Saving Dallas (Saving Dallas 1)

“A chapter from another state has come into our territory. I have some issues with them from years back and we are going to handle the situation before it gets out of hand.” He said the words as if he were reading them from a book. He continued to wash his hair with his back to me.

“Are they the red and gray people?” When his body stilled I had my answer. He turned around and smiled at me.

“Want me to wash your hair?” With that, I knew the subject was closed.

I decided that since Luke would be leaving in the morning, I would spend the rest of the day with him and go home Saturday. I had called Red and invited her and the others to come over, and I’m not sure if they were coming because they wanted to or because Luke told them to, but they would be there around noon tomorrow.

Red had called all of them for me and assured me they all were excited about coming. I knew she would lie for them, but I didn’t care. I was hoping this gathering would get me the information I needed. I had also called Lindsey who claimed to be ecstatic about seeing me, as if I did not talk to her every day.

She was doing a great job running the place and I had already notified Maria in payroll of her salary increase, which was probably why she was being so nice.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Luke asked during lunch, consisting of a bowl of canned soup and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He seriously needed some groceries.

“I would really like to go for a ride, just to get out of the house for a while,” I said, slurping up my last bit of soup. I would have to hit the gym hard next week. I had gained back the weight I had lost and then some.

“On the bike?” Luke asked turning to me.

“Yes, on the bike. I have some jeans in my luggage that I have completely ignored since I have been here.”

“You sure you feel up to it?” he asked eyeing me warily. How hard could it be to sit and ride?

“Positive. I need some sunshine,” I said giving him my winning smile.

“Well, how can I say no to that face?” he said leaning over and kissing my head. “Go get dressed and I’ll get this,” he said clearing the dishes from the counter.

I hurried to the bedroom to dig out my suitcase Luke had buried in the closet. Maybe he would take me to the beach or something. I could already feel the sand beneath my toes. I would bring my bikini along just in case. Chances are though, some girl’s lingering eyes will cause me to go crazy and I’ll have to make Luke put his clothes back on to keep me from slapping someone. I found my suitcase at the back of Luke’s closet on top of some boxes.

Beside my suitcase I found a small cardboard box with my name written on it. This must be the paperwork I brought with me to Tupelo. I’m not sure why I opened the box. I had already convinced myself that the contents was nothing more than a bunch of file folders, but I opened it anyway, and what I found inside changed mine and Luke’s relationship completely.

“Dallas.” I heard Luke call from the other room. It sounded as if he was calling to me from across the yard instead of the kitchen. I sat on the floor of the closet in a daze, holding up photos of me over the past several months; photos that had been taken long before I had met Luke. One of me was leaving my job, playing with Neo in the front yard, meeting a client at a restaurant; there were hundreds of them.

Other than the photos, there was the code to get in my gate at home, my birth date, social security number, names of my family members, phone numbers, and two keys-one to my car and one to my home. I never heard Luke walk in the room, but I could sense he was behind me.

“What are you doing?” he asked angrily. I jerked my head around in shock and met his face. His sinister look took me even more by surprise. Was he seriously mad at me for finding this?

“What am I doing? Well, it looks like I’m taking a trip down memory lane. Please tell me this is an amnesia box that I gave you permission to put together while I was out of it,” I said ominously.

“It’s none of your business. I don’t appreciate you snooping through my house.”

“None of my business?! Are you fucking kidding me? The photos are of me! This is my personal information!” I screamed. My body was shaking with rage. Luke was about to see why I was so hated. I was on my feet and in his face before he could speak. “Why the fuck do you have this?” I yelled at him through gritted teeth.