Beyond Innocence Page 9

  It took Marnie a moment to realize it had been Luke’s fist that had sent Zennie reeling. A hush suddenly fell over the group as they watched the proceedings with mute fascination. All that could be heard was the whine of the video camera.

  Zennie dragged himself to his feet as Luke hobbled over to him and yelled, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Don’t you ever hurt her again!” Marnie winced as Luke’s fist slammed into Zennie’s gut. The pudgy reporter doubled over as the air rushed out of his lungs, and his face connected with Luke’s knee.

  Marnie heard the sickening crunch of cartilage, and that finally spurred her into action. “Luke! Stop it.” She scrambled over to him and grabbed his arm just as he seemed to be winding up for another blow. “Please, Luke!”

  The tension in his arm eased slightly, and he refrained from pummeling Zennie yet again. “Thank God,” she breathed, relieved that he’d ceased his attack. “You didn’t have to do that, Luke. You—”

  She looked up into those familiar blue eyes that were gazing down at her and for just a moment she saw something flicker there that frightened her. But he blinked, his breathing began to slow, his muscles relaxed a little more, and the flicker was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. “What got into you?” She tugged on his arm to try and increase the distance between him and Zennie.

  He followed her meekly. “I-I don’t know. He hurt you. And I had to do something.”

  The rest of the reporters continued to keep their distance, but Marnie was still grateful to hear the shouts of security guards that must have been alerted by the commotion.

  “He didn’t really hurt me. He just pushed me down. I’m fine. Really.”

  “I know, and…I’m sorry.” His eyes darted from the reporters to the security guards to Zennie, who was moaning and holding a handkerchief to his nose. “Can we just get out of here now?” The anxiety in his face tugged at her heart. “I want to go back inside.”

  “I’d like to. But I think we might have to stay.” She hated to have to say this to him, but she was sure nothing would come of it. “The police might want to talk to you. This was…well, this was an assault. I’m sure they won’t press charges, but—”

  “Police? No, please. Let’s just go. I don’t want to talk to them again.”

  Marnie frowned at his desperation. She might not understand it, but she couldn’t ignore it. She considered for a moment and then squeezed his hand. “Okay. You wait here. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Okay.”

  Taking a deep breath she approached Zennie. “Mr. Zennie?”

  “What the hell do you want?” His voice was thick, and his nose had already begun to swell. “That bastard almost killed me!”

  “Come now, it wasn’t that bad. Listen, Zennie, I know he overreacted a little—”

  “A little?”

  She continued, undaunted. “But if you agree to not press charges and not involve the police he’ll agree to an interview.”

  Zennie’s eyebrows darted up toward his receding hairline. “Exclusive?”

  “Of course. The only condition is that you have to wait a week or so until he’s settled into his new living quarters.”

  He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “How do I know you won’t try and hide him on me.”

  “I’ll give you my home number and address so you can call to set it up in a few days. And I work here in physiotherapy so you can track me down if you have trouble getting hold of me.” She let out a long slow breath. “Okay?”

  He considered the proposal as the blood leaked through the saturated handkerchief and ran down his arm.

  She handed him a small card with the required information and retreated to Luke’s position against the side of the building. The other reporters had dispersed, apparently not willing to take the chance of facing Luke’s fists.

  “Okay,” she said as she approached. “I fixed it. But you’re going to have to give him an interview in a few days.”

  He nodded miserably. “Thanks, and…and I’m sorry.”

  She studied him and then picked up his hand. She examined it closely. “How do you know how to fight so well? You seemed to know exactly what you were doing.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Honestly. I didn’t think about it. It just happened.”

  “Hmm.” She tugged on his hand and led him toward the doors. “Well, it may not be a great clue, but it is something we didn’t know about you before. You know how to fight. You’ve obviously had experience at it. That’s not something you can say about everyone, even if that’s how it looks on TV.”

  “I think that’s something I’d rather not know,” he muttered.

  She didn’t answer him because just then she remembered the look she had seen flicker in his eyes. But that was crazy. She must have imagined it. It had been so brief, so fleeting. It was pointless to speculate.

  Luke was coming home with her tomorrow. She refused to allow anything to interfere with that. He may have acted violently, but he had acted out of a need to protect her. In a strange, primal way that appealed to her. How many women could honestly say they’d had a man leap to their defense or fight for their honor?

  She glanced at Luke as they ambled back toward the elevators and his room on the fourth floor. How many women had a man who depended on them for everything? Who thought they were wholly and completely beautiful. Who thought they were…what was the word he had used? Perfect. He had said she was perfect.

  Luke’s injuries might have affected his thought patterns, and he might not be in complete control of his faculties, but it was still nice to hear. No one had ever told her she was beautiful before. She would be crazy to turn her back on that kind of sincere adoration. She would be crazy to turn her back on a man who said what he felt and didn’t hide behind meaningless social niceties and affectations, who didn’t try to charm his way into people’s hearts but instead wheedled his way in with honesty and beguiling innocence.

  She would be crazy to turn her back on a man who needed her.

