Page 390 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

ASPEN

Luke’s cell rang. He reached down and grabbed it off the floor where he’d placed it earlier since he didn’t have a coffee table. He looked at the screen.

“It’s my mom.”

I was snuggled in his arms, but at those words, I made to sit up. His mom? “I’ll let you–”

“Stay,” he murmured and swiped the screen. “Hey, Momma.”

He didn’t just take a phone call, he took a video call because there, front and center on his screen, was a woman who looked an awful lot like Luke, just like she did in the photo he showed me earlier.

“What’s this I’m hearing about a girlfriend?” she asked.

I fought against his arm around me because the last thing I wanted to be as his fake girlfriend was to meet his mother. He let me up and I sat beside him, but not in range of being caught on the camera. Why? Because Luke held my hand, keeping me from going any further away.

“Lacey is not my girlfriend,” Luke said.

“Not Lacey,” a man’s voice said.

“Hey, Pops.”

“That woman’s the female version of a pond leech,” the man added.

I bit my lip because his dad was right, clinging to Luke and his fame for her own.

“I mean the woman on your social media.”

“Since when do you look at that?”

“We didn’t. Your sister called and said you met a woman in Montana.”

He glanced my way, smiled.

“Oh, she’s there, isn’t she?” his mom asked, sounding excited.

“She is.”

“Luke,” I whispered while shaking my head.

“So she’s real?”

Luke grinned at his mom. “Oh, she’s real. Come here, tiger. I want you to meet my parents.”

Meet his parents? Oh shit.

He pulled. I resisted.

“She’s shy,” Luke told them since I wouldn’t budge.

“Tell her we’re nice. We won’t bite. Although we will tell her the time you bit the dog.”

My mouth dropped open. He bit a dog?

Luke rolled his eyes. “I was three and Spud bit me first.”

“Spud?” I whispered.

“Don’t ask me, ask my parents why they named a dog Spud.”

He tugged one more time and I let him pull me back into his side. His arm went around my shoulder.

I raised my hand and gave a little finger wave. “Hi.”

“Hello!” the woman said, smiling big. “I’m Janet and this is Tom.”

Tom looked like an older version of Luke. He had a full head of hair, although his was mostly gray.

“This is Aspen,” Luke introduced.

“Aspen, what a pretty name. How did you two meet?” Janet asked.

Oh God. I could feel my blush creeping up my neck. Did I tell his mother I met her son at a bar, and he took me to his room and fucked my brains out? “Um…”

“Trivia night at a bar. She’s so smart that we won fifty bucks.”

I blushed further at Luke’s praise.

“Smart? Then what are you doing with our idiot son?” Tom asked.

“Hey!” Luke countered.

“Tell us about you, Aspen honey,” Janet nudged.

“Well, I live in Hunter Valley and I’m a yoga instructor.”

“She has her own studio,” Luke added.

Both of his parents were looking at me through the phone, smiling and nodding. They seemed quite eager to hear what I had to say.

“Wow.”

“Impressive,” Janet said. “I tried yoga one time, but I fell asleep at the end. The woman I went with farted, too, but wouldn’t admit it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I wouldn’t admit it either. As for falling asleep, that happens all the time. Especially in the early morning class.”

“I won’t tell you it was at four in the afternoon then.”

“She also has an amazing daughter,” Luke added. “Sierra. She’s away at hockey camp this week.”

Luke told his parents about Sierra. For a second, I was a little shocked. This wasn’t real and he didn’t need to bring her up. But he had. Which meant he thought of her, knew she was a part of my life.

“Hockey?” Janet asked.

I nodded. “She’s a little tomboy.”

“How old is she?” Tom asked.

“Nine.”

“She needs to come here and help herd some cows then.”

I thought of Sierra in a field with cows.

“She’d probably love that, right?” Luke asked, looking to me.

I blinked up at him. “You want Sierra to go to Nebraska?”

He shrugged and I felt it against my back. “Sure.”

“You both must come. We’ll get all the kids together and have a picnic. We got one of those slippy-slidey things that you connect to the hose for the grandkids. Sierra will fit right in. In fact, Missy might even take her home with her.”

“By kids, she means me and my siblings and their kids,” Luke clarified. “And Audrey’s my sister.”

Farting. Picnics. Toddlers biting dogs. Sprinkler games for kids. His family was like an alternate universe where people weren’t perfect. They did normal things. They shared embarrassing stories. They had… fun. They wanted to meet Sierra and include her.

“I’m a vegetarian,” I blurted out. There had to be a reason why they wouldn’t like us. Once they learned more, surely they’d shake their heads and change their minds.

“More hamburgers for me then,” Tom said, patting his stomach.

“Do you know how many corn recipes I have?” Janet asked.

“Too many,” Luke groaned.

“Hush, you,” Janet scolded, yet it was softened with a smile. “Now I’ll have someone to try them on. There’s fritters and salads and even a pudding. I’m sure you’ve discovered my son can’t cook.”

I nodded.

“Then you and Sierra will come here, and we’ll take real good care of you. I’ll even pull out Luke’s baby book and you can see that he was bald until he was three.”

I wasn’t sure what my face was showing, but Luke looked to me, and his smile slipped. I didn’t remember a single photo of myself as a kid, none with my parents other than political photos. And a baby book?

“Momma, I think you’ve overwhelmed my girl.”

“All right. It was great meeting you. Let us know how your screen test goes.”

That was the first time they mentioned his job, which didn’t seem as important to them as, well, me. They were thrilled he had a real girlfriend. Except I wasn’t. I was the one he was paying because I was that desperate to get Duncan–the asshole ex who treated me like shit–out of my life.

“Will do,” Luke said. “Love you, both.”

“Love you, son.”

He ended the call and pulled me into his lap. “What’s the matter?” His eyes roved over my face.

I took a deep breath. “Nothing. They’re… amazing.”

His smile returned. “Yeah, they are.”

“I’m not really your girlfriend though.” I ran a hand over his t-shirt, feeling the hard play of bone and muscle beneath. “They’re going to be mad at me for hurting their dog-biting son.”

He playfully swatted my butt. “They invited you because you’re you, not because you’re my girlfriend.”

“I don’t understand.” I didn’t. Why would they invite me and Sierra to Nebraska for a picnic when I wasn’t anything to his son?

He frowned. “What don’t you understand? Didn’t your parents… oh. Right. You aren’t close.”

I shook my head. “My mother would never talk about farting. The closest she’s ever come to a cow is a steak on her dinner plate. And a picnic? I doubt she’s ever been to one.”

“And your father?”

“They have an… open marriage. He sleeps with any woman who will share him with his glass of whiskey.”

“Tiger, Momma and Pops probably like you more than me. I’m sure my mom’s on the phone right now with my sister telling her all about you.”

I shook my head. “That’s not good. This isn’t real, Luke,” I reminded.

He kissed me. Lightly. Gently. Sweetly.

“They like you because I like you. That’s as real as it gets.”