so kind since the news of Matthew's death spread. I just don’t know how the hell I’m gonna get through all this.
We both look in the direction of the bathroom when the door clicks open, and Luke looks a little overwhelmed when he steps out and sees us both staring at him.
He smiles politely, gripping the towel around his waist self-consciously as he heads straight through to the spare room where he’s been sleeping this past week.
“And how long will the little brother be staying?” Liza follows him with her eyes, and I can tell from the glisten in them that she likes what she sees.
It's understandable, Luke is a handsome guy.
A handsome guy who just so happens to be blessed with an incredible body, too.
I know he doesn't get it from working around his family ranch. Bryce is always complaining about how lazy he is. So I’m curious to know how he stays in shape.
“Earth to Erin.” Liza clicks me back to the conversation.
“Ummm…I don’t know.” I shrug, thinking back to her question.
“I guess he’ll be here until everyone decides that I’m safe to be alone.
” I can’t say I’m mad about the fact that Luke’s still here.
I like his company; he always seems to sense when I need him close and when I want to be alone.
Mary has been incredible these past few days, but she can be overbearing, and Luke has mastered the way to keep her in check without upsetting her.
“Police still have no leads, huh?” Liza stuffs her face with one of Mary’s blueberry muffins.
“Nothing,” I tell her, blowing out a frustrated breath. I’ve racked my brains trying to think about who might have done this, but there's no one I can imagine who would want to hurt Matthew. He was perfect, an outstanding guy to everyone who met him. Just not to the person who was married to him.
“Ladies…” The front door bursts open, and Koben marches through it like a hurricane, heading straight for me and smacking a kiss on my cheek.
“Oh…Mary’s cupcakes, you wanna be careful,” he warns Liza.
“You gain three pounds just from looking at one of these.” He takes a fresh one from the plate and shovels it into his mouth.
Everyone deals with grief in their own way, and Koben’s been taking the ‘act like nothing’s happened’ approach since the murder of his best friend.
At first, I thought he was doing it for my benefit, but I’m learning that it’s more than likely for his own.
If you look close enough, you can see his pain.
“Koben.” Luke tips his chin at him as he steps out from his room, fixing his belt, and I notice the suspicious frown he makes when Koben wraps his arm around my waist.
“How ya doin’, kid?” He winks back at him, pissing Luke off. Luke may be a few years younger than Matthew was, but he’s not a kid. He’s the same age as I am.
“Good to see ya again.” Luke makes his way toward the coffee pot, not putting any effort into making his words sound genuine.
“I just came to check that everything around here was running okay. Jake and Issac are good workers, but they still need keeping in check,” he points out, and I smile to myself when I see how Liza is watching every move Luke makes.
I look back to him and feel something strange stir in my stomach when he catches me looking and offers me a private smile.
“Speaking of keeping things in check. I wanted to put something to ya.” Koben clears his throat like he’s building up to something, and I pull my eyes away from Luke’s so I can focus on what it is.
“I’ve been thinking?—”
“Did you alert NASA?” Liza interrupts him sarcastically.
“Have another muffin…” Koben picks another one up and shoves it in her mouth to silence her.
“This place needs someone to manage it, and I know Luke here’s been doing a good job of keeping you company, but since we still have no idea who hurt Matty, and folks out on the yard need to be paid, I think I should move in here.
Take the spare room and help keep the ranch going…
at least until you’ve decided what to do. ”
“What do ya mean, decided what to do? This place is Erin's home.” Luke interrupts before I can say anything. “The same home my brother built for her. And we’re managing just fine how we are.” I can hear the anger in his tone; he’s clearly taken offense at what Koben is suggesting.
“Oh, come on, Luke, we all know you ain’t a rancher.
You can barely help your folks out on theirs, let alone run your own.
You got a herd out there that Matty busted his ass to build on, and two men who are gonna wanna pick up a paycheck at the end of the month.
Do you really expect Erin to put her faith in you?
” He scoffs a laugh, and although I hate to admit it, what he’s saying is kinda true.
Jake and Issac have been incredible since Matthew died, but their kindness can only stretch so far when they have bills of their own to pay.
And Luke does have a reputation for being lazy.
He’s spent most of this week in the house, keeping me company instead of working outside, but I’ve been grateful for that.
In all honesty, I haven’t even thought about this place and what the future will hold for me. Now I have no ties, I could even leave Fork River and start afresh. I’d be lying if I said that thought wasn’t appealing.
Luke shocks us all when he comes closer to Koben and gets in his face. “I’m sure Erin appreciates your offer, but this is an Edwards ranch, and it will continue to be run by an Edwards,” he tells him firmly.
“And is this your idea of stepping up?” Koben laughs at him, and when I feel things getting heated, I look to Liza for some support, but she’s far too busy enjoying the show to notice.
“If that's what you wanna call it.” Luke shrugs confidently.
“You got some big boots to fill, boy. Matty had ambition. He worked his fingers to the bone to get this place running.”
“I ain’t here to fill nobody's boots, Koben. I’m here to do right by my brother. I can manage the ranch, and I can manage the herd. Like I said, your offer’s appreciated, but it ain’t needed.”
“And don’t you think Erin should get a say in this? She’s the one who could end up homeless.” Koben looks to me with a smug-ass grin on his face, and when I see that Luke is looking at me too, I feel weighed down by all the pressure.
“What ya say, Erin? Shall we send Luke back home to Mommy and Daddy?” Koben asks.
“No,” I answer before my brain has a chance to catch up.