  Chapter Eight

  “Rats!” grumbled Marnie as she threw back the covers and her feet hit the rag rug beside her bed. A heavy rain pounded on her window and she heard the distant rumble of thunder. She had wanted a bright sunny day for Luke’s emancipation. She had wanted to take him for a drive through the city, showing him the sights and sounds and parks that made her home special. She had even considered making the long trek to the foothills and giving him an up-close glimpse of the mountains. He deserved something special on the first day of the rest of his life.

  She grinned to herself. She rarely thought in clichés but today she was giddy with anticipation.

  Before stumbling into the shower she stepped across the hall to give his new room a final once-over. She had been using the middle-sized bedroom to store the boxes she had never quite managed to unpack since moving here three years ago. Most of them had contained the crystal and china her mother had insisted on presenting to her on her eighteenth birthday. That was in the days when her mother had still held onto the slim hope that Marnie would eventually blossom and actually manage to snag a man.

  But Marnie had never blossomed, and very few men had ever shown an interest in the wallflower with the big glasses and the shy smile. Even the men who attended her father’s church—the clean-living, pillar-of-the-community, head-of-the-household men who would have been the ideal suitors for Amos Grant’s offspring—seemed determined to ignore the daughter of their illustrious leader. And, of course, her mother’s relentless matchmaking attempts had met with dubious results.

  Not that Marnie was complaining. Looking back now, she realized that those self-righteous, arrogant, medieval types were never for her. Leaving that church had been the best decision she had ever made, and no matter how much it had hurt her parents, she couldn’t regret it.

  She returned her attention to the assortment of furnishings she had arranged in the small room. The queen-size bed dominated the space. Its generous dime
nsions left little room to maneuver between it and the tall oak armoire. But she guessed Luke’s height to be a little over six feet, and she doubted he would be comfortable in anything smaller.

  She tugged on the light fleece blanket and tucked it in tight enough to bounce the proverbial quarter. She adjusted the large print of Lake Louise she had bought to give Luke the feeling of space and mountains and fresh air. She wanted everything to be perfect for his “homecoming”. She wanted it to feel like home. He’d had enough of hospitals and he needed a place to call his own.

  She crossed to the bathroom and ran water for a quick shower. She was due at the hospital by eleven, but she wanted to arrive a good deal earlier than that and maybe surprise Luke in the process. She stepped under the spray and reached for the bottle of bayberry-scented body wash she had treated herself to the day before. She had gone shopping to pick up just a few essentials for Luke, pending an extended shopping trip in the near future, and had ended up also buying a few little luxuries for herself. Usually she didn’t feel the pull of the cosmetics and scented soaps and creams. Usually she walked past that aisle in the drugstore with no more thought than she gave to an aisle full of lightbulbs and pliers. But yesterday the pull had been as strong as the aroma of grilling steak to a starving man.

  Maybe it had something to do with what Luke had said to her the day before. Maybe just that one little hint that someone thought she was beautiful had let her believe some of these things could actually enhance her appearance and make her attractive. And for once in her life when she stepped out of the shower and toweled off, she allowed herself to take a good long look in the mirror. Not bothering to dress first, she pulled a comb through her long wet hair, and though she had to acknowledge she was still too skinny, she thought, maybe, she saw a glimmer of elegance in the lines and angles of her gangly body.

  On a whim she blew her hair dry and let it tumble freely about her shoulders. She chose a pair of walking shorts and a button-up sleeveless sweater she had been given as a birthday gift two years ago but had never gotten around to wearing.

  She practically floated down the stairs, riding on the waves of anticipation for the day ahead. Grateful for timers and automatic coffeemakers, she poured herself a huge mug and grabbed a yogurt from the refrigerator.

  She’d have to get a better idea of what Luke liked to eat. They would definitely have to go shopping together and buy some new things for him to try. He was so wonderfully open to new ideas and experiences, without preconceived fears or prejudices. He was like a blank page that just screamed to be written on. In a way that saddened her, and yet she also found it exciting. To be granted the gift of starting over, with a clean slate and no regrets—that was not to be taken lightly.

  She tossed her coffee cup into the sink and was pleased to notice that the clock only read nine-thirty. She would make it to the hospital by ten at the latest.

  But just as she was heading for the door the phone rang. Out of habit, and an unwillingness to be rude even if the other party had no idea she was ignoring them, she picked up the phone. “Hello.”

  “Marina. Why aren’t you at work?”

  Because I contracted the plague and I’m hovering at death’s door. Thanks for asking.

  But Marnie suppressed that snooty reply, which would have only served to drag out these proceedings. Instead, she just closed her eyes and sank into the plush armchair beside her phone table. “You called physio?”

  “No. I didn’t have to.”

  Marnie puzzled over that for a moment, but again decided on a reply that would expedite the end of this conversation. “I took the day off. I have something special planned today.”

  “Is that so?”

  The sarcasm in her mother’s voice pricked like the barbs of a thistle. But Marnie wasn’t in the mood to play the dutiful daughter and seek out the source of her mother’s irritation. “Yes. And actually I’m in a bit of a rush, so if this can wait…”

  “Does this have something to do with that amnesia patient at the hospital?”

