Forever's Promises (Forever In Luck Series Book 1) Read online

  “Oooh joy,” he said in snide derision.

  “Hey Linnie,” Wendy interrupted loudly, as she was about to leave, “you staying or going?”

  Thank God. “Going,” she yelled back. “Hey, Wendy, you mind bringing me my towel? It’s going to be cold getting out.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  As Wendy came over, Linnie prayed he wouldn’t take the towel from her. Focusing on Wendy, she mentally begged her to look at her. Come on, Wendy, look at me. Come on. He started to move towards Wendy as she neared, and Linnie began to panic. Pretending to be distracted by something on the floor, Wendy ducked around him and snapped the towel open, rescuing her. Linnie leapt from the pool, throwing the towel around herself before he could get a peek.

  I need a new swimsuit, she thought, one that goes from neck to knee. She just wasn’t used to this. She wasn’t a flirt, and this was uncomfortable. She'd always been surrounded by men that respected her, making her feel secure in who she was, but this leering yuck made her feel icky. She wasn’t changing out of her wet suit, she decided. She was putting her clothes on right over her suit, then taking off fast.

  Smiling, she turned to leave. “Well, gotta go. Have a good day,” she said, as she began walking away with Wendy. Her heart pounded. She was such a horrible liar. Had he seen through the ruse?

  Chuckling as she went by, he asked, “Didn’t you forget something, gorgeous?”

  Closing her eyes, she wanted to die. She just couldn’t get away from this guy. Stopping and turning, she asked in confusion, “What’s that?”

  “You know, to thank me for taking special care of you the other night.”

  She didn’t need to see it to know the ears of community had just gone on high alert, and conversations had just come to a screeching halt. She wanted to find a hole and hide. “Well, yes,” she answered, “thank you. The Bon Ton is fortunate to have a bartender that knows various drink combinations. Thanks again.” Turning, she made a mad dash for her things. She needed a nun’s habit. Maybe then nobody would notice her.

  Getting in her car, she drove across the lot to the Holiday gas station. She was going to pay at the pump, and then get home fast. She didn’t want to see anyone. Pulling up, she got out and opened the gas cap, only to turn and find the card reader wasn’t working on the pump. She was so damn irritated, she growled inside. She needed gas, she was on fumes. Filling up, she headed inside to pay. Stopping at the beverage cooler to get a pop, she heard it, and froze. No way. This just couldn’t be. Seriously, this just could not be happening. Could this day get any worse?

  “Linnie? Linnie, that you?”

  Looking up, Linnie saw Naomi holding a young boy. If looks could kill, they would’ve been dead right then and there. Linnie shook inside, she was so beside herself. She had to leave. Now.

  “Oh, it is you,” Naomi said. “Wow, you’ve changed. I didn’t know you were back. You aren’t planning on staying are you?”

  Hell no, she wasn’t! Alaska, here I come. That little boy had blond hair and green eyes! Oh God. Stunned speechless, she ever so slightly shook her head.

  “That’s good,” Naomi answered, as she hoisted the little boy up more on her hip, “cause Mikey and I are here looking over our new place. I think it’s important for him to get to know his dad, and with Nate being back and all, we’ll need some privacy.”

  Aha, right. Linnie wanted to bawl. Naomi had used Nate’s middle name. She just stood, stuck and staring. Her heart was pounding so fast, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She just wanted to die. She couldn’t do this.

  “So, yeah,” Naomi continued, “it’s probably good you’re not staying, cause things could get complicated. You know, now that Nate’s fighting to declare paternity,” Naomi finished, turning the knife in Linnie’s heart a little more.

  Just then, Jake walked up, and put his arm around Linnie’s shoulders.

  Looking at Naomi, he said, “Hey Naomi, good to see you. I need to talk to Linnie. You look good. Take care.” Then, helping her as she stumbled out of the store, he turned and said, “Don’t do it. Stay. See this through. Give Nate time to straighten this out.”

  “Where’s Daddy?”

  “Linnie.”

  “Jake!” she said sharply, then demanded, “Where’s Daddy?”

  Groaning, he answered with a sigh, “At home, working in the barn,”

  Turning, she got in her car, slamming the door in the process, then left in a rush. Getting home, she headed straight to the barn. Her dad was busy looking over some milking equipment, when he saw her coming.

  “Baby girl?” he said with great concern, as he sensed her discord.

  She started bawling. Hard.

  Taking her in his arms, he held her. “Okay. It’s Okay. Come here. It’s okay. Let it out, just let it out.”

  She sobbed and sobbed. Finally, after what seemed like infinity, her sobs gave way to sniffles. This was going to kill him. “Daddy, I need to go.” She started to cry again.

  “What happened, honey? Help me to understand.”

  Trying to explain, around her fits of crying, she said, “Nate’s got an attorney to help with DNA testing, and…and he’s angry with me, because I don’t want to hear about him with Naomi. And then this guy hit on me today, making me feel icky, gross. I felt like I needed a shower and…and in my haste to get away, I ran into Naomi, and the…” More crying. “He has blond hair and green eyes, Daddy, and…she named him after Nate.” Way more crying. “She’s moving back to Luck, and thinks it best I not be here, because Nate’s ‘fighting to declare paternity’, and I’d just make things awkward and complicated. People saw us, were watching us, listening to it all, and I just wanted to die, just die.”

  “Okay, I understand,” he said, rubbing her back. Where you going to go? I need to know. Don’t leave without telling me, please.

  “Daddy, I don’t want anyone to know, especially Jake. He’ll tell Nate, and I need a break from all this.”

  “It’ll be our secret honey, I won’t tell. I promise.”

  Taking some deep breaths, and gaining a little control. She looked around, wondering if she should tell him. Then finally, going up on tiptoe, she whispered her destination in his ear.

  Looking at her, he smiled in relief. “I can live with that, I sure can, and I won’t tell anyone. Take your phone, so I can reach you if needed, and call me if you need help?” Giving her a hug, and a kiss on the cheek, he said, “Take care of you. Always.”

  “I love you, Daddy.”

  Then she was gone.

  **********

  Nate had been gone all day. First, he’d had to wait for his appointment at the testing center, since he’d been an add-on to the schedule, then an hour drive back to St. Croix Falls, and an afternoon at the car dealership. He’d been right though, Matt did right by him, even paid for lunch for him and his Dad, while they waited for papers and stuff to be straightened out. He was picking up his new truck in a couple days, once some custom work he’d ordered was done.

  Dinner was on the table when they arrived home. Going to his chair, he pulled out his wallet and phone, setting them down. They said grace. Once he was finished eating, he’d go see Linnie. Grabbing a dish, he started serving himself.

  “Jake called,” his mother said.

  “I’m headed over there after I’m done eating, so I’ll talk to him then,” Nate answered. “He should’ve called my phone, he has the number.”

  “He did, a number of times,” she responded.

  “Really? My phone didn’t ring?”

  “Yeah, we’re kind of thinking it’s on mute,” she added.

  He sighed in irritation. “It is. I silenced it when I went in for my appointment, and forgot to turn it back on. Damn. What did he want?”

  Lifting a shoulder, she said, “Well, there’s been some happenings around town today, and he wanted to touch base with you.”

  Dread filled him. “Happening’s? Like what?”

  “Like Naomi r
enting a duplex a few blocks away, so she and Mikey could be closer to you, and telling that and more, to Linnie, when they ran into each other at the gas station. You know, just routine stuff.”

  Nate stood up so fast, his chair fell back against the wall. Grabbing his phone and wallet, he headed for his keys.

  “Nate,” his mother called.

  “Not now, Mama, I got to go.”

  “Nate! Stop!” his mother yelled.

  Irritated, he turned back. “What?”

  She looked at him with sadness. “She’s gone, honey. I’m sorry.”

  All the air in his lungs whooshed out of him, as his knees went weak, and his heart stilled. Using the kitchen counter to hold himself up, he kept himself from falling. Just deadness everywhere, except for the buzzing in his ears. Closing his eyes, he raged and seethed within. Fucking Naomi. She knew about Linnie. She knew what Linnie meant to him. Everyone who knew the two of them did. Hell, Nate and Linnie, they were an institution around here. Fucking Naomi. Just who the hell did she think she was, naming that child after him? Oh man, that had to of about killed Linnie. She’d wanted that name for their son. He shook his head at the thought. Fucking Naomi. He hoped he never laid eyes on that bitch again. Grabbing his keys, he stormed out of the house. Getting in the truck, he texted Jake, “Bon Ton”

  Jake hit him back, “In ten.”

  Walking in, the Bon Ton was hopping. It was Friday night, and it appeared people had money to spend. Nate weaved his way to the bar, and ordered a pitcher of beer. Jake walked in just as he found a table, and they each poured a glass. “Jake, that sister of yours…” he couldn’t finish, so he just shook his head.

  Jake didn’t respond, just sat there drinking his beer, staring at nothing.

  Emptying his glass, Nate filled it again, then took a big breath, bracing himself. “Alright, tell me what happened.” He really wished he could put his head down on the table for this.

  “Well, the best I can piece together from multiple sources is she went to water aerobics and had a great time. When it was over, she went to relax in the hot tub, at which point some guy started hustling her, and wouldn’t leave her alone. Wendy Peltner ran interference and broke it up. She left in a rush, headed to Holiday, where she ran into Naomi and Mikey, who, according to Linnie, has blond hair and green eyes. Apparently, Naomi told her they were moving here to be closer to you, and that she thought it best Linnie not be here now that you’re declaring paternity.”

  “I’m not declaring paternity! I’m fighting for DNA tests to prove I’m not the father. The two are not one in the same, they’re completely different.” Screw it. Nate pushed his chair back and put his head on the table. This had been one hell of a week. He’d had like, all of twelve hours of normal with her. Those results couldn’t come back fast enough. Why had he ever gone to that party? Hell, he should’ve just stayed home and played with himself. Fucking Naomi. He couldn’t stand her. If he never saw her again, it would be too soon. He had to find Linnie. Where would she have gone? Lifting his head, he asked, “Do you think she went back to Chicago?”

  Finishing his beer, Jake answered, “Probably.”

  “Do you know where that friend of hers lives, or have her number, or something?”

  “Nope. When Linnie moved in with Purdy, Jules moved too, not wanting a roommate anymore, and we’ve tried calling Linnie numerous times. She’s not answering.”

  Nate put his head back down. Now what? A private investigator maybe? Did her phone have one of those GPS chips? Maybe they could locate her that way, or track her credit card use. Hell, all those options took time, and he needed to find her now. The waitress brought another pitcher of beer. Nate looked up and ordered a couple shots, then sat up and took a long drink of his beer, topped it off, and drank more. Hell, he should just forget the glass and go straight to the pitcher.

  “I thought you talked to her,” Jake said quietly.

  “Jake,” he said exasperated. “I’ve been trying to talk to that woman for days. She refuses to discuss what happened. When I pushed the matter, she said she didn’t need to talk about. His shots came. Downing them one after the other, he ordered two more, then polished off his beer, and poured another.

  “Nate is that you?”

  He looked over to see Shannon Benson, a former classmate coming towards him. “Hey, Shannon.”

  “It is you!” she said with a squeal, then hopped, hopped, hopped, her way over to him. “Wow! I can’t believe it!” Throwing her arms around him, she hugged him with a full bodied wiggle. “First Linnie, then Naomi, and now you. I can’t believe it. Your little one sure is a cutie, but man is he busy.”

  Nate was horrified. She did not just say that, did she? Holy hell.

  “Hey, Jenny, get over here, Nate and Jake are here!” Shannon yelled like a harpy over the din.

  Jenny started squealing when she saw him. Then ran over, dropped onto his lap, and threw her arms around his neck, while giving him a big, wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek.

  Well, that was gross. He tried to politely wipe off his face with the back of his hand, and didn’t want to rub it on his pants, but had to. The second round of shots came, and he gulped them down, one after the other. This was bad, way bad. Linnie never acted like this, loud and obnoxious, and that made her a billion times more attractive than this pair.

  “So Nate, you a free agent, or what?” Jenny asked, wiggling and hopping on his lap.

  Trying to shove her off him gently, he couldn’t, because but she was on him tighter than a tick. “No...I’m…not,” he said with a grunt, as he picked her up and set her on her feet. He didn’t need another Naomi situation on his hands.

  “Awwww,” she said pouting, “you’re a party pooper.” Then she leaned way over, clearly attempting to display her jiggling baubles, and whispered, “Call me if things change, big boy. We could have a lotta fun.” Then she blew in his ear.

  Unable to help himself, he lunged away from her like she was the plague, and rubbed his ear. Nasty! Where was his goddamn beer? Grabbing it, he chugged it down, as he looked over to see Jake, actively trying to fend off Jenny, who was now trying to run one of her fingers across his mouth. Oooh, that was—who the hell knew where that thing had been? If he wasn’t such a man, he’d swear his dick just shrank.

  “Oh look, there’s Bree! Breeeeee, over here,” Shannon screeched.

  Bree arrived in a rush, plopping down on a chair next to him. “Hey, Nate, how ya doin? You’re looking good, waaay good,” she said, with a special twinkle in her eye.

  “I am good,” he answered. Wait. Hell, did he just agree with her? He was frickin buzzed.

  “So, I hear Naomi got a place over on Second. She’s psyched you’re home, and getting involved with things. Gosh, we always thought it would be you and Linnie, but SURPRISE, it was Naomi. We never saw that one comin. You got any more surprises you wanna share?”

  Is this what Linnie had to put up with when he’d gone? No wonder she left and never came home. Going for more beer, he emptied the glass. Ignoring the question, he stood up and wobbled a bit. “Well, it’s been nice seeing you, but I gotta go.” Jake was still trying to extricate himself from Jenny’s clutches.

  “Say hi to Naomi for me,” Bree said. “I’ll give it a few days, and then look you guys up. I’ll make sure to call first though, just so I don’t interrupt anything private. I know you’ve been gone awhile.”

  Oh hell no. This sucked, he thought. The whole town was talking about him and Naomi, like they were something special. He was out of here. This was one hell of a mess. “Jake.”

  “Yep, be…right…there,” he answered, as he pried Jenny’s arms from his neck.

  Walking outside, Nate took a deep discouraging breath. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want other women. He wanted one woman, one particular woman. Linnie, where are you? Are you okay, love? I’m worried about you, sweetheart. If you only knew how worried I am right now…

  Jake came out and stood by him. “Let me drive
you home. I’ve only had two beers and I don’t want you ruining my truck.”

  “Jake?” he said, in quiet despair.

  “Yeah?”

  “How will I go on without her?”

  CHAPTER 8

  Nate woke with a start. Someone was knocking on the front door. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was two in the afternoon. Made sense, he’d been up late. He felt like someone was pounding a gutter spike into his head. As he rolled over, he heard a child cry. No. No way. She wouldn’t. No way! He was so over this scene. When was this going to end? All the time he’d been with Linnie, life had been bliss, and every moment Naomi had been in it, pure hell.

  There was a knock on his bedroom door.

  “Just a minute,” he said, quickly putting on some clothes and opening the door.

  “Nate,” his mother whispered, “Naomi’s here with Mikey. She’s asking to speak with you.”

  “Where’s Dad?”

  “Out in the living room with Naomi. We were about to leave for the store, but we’ll wait. I don’t think it’s wise for you to be here alone with them, just in case, you know?”

  He nodded. “Thanks, I don’t want to be here alone with them either. I’ll be out, I need a shower.”

  She gasped. “You’re not going to keep them waiting are you?”

  “Yep,” he answered with a clip. “She came over uninvited, she can wait. If not, then she can leave.”

  Letting out a big sigh, she left.

  Leaning against the archway into the living room, with his arms crossed over his chest, Nate refused to go any farther. He stood glaring at Naomi, and she was justifiably uncomfortable.

  “Hi Nate,” she said nervously.

  He just stood there glaring, saying nothing.

  Motioning towards Mikey, she said, “I, ahhh, brought Mikey over for you to see.” Her voice had lost some of its starch.

  Glancing at the child briefly, he looked away. No Sanders chin, no Sanders cowlick. All Sanders men had them. That was not his child. Back to glaring at Naomi.