Operation Unleashed

“He knew the way, Mom! I didn’t even show him, but he followed the exact way I came.”

It took her a moment to realize he meant the dog. And a moment more to realize they weren’t alone. Two adults had come along the same path through the trees. A man and a woman, the man carrying what looked like Luke’s little backpack, the one Drew had bought him for their hikes and fishing trips. They must be the dog’s people, she thought in the moment she spared them before turning back to her son.

“You were at the park?”

He nodded. She felt a twinge of relief; that would have been her next stop, so she would have found him. Somehow that made her feel better. But it wasn’t enough to quell the overwhelming relief and the flood of wobbliness after being so frightened.

She wanted to be angry at Luke, to scare him into never, ever doing anything like this again, but she was too glad he was back and safe. She compromised, hugging him fiercely while saying, “Don’t you ever do that again. I almost called the police I was so worried.”

“Hard, isn’t it?”

Alyssa looked up as the woman spoke. The newcomer was a little taller than she was, maybe about five-five, her hair was a rich shade of auburn touched with gold, a shade that Alyssa guessed had to be natural, it had so many layers. Her eyes were lovely, a green that matched the surroundings and reminded her of Drew’s. And right now they were warm with empathy.

“They scare you to death so you’re angry, but you want to smother them with love at the same time because you’re so glad they’re all right.”

Alyssa smiled at the apt description. “You have kids?”

“Not yet,” she said, and flicked a glance at the man beside her. “But I remember my mother wearing the same expression.”

Alyssa stole a look at the man herself; he’d be enough to have any woman thinking about forever. She’d noticed the engagement ring on the woman’s left hand, and suppressed a little sigh. It must be wonderful to have done it the normal way, fallen in love, planning a life from the beginning. She looked upon her own plain, gold wedding band as a symbol of everything she’d done wrong as a stupid, naive girl.

“I’m Hayley Cole,” the woman said. “This is my fiancé, Quinn Foxworth.”

“I’m Alyssa Kiley,” she said, not willing to release Luke enough to shake hands. Neither one of the people before her seemed to take offense. “Thank you for bringing him home.”

“And this,” Hayley added with a gesture toward the dog, “is Cutter. It’s him you really have to thank, he found Luke and brought us here.”

Alyssa was loath to let go of Luke, but the boy was starting to squirm, his gaze fastened on the dog. Reluctantly she let him wiggle down. To her surprise when the dog moved, instead of going straight to Luke he came to her, and sat at her feet. She looked down at him, a little startled by the intense, steady gaze. She felt drawn, and leaned over to put a hand on the dog’s silky head.

“Well, thank you, Cutter,” she said, not sure what else to do.

The dog lowered his head in what for all the world looked like a nod of acknowledgment. As she stroked his fur, she felt oddly soothed, calmed, as if she’d finally accepted that Luke was truly all right.

“What an...interesting dog,” she murmured.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Quinn Foxworth said, his tone wry. Alyssa looked up at him, and saw nothing but bemusement and appreciation there. Except when he looked at Hayley, and she saw a loving warmth she’d never seen in a man’s eyes before.

Certainly never in her husband’s. At least, not directed at her.

As if her thought had conjured him, a vehicle turned the corner, fast enough to make the tires squeal a little in protest. Hayley and Quinn looked, but Alyssa didn’t, she knew who it was. And his mood probably wouldn’t be any better now than it had been this morning. Worse, in fact, now that she’d called him home from work for what turned out to be nothing.

She glanced at Luke, who was on his knees beside the dog, hugging him fiercely. She thought about sending him inside, but before she could decide, the dark blue pickup stopped in the driveway with a final bark from the tires and it was too late.

“I’m thinking you should handle this one,” Hayley said quietly to Quinn. “He doesn’t look happy.”

“Drew never looks happy,” Alyssa said. Only when she heard the words spoken did she realize how sad they really were.