I know that Luke hasn’t got Matty’s drive and determination, but I also know how much he loved his brother.
He’d want to make him proud, and keeping busy could be what he needs to get over the grief of losing him.
Also, selfishly, I know I’d miss him if he wasn’t here.
“Luke’s got this.” I smile back at Koben politely and wrap my arm around Luke’s bicep to show him that he has my support.
I don’t take it as a particularly good sign that Luke looks gobsmacked by my vote of confidence, but I stand by it.
“I see.” Koben does his best to hide the knock his pride just took, while Liza looks down at her lap awkwardly and tries to hide her snigger.
“I’ll just head on out and check on Titan before I go.” He spins around and heads for the door, and as soon as it slams after him, I turn and face Luke.
“You don’t have to do this…I…I don’t expect you to?—”
“I wanna,” he tells me. Picking up his hat and pulling back the hair that flopped into his eyes. Then, placing it on his head, he leaves me and Liza alone.
“Wow…has that guy got the hots for you?” Liza stares at me with her mouth wide open.
“Don’t be ridiculous, he’s Matthew’s brother,” I snap right back at her for being so ludicrous, and wonder what the niggle of disappointment my own words cause me to feel in the pit of my stomach is all about.
“Not Luke, Koben. You’d think he’d at least wait until his best friend was cold before he moved in on his widow.” She rolls her eyes.
“Liza!” I shake my head, though I shouldn't be surprised by her brashness. I’ve known the girl since I moved to town, and she never had much of a filter.
“Am I wrong?” She tilts her head at me cleverly.
“Koben’s just being a good friend. He loved Matthew, and it’s sweet that he wants to take care of this place.” I have to push any thoughts like that to the back of my head. Koben may be a little bolshy, but he’s a nice guy; over the years, he’s become a friend to me too.
“Your na?vety is endearing.” Liza smiles sarcastically and gets back to flicking through the magazine she brought to ‘cheer me up.’
“I’m not being na?ve. Koben doesn’t think of me in that way,” I assure her…again.
“Everyone with a dick thinks of you in that way,” she laughs at me. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone didn’t kill poor Matty outta jealousy.” She’s got that clever look on her face again.
“Stop! That’s not what happened.” I let her know that she’s crossed the line by turning my voice serious again.
“I’m sorry.” She reaches for my hand and grips it tight, “You know how crap I am with these kinda situations. I wanna make all your hurt go away, and humor's the only tool I got.” Her smile makes it hard not to forgive her, and I quickly get up and turn away from her. Liza knows me better than anyone; she’s been the hardest person to lie to over the past year, and I fear that if she looks too deep into my eyes, she’ll see that there’s no hurt there at all. Just fresh hope and relief.
Unlike everyone else in this town, I didn’t love Matthew Edwards.
I despised him. I feel no pain in his absence, and I certainly don’t miss him.
I don’t know who killed him, but I'm guessing that the reason he’s dead is because someone else out there got to see the real side of him, too. Someone much braver than I was.
“Liza said the River boys are having a party tonight, ain’t ya goin'?” I ask Luke as we both sit down in front of the TV.
He didn’t eat much of the casserole I made us for dinner, and although I know my cooking could never live up to Mary’s, I'm starting to think it really is as awful as Matthew would tell me it was.
“Nah, ain’t much in the mood for partying, besides I’m better off here, those detectives still have no leads,” he points out, taking the remote and pointing it at the TV.
“Do you really think I could be in danger?” I ask, wondering if Luke knew anything about his brother’s darker side.
“I sure know I ain’t gonna risk it,” he tells me, keeping his eyes on mine the way they were earlier, and bringing back that deep pulse in the base of my stomach.
“It meant a lot what ya did earlier, in front of Koben. You trusting me and all that… I know I give folk a lotta reason to doubt me, and Koben would have probably been your better option, but?—”
“I don’t think there's a better option,” I interrupt him, wondering how different things might have been if he had asked me to the prom all those years ago. “You loved Matty. You’ll want this place to do well, and if I end up leavin–”
“Whoa, you're thinkin’ about leaving?” His expression quickly changes.
“I don’t have much to keep me here,” I admit. My foster family moved out of state last year, and other than Liza, I have no one here who would miss me.
“You got plenty keeping ya here. This is your home, we’re your family. Mom and Dad would be devastated. I—” He cuts himself off and shakes his head like he still can’t believe I would want to leave town. “You can’t leave, Erin. You belong here,” he tells me with a scared look on his handsome face.
“And what happens when you find someone you want to marry? You don’t want your brother’s widow getting in the way.” I laugh, hoping it will lighten the mood.
“That ain’t gonna happen, and you’d never be a burden. Never, ya hear?” He shakes his head.
“And how can you be so sure? You're a handsome guy, Luke. You must have figured that Liza’s got the hots for you, and she’s not the only,” I tease him.
“I know ’cause I ain’t lookin’. I don’t want no one else, Erin.” His eyes widen and his face turns red. “I….I mean, I’m focused. I want to make this place exactly what Matty intended it to be for him and for you. You believe that, don’t ya?” He looks desperate and panicked.
“I believe you,” I tell him softly, surprised at how my attempt to lighten him up has affected him. “I just don’t want you to feel any obligations. I’m not a charity case.” I slide my hand over his, and when he looks down to where we’re connected, he frowns like he’s confused.
“No, you're my brother’s wife,” he reminds me, removing his hand from under mine and focusing back on the TV.