  Marnie blinked stupidly. She had never told her mother or brother any of the details about Luke. “Uh…why do you ask?”

  “Oh, please. Give me a little credit, Marina. Your picture is splashed all over the front page this morning. I opened the early edition with my coffee and I just about dropped my cup when I saw it.”

  Marnie tapped a finger rapidly on the table. “I’m sorry I didn’t fill you in on this, Mom. But it’s really not such a big deal. I’m his physiotherapist, and I’ve been helping him out with the adjustment. He’s alone. He has no one else.”

  “Is that all you’ve been helping him with?”

  “Pardon?”

  Her mother ignored her. “You know nothing about this man. From the picture I saw he looks like he belongs in a boxing ring or one of those western bars. He can’t possibly be a Christian, considering the little bit of his history that we know. What with someone trying to kill him and all.”

  Marnie stopped her nervous tapping and clenched her fist. “He’s a perfect gentleman, Mom. His appearance is very deceiving and it has more to do with his injuries than anything else.”

  “There was footage on the news last night of his beating up a reporter.”

  Oh, God! She hadn’t thought about that.

  Her mother continued without missing a beat. “Elaine Hoskins called me about it this morning when she saw your picture in the paper. She said she had seen it on the news last night, but didn’t think anything of it until she saw the story this morning. That is hardly the conduct of a gentleman.”

  “They were mobbing him, Mom. He was just protecting himself.” And me. But she decided it prudent not to tell her that part.

  “Well, I just don’t know about all this.” Marnie heard a distinct sniff and she knew her mother was about to drop the other shoe. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about this?”

  “No.”

  “You disappoint me, Marina. I thought you respected me more than this.”

  Marnie felt a horrible gnawing sensation in her stomach. She didn’t want to face what she guessed was coming next, but she couldn’t ignore it either. “Why? What are you talking about?”

  “I called the hospital this morning and spoke to him briefly.”

  “What!”

  “When I told them I was your mother they put me right through. He was very pleasant, even if his speech was a bit odd. But imagine my surprise when he informed me that he was coming to live with you today.”

  Marnie closed her eyes and wished the earth would just open and swallow her up right now. That kind of end would be quicker and much less painful. “Like I said, he doesn’t have anyone else.”

  “Well, that may be so. But I was worried that he might be taking advantage of your naïveté.”

  Marnie could have laughed at that. Luke’s naïveté far surpassed her own. Who was taking advantage of whom here? Sometimes she wondered.

  “Trust me, Mom. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Well, I wasn’t so sure about this whole thing so I talked to Don.”

  “Uh-huh.” The euphoria of anticipation and the caffeine buzz from the coffee were quickly waning.

  “He went over to meet this man, and make sure of his intentions.”

  Marnie froze and whispered under her breath. “Oh…my…God.”

  Helen huffed. “Please watch your language!”

  “Mom,” said Marnie evenly. “I’m going to hang up now. You have no idea what you’ve just done, and if I find out that Don said or did anything to hurt Luke, please believe that I will never forgive you.” She hung up immediately and walked resolutely to the door. Her mother and Don could try and run her life all they liked. She’d been living with other people’s ideas of what she should be and do for most of her life. But imposing those ideas on Luke, and taking advantage of his fragile situation was something else again.

  Feeling like a mother bear whose cubs were being threatened, she sped away
toward the hospital, all the while muttering vile curses that would have given her mother the vapors.

  Keyed up and ready to do battle, she braved the torrential rain. She arrived at Luke’s room only slightly soggy, thanks to the large golf umbrella she had bought the day before in anticipation of taking walks in the rain with him. She stepped inside and drew up short in surprise.

  “Don?”

  The tall broad figure at the window turned to face her, his blue eyes dark with concern. “Hi, Marnie.”

  She took stock of the room. The bed was rumpled but empty. Luke’s clothes and cane were gone. That was all she needed to know. “What the hell did you say to him?”

  “Do you know what Mom would say if she heard you talk like that?”

  “At this moment I don’t care if Mom hears me spew four-letter words like a fountain of liquid manure. I’m furious with her and I’m starting to work up a good lather for you too. What did you say to him?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t give me that. I know why Mom sent you over here. You’re her watchdog.” She stomped over to confront her brother. “Or maybe her lapdog.”

  The distinctive vein in his temple began to throb, indicating that her words had sparked his temper to life. But she didn’t care. This was her life and they had no business interfering.

  “At least I have some respect for our parents and the values they tried to teach us.”

  “You mean you never questioned one word out of Daddy’s mouth. You never even tried to think for yourself. And do you know why?”

  He folded his arms and leaned against the window. The fabric of his navy blue suit pulled tight across his shoulders and made him look more like their father than Marnie cared to acknowledge. “This I’ve got to hear.”

  “Because you had no need to. Why question someone who’s telling you how important and powerful you are. ‘For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church’,” she parroted. “Because you’re a man you have the whole world at your feet…including your wife and sister.”