She tried to imagine how the man who erupted from the vehicle must look to them. Certainly a million times more intimidating than her annoyingly fragile looks. Drew was tall, lean, and after years of hard work looked as powerful as he was. There wasn’t a touch of softness about him, except perhaps in the unexpectedly vivid green eyes. Where Doug had had a refined face, a soft, sweet smile and a ready, carefree laugh, his brother’s jaw was strong, his face uncompromisingly masculine, his smile rare and his laugh almost nonexistent. She thought she remembered, years ago, that he had smiled, even laughed, as readily as anyone. But it had been so long she wasn’t sure anymore.

He quickly gave the newcomers—including Cutter—a suspicious once-over. But the moment his gaze came to rest on Luke, some of the tension visibly drained out of him. He truly did love her son, Alyssa thought. She couldn’t deny that. She’d always known it. It was, after all, why she was here.

Drew crouched beside the boy. “You’re all right?” he said. Luke looked up at him, his mouth tight as he nodded.

Drew let out a breath as if he’d been holding it. They were a contrast, Drew’s dark hair glistened with rain, while Luke’s even damper hair was a darker shade of his father’s dirty blonde.

Luke looked up then. “Am I in trouble? For running away?”

Something pained flashed in Drew’s eyes. “If you’re in trouble for anything, it’s for how you scared your mother. And me.”

Luke’s eyes widened. “You? You’re never scared.”

“I love you, buddy. That gives you the power to scare me.”

“Oh.”

Drew straightened up, gave Luke a moment to think about that before he went on. “Something you want to say to your mother?”

It was more suggestion than question, and Luke didn’t miss it. With a heavy sigh the child released his hold on Cutter’s fur and straightened. He turned and looked up at her. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

She didn’t know whether to hug him again or order him to his room and lock him up until he was twenty-one. Or thirty.

“How did you sneak out so quietly?” she asked instead. Luke usually made enough noise to cover for a battle invasion.

“I waited until you were in the bathroom. You had your purse and makeup and stuff, so...”

Alyssa felt color creep up her cheeks and barely managed not to look at Hayley and Quinn. That made it sound like she was a woman who cared more for her appearance than taking care of her child, when in fact she’d gone in there because she knew she was going to start crying again, and she didn’t want Luke to see that. His witnessing the latest argument was bad enough.

“I didn’t mean to make you mad,” Luke said.

“You didn’t. You scared me, too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Promise me you’ll never do that again.”

The boy studied the well-muddied sneakers that had been nearly new when he’d put them on this morning. “I promise.” He looked up. “Could I play with the dog a little?”

Alyssa glanced at Hayley. “He’s welcome to for a few minutes,” the woman said. “But we won’t take up residence, I assure you.”

Alyssa smiled. She could like this woman.

Luke looked at Drew. For an instant Alyssa wondered if he’d withhold the threat to punish the boy. But even as she thought it she discarded it as unfair. Drew was stern, perhaps, stricter than she, but he wasn’t mean.

“For a few minutes,” he said.

Luke darted off with Cutter at his heels. As they went the dog looked back over his shoulder at his people, and Alyssa had the oddest feeling the glance was making them uncomfortable. Even the impressive Quinn, who was reminding her more of Drew with every silent moment.

“He certainly messed up those new shoes,” Alyssa said, her adrenaline-fueled relief finally ebbing and leaving her a bit shaky.

“He’s a boy,” Drew said. “It’ll happen.”

Drew had never worried much about that, either, at least, not like she did. He didn’t like waste, but he didn’t consider normal boy wear and tear on things waste. She’d been afraid of the cost of things when they’d first settled in here, he could be so intimidating, but it had been clear from the beginning that Luke was his soft spot.

“I’m a little confused,” Quinn said, looking at Drew. It was the first time he’d spoken in some time, and as Drew turned to look at the man Alyssa could see the assessing going on. It always happened with Drew, that quiet appraisal. She would have put it down to some primal male thing, except that he did it with women too, in a non-sexual way. It was one of the many, many ways he differed from Doug, who had taken pride in never judging anyone.

Of course, in the end he’d paid the ultimate price for that lack of judgment.

“Luke said his mom is his mom, and called you his dad, but said you’re really his uncle,” Quinn said.

“None of our business, honey,” Hayley said softly.

“If it’s true, no. But if Luke ran away because something more than a family spat is going on, then—”

“Oh, no,” Alyssa exclaimed. “No, you mustn’t think that! Drew would never, ever hurt Luke.”

“It’s all right, Lyss.”

Drew had apparently drawn his conclusion about Quinn Foxworth because he nodded in approval. And he met Quinn’s gaze head on.

“I appreciate your concern. Alyssa and I are married, but Luke is my nephew, technically.”

“And you’re raising him.”

“Yes. I’m the only father he’s ever known. My brother sure as hell wasn’t up to the task.”

And there it was again. Alyssa felt the old, familiar jab of pain at the cold, dismissive tone in his voice as he spoke of his brother. It was always there, it seemed, just sometimes closer to the surface, as it had been this morning, sparking the argument that had sent Luke running.

“Drew, please, not now,” she said softly, looking over to where Luke was romping with the dog, who now seemed nothing more than the perfect child’s companion.

His jaw tightened, but with a glance in the same direction, he nodded. His tone was neutral when he turned back to the pair before him. “Thank you for bringing him home.”

“Thank Cutter,” Hayley said. “He found him.” She looked at Alyssa. “He was very cautious, your Luke. Said you told him people sometimes use animals to lure kids.”

“For all the good it apparently did,” she answered wryly.

“Oh, it did,” Quinn assured her. She appreciated that. “He wasn’t about to let either of us near him. That’s why we had Cutter backtrack him here. That interested him enough to get him to come home.”

Drew glanced once more at the boy and dog, who were rolling around on wet grass as if it were a warm, sunny day. “That must be some dog.”

Hayley laughed. “We could tell you stories. But now, I think we should leave you to...resolve this.”

Drew nodded. “We need to talk to him some more.”

“Don’t you need to get back to work?” Alyssa asked.

“This is more important,” Drew said, and started across the yard to collect Luke.

“Nice that he puts that first,” Hayley said, sounding as if she were making an effort to be noncommittal.

“He always puts Luke first,” Alyssa said.

That was our deal, after all, she thought. And Drew kept it. Of course he did, he was Drew.

She’d made the best bargain she could, at the time. Her choices had brought them to the brink of disaster, and Drew had saved them. He’d promised them safety, a home, and to love and care for Luke as if he were his own. And he’d delivered on every one of those promises. Unlike his brother, Drew Kiley’s word was his bond, and he lived up to it.

And if things had changed, if she had changed since then, it wasn’t Drew’s fault. It was hers.

As usual.

Chapter 3

“That has got to be an interesting household,” Quinn said as they walked back to the park, taking the same shortcut through the trees, since Drew had told them it was a good mile if they went by road. Plus it offered some protection from the suddenly increased rain.

“Indeed,” Hayley said, looking back to be sure the reluctant Cutter was actually with them. The dog had been very hesitant about leaving his new playmate. “But Luke wasn’t scared. Of either of them.”

That had been her first fear, that the boy had run away to escape some kind of abuse. But the way he’d been with his mother, and his...uncle, had clearly negated that idea.

“No. Nervous about being in trouble, but not scared.” Quinn grimaced. “No love lost between those brothers, though.”

“No. Even with one of them dead. Sad.”

“He’s doing the right thing.”

“Drew? Yes, he is.” She dodged a low-hanging branch. “But I have the feeling things are going to be very interesting around there this afternoon.”

Cutter woofed, low and with emphasis.

“I know, dog,” Quinn said. “But we don’t mess in people’s private lives, buddy. Not what Foxworth does.”

The dog made another sound, one Hayley thought sounded rather disgusted.

“But if Luke had been afraid...” She was still fairly new to all the ins and outs of the Foxworth Foundation, and wasn’t sure exactly where the line was in some situations. And this situation was certainly unique. She couldn’t imagine they’d come across a family like this one, consisting of a boy and his mother, who was married to his dead father’s brother.

“We don’t do domestics,” Quinn said. “But if there was reason to suspect he was being abused, we would at least look into it and then turn it over to the right people,” Quinn said. “We’d never walk away from something like that.”

Hayley looked back once more. The trail through the trees had turned westward, and Luke’s home was now out of sight.

“I wonder what kind of argument’s going to break out next,” she said.

“Let’s just hope it’s out of that kid’s earshot,” Quinn answered.

With a sigh Hayley nodded. Then they cleared the trees and stepped back into the open space of the park. Rain was pelting them now, hard and steady.

“We’re going to get soaked,” Quinn said.

“I think that ship already sailed,” Hayley retorted.

“Guess we’ll have to go home and change clothes.”

She flicked him a glance, saw nothing but obvious innocence in his expression. For a guy who had a poker face that wouldn’t quit, she knew exactly what this meant.

“You just want my clothes off,” she accused, but laughter broke through in the middle.

“Damn straight,” he said.

“You go first,” she teased.

“My pleasure,” Quinn said, and there was so much heat and outright need in his voice she was surprised she wasn’t already steaming.

She spared another thought for Drew and Alyssa Kiley, wondering if they ever shared moments like this in their odd relationship. If she had to guess, she’d sadly say no. They didn’t have the air of a couple that was intimate at every possible moment. She wondered if they were at all, given the nature and circumstances of their being together.

And then they were in the car, Cutter loaded in the back where he promptly sprayed the interior with a hearty shake, and all she could think about was getting her man home and licking every raindrop off the body she knew so well.

* * *

Drew was thankful Alyssa didn’t seem inclined to fight with him. Maybe she was just so thankful Luke was home safe, thankful that they’d dodged a large bullet, that her relief made her more forgiving. Or maybe, as he had, she’d just learned the futility of it. All they did was go round and round in the same old rut, digging it deeper and deeper with each circuit.

More likely she just felt like he did, now that the adrenaline that had spiked when she’d called to tell him Luke was missing had begun to ebb. The thought of Luke out there, alone, lost and maybe scared, had knifed at him. That it was probably his fault had only driven that knife deeper.

He paced the living room, seeing nothing of the familiar surroundings. He’d built this house for them, done much of the labor himself, but it all meant nothing. None of his success, his work at building the business his grandfather had begun, of hanging on to it through the toughest times, and now building it again, meant anything next to the biggest job he’d ever taken on.

He worked hard at being a father. Harder than at anything in his life. It wasn’t in his nature the way it seemed to be in Alyssa’s. She was automatically loving and understanding and generous—too generous in some cases—by nature. And it was that generosity that got them into trouble. Or more accurately, his reaction to it. Because that generosity made her excuse Doug even after what he’d done. And that clawed at something buried deep inside him. Made him, to his shame, lash out every once in a while.

And if he sometimes wished for a little more of that generous understanding for himself, well, that was his problem. She’d agreed to this arrangement for Luke’s sake, because at the time she’d had little choice. She wasn’t the one who was now chafing under the terms.

She hadn’t asked him to fall in love with her.

She still loves Doug, he reminded himself. For all his sins, she still loves him, and probably always will. It didn’t matter that he didn’t understand it, didn’t understand what she’d seen in his brother that had made her willing to throw her life away for him.

He’d long ago admitted he knew what Doug had seen in her, although he had his doubts whether his feckless little brother had seen the real woman behind the sweet face and the big, innocent blue eyes. In his more sour moments he suspected it was that innocence that had drawn Doug; it took a certain amount of innocence to be taken in by his act.

And there he was again, striking out even in his mind. Doug was dead—and hating him for what he’d done was pointless.

“We did this.”

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper from behind him. He spun around. She’d gone up with Luke to get him warm and dry, and set him up with his current favorite book. He was already reading well for his age, on to third-grade level readers, and Drew knew that was thanks to Alyssa. Not only had she read to him regularly, she’d made up a game where she’d written simple words on cards and hidden them around the room in reachable places for a child. Then she’d sent Luke off on a treasure hunt, making him tell her what words he’d found. At first Drew had thought it kind of silly, but when he’d seen the results—and heard Luke’s proud crowing when he got one right—he’d quickly changed his mind.

“Yes,” he said, his voice nearly as quiet as hers. “We did.”

“It has to stop, Drew.”

“Yes.”

“What can I do to make that easier?”

God, he hated this. She was being so reasonable, so understanding. And he felt like a fool because the only answer he had was “Stop loving my brother.”

“I’m not Luke,” he said, not quite snapping. “Don’t treat me like a six-year-old.”

“Luke,” she said sweetly, “is leaving temper tantrums behind.”

He drew back sharply. Opened his mouth, ready to truly snap this time. And stopped.

“Okay,” he said after a moment, “I had that one coming.”

“Yes.”

In an odd way, her dig pleased him. Not because it was accurate, he sheepishly admitted, but because she felt confident enough to do it. She’d been so weak, sick and scared when he’d found her four years ago, going toe to toe with him like this would have been impossible. But she was strong now, poised and self-assured. And he took a tiny bit of credit for that. She’d done the hard work. Once she’d gotten well she’d pulled herself up and found her way, but he’d given her the means, and the protection she’d needed to get it done.

“You’ve come a long way,” he said quietly.

“Because I don’t cower anymore?”

He frowned. “I never made you cower.”

For an instant she looked startled. “I never said you did.”

She crossed her arms and began to move, pacing almost the same track he had taken around the living room.

“You saved us, Drew, don’t think I don’t know that, or will ever forget it. I have come a long way, and it’s in large part because you made it possible.”

It was a pretty little speech, a sentiment she’d expressed more than once. And not so long ago it had been enough. More than enough. It had told him he’d done exactly what he’d intended. That he’d accomplished his goal. That she was stable now, strong, and he’d had a hand in that.

And it wasn’t her fault that wasn’t enough for him anymore.

“That’s what we dull, boring rocks do,” he said, using his brother’s terminology. Doug had always insisted it was a joke, but Drew had always known there was a certain amount of venom behind it. His insisting it was a joke just made Drew look touchy if he took offense. Doug had that little game down to a science.

Alyssa turned then. “There’s a lot to be said for being the rock of the family.”

Yes, she had come a long way. There was a time when she’d meant it just as Doug had, but no more. He had to give her that.

“Is there?” he asked.

“Yes. We’ve been safe, thanks to you. Back then I didn’t appreciate how important feeling safe and steady was. Now I do.”

He supposed that was something.

For a moment she just looked at him. One hand stole up to push her hair behind her right ear. She’d gotten it cut recently. He’d thought he would miss the long waves of golden blonde, but he liked this smooth shape, how it swept forward onto her cheeks, making her eyes look even bigger and bluer. He’d wondered what was behind the radical change, but had been wary to ask. Their relationship was such a minefield sometimes. She too often took a simple question as a criticism, when he never meant it that way.

But when you practically force somebody to marry you, you took what you got, he supposed.

“Thank you,” he finally said. That had to be safe enough, didn’t it?

“Thank you,” she said, “for not blaming me.”

His brows lowered in puzzlement. “Blaming you for what?”

“Luke slipping away.”

He drew back slightly. “It wasn’t your fault. He’s a smart kid, he knew when to sneak out.”

“Which brings us back to why he did it.”

Drew let out a compressed breath. “Okay. I get it. It was my fault.”

“I’m not saying that.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I appreciate that you don’t hold your feelings about your brother against Luke.”

“Appreciate?” What an insipid, bloodless word that suddenly seemed. “I love him like he was my own.”

“I know that,” Alyssa said in that patient way of hers that worked wonders with Luke but tended to spark his temper. “I know you love him completely. But Luke needs to know his father loved him, too.”

“His father didn’t even stick around to know him.”

“That wasn’t by his choice, Drew. You know that.”

“His choices led to everything that happened. Can’t you see—”

He cut himself off when he realized he was just repeating the exact words that had started this whole thing this morning. Just like that they were back in that circular rut. He determined to make her see, and she determined to hang on to her rose-tinted memories.

And the way things were going, they could well spend the rest of their lives there, endlessly circling.

He was going to lose her. He could feel it. What they had was a facade, a construct that had served a purpose that was now accomplished, and should be demolished before it collapsed under its own weight.

They weren’t just circling each other, they were circling the drain.

Chapter 4

“Please, Mom?”