Luke sighed heavily. “In too many ways that makes it all the harder, darlin’. It’s almost impossible to fight a ghost.”
Jessie said nothing, just squeezed his hand. She thought she knew how to disarm Harlan Adams, though. And when the time came, she would use Erik’s own words to do it.
With Angela in his arms and Jessie at his side, Luke felt his strength and courage returning. He felt whole again. That gave him the resolve he needed to walk back into that dining room and face his father.
His lips twisted into a grim smile as he overheard Cody and Harlan arguing over the need for a new tractor. Cody was cheerfully enumerating a list of reasons to counteract every one of Harlan’s opposing arguments. Their words died the instant Harlan spotted Luke and Jessie in the doorway.
“Cody, go and take care of that matter we were discussing,” his father ordered brusquely.
For an instant, Cody looked confused. “I can buy the tractor?”
His father shrugged. “Might as well let you do it now, before you drive me crazy.”
The tiny victory gave Luke hope. He could see once again that sometimes all Harlan really wanted was a good fight. He wanted to be convinced that a decision was right. If his sons couldn’t make a strong enough case, they lost. It might have been pure contrariness, but he sensed that it really was his father’s way of seeing that they learned to fight for what they believed in. Maybe underneath that tough exterior, his father really did want only what was best for his sons.
Luke made up his mind then and there that his case for claiming Jessie and Angela as his own would be a powerful one.
“Thought you’d taken off,” Harlan said, his tone cool.
His avid gaze carefully avoided Luke and settled on his granddaughter. Luke watched him struggling with himself, fighting his obvious desire to stake his claim on the baby he believed Luke had no right to.
Luke kept his voice steady. “I decided running wouldn’t solve this problem.”
“Did you reach this decision all on your own, or did Jessie’s refusal to go force you into it?”
Luke shot a wry look at his father. “Does it really matter? I’m here now.” He glanced at Jessie, seated so serenely beside him. “We’re here now.”
“You two are going to break your mother’s heart,” his father said bluntly.
“Why?” Luke demanded. “We’ve done nothing wrong. Neither of us ever betrayed Erik. We never even let on to each other how we felt until a few days ago. I’ve been fighting it ever since, out of a sense of honor. It made me crazy, thinking of how Erik would feel if he knew. I couldn’t even grieve for him the way I should, because I thought I didn’t have the right.”
He felt Jessie’s gaze on him, warming him with her compassion.
“I think there’s something both of you should know,” she said softly.
Luke started to silence her, but she cut him off. “No,” she insisted. “This is my fight, too.”
She leveled a look at Harlan. “I’m fighting for a future for me and for Angela. That doesn’t mean we’re turning our backs on the past. It doesn’t mean we care any the less for Erik. Neither of us will ever forget that he’s Angela’s father. Choosing to be together just means we’re moving forward. That’s something Erik understood.”
Harlan’s face turned practically purple with indignation. “How dare you tell me what my son would or would not have understood! Do you think you knew him any better than I did?”
“Yes,” Jessie said.
The quiet, single-word response seemed to startle Harlan as a full-fledged argument might not have. Luke was astonished by her quiet serenity, her composure and their effect on his father.
“Okay, go on and say your piece,” Harlan grumbled. “Get it over with.”
“I was with Erik when he died,” she reminded them. “He knew he wasn’t going to make it.”
Luke saw tears forming in her eyes, watched as they spilled down her cheeks. She seemed oblivious to them. Her entire focus seemed to be on making Harlan hear what she had to say.
“He knew,” she said softly. “He knew how Luke and I felt about each other, possibly even more clearly than I’d admitted up to that point.”
“Dear God!” Harlan swore. “That’s what killed him, right there. Knowing his wife was in love with another man would be enough to cost any man the will to live.”
Jessie shook her head. “No, he gave us his blessing. He said he wanted me to be happy.”
“You’re making that up,” Harlan said. “Damned convenient, since he’s not here to speak for himself.”
If Luke hadn’t seen the agony in her eyes, he might not have believed her himself. He could tell, though, that the memory of those final moments with her husband had tormented her for months now, twisting her up with guilt and self-recriminations.
“It’s true,” she said evenly. “And if you don’t believe me, you can call Doc Winchell. He was right by Erik’s side at the end. He heard every word.”
A stunned silence settled over the room. Harlan was clearly at a loss. Luke was torn between anguish and an incredible sense of relief that his brother had known about his feelings for Jessie and forgiven him for them. It was as if the last roadblock to his complete sense of