A crowd of people surrounded her.
“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine.”
Two men helped her to her feet while a lady shoved the spilled contents of Lake’s purse back inside it. Blood oozed from a gash above Lake’s eye.
“Jesus, what happened?”
“I was trying to catch up with my brother.” She scowled at him, garnering similar looks and sympathy from the small crowd of people.
“I’m a doctor. Thanks. I’ll take it from here.” He smiled at the people around them as he took her bags and slung them over his shoulder. “Let’s go. We’ll stop by Urgent Care on our way out of town.”
“We’re not staying in Chicago?” She held a wad of tissue to her forehead as he led her through the crowd.
“No. We’re not.”
*
With a rental car and a stitched up forehead, Luke and Lake headed west, Omaha bound. Self-preservation didn’t matter when it was a solo trip. Lake’s stubbornness put her in danger and compromised Luke’s ability to find Jessica.
“You can’t be mad at me forever.”
He could.
“The silent treatment is getting old. We’ve been on the road for three hours. Tell me where we’re going.”
“Omaha.” Keeping it a secret wasn’t an option. Lake could read.
“You know, I haven’t been to Omaha either, but I’m one hundred percent sure they have an airport. Did you overshoot your destination by a couple states on purpose?”
“Yes.”
“One word explanations. I can work with that. I like twenty questions. Let’s see … are you really going to Omaha for business?”
“No.”
“Hmm … did you purchase a cattle farm?”
“No.” He gave her a quick sideways glance with a single squinted eye.
Lake laughed. “Is Warren Buffett your financial advisor?”
“No.”
“Does this trip have anything to do with a woman?”
Luke contemplated his answer, not sure if telling Lake the truth was a good idea. “Yes.”
“OMG! Are you serious?”
OMG confirmed she was not ready to handle the truth, but his options were limited.
“Serious.”
“How did you meet her? Does Charlie know? God, you’re such a pig. Do Mom and Dad know? Is it serious?”
Lake received the hairy eyeball again.
“Sorry. Um … how did you meet her?”
“She was my patient.”
“Shit. Are you serious? That’s so unethical … and completely romantic. Oh man … you’re going to visit her for a lust-filled week and your little sister is tagging along. That’s not cool. Sorry, Bro. My bad. Now I feel regretful.”
“Now you feel regretful? When I told you it wasn’t safe and you were putting yourself in danger, that didn’t faze you. But now that you think you’re putting a kink in my sex plans you feel regretful.”
“A bit. Yes. When did she move to Omaha?”
Luke bit his lips together, squinting a bit. “I’m not sure. Less than a year ago.”
“Did you meet her before or after Jessica died?”
“Before.”
“Oh … Luke.” Disappointment laced her words. “Please tell me you weren’t cheating on Jessica.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Asshole,” she mumbled under her breath, turning her back to him to stare out her window.
Twenty Questions ended before she got to twenty. Just as well, he wanted Lake to think about Jessica. He wanted her to miss Jessica. He wanted to prime her brain for what he would tell her when they arrived in Omaha. Even then, it would be too much for her to comprehend.
A cold silence settled between them for the rest of the drive to Omaha. They stopped in Des Moines for dinner. Lake didn’t say a word, didn’t even look at him. He wanted to tell her, but not yet. The truth was irrational and Lake would need to be in that frame of mind before he could make her see it—make her accept it.
They pulled into the parking garage of the Element hotel, and Lake jumped out before he put the car in park. In an angry march she headed straight to the lobby. He took his time getting their bags and checking them into their room.
“Coming?” he asked, breezing past her to the elevator.
Her flushed face confirmed she was seconds from exploding. He slid the key card in the door and held it open for her. As soon as it closed behind them, she turned, hands fisted, eyes squinted.
“I hate you. You cheated on Jessica. Jessica! What the hell is wrong with you? We loved her. The whole family. I think we preferred her to you. You were going to marry her. How could you? I’m going to hate this woman we’re here to see. I don’t care what you think of her. I already hate her for trying to steal you from Jessica. The only reason I’m not taking a cab to the airport right this second is because I want to see her. I want to claw her goddamn eyes out.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“I idolized you. Jessica was a sister to me. I miss her so damn much. The only thing I have left is the memories of her—of you two together and now you’ve ruined that! You can’t be with this girl, Luke. You just can’t. She’s not Jessica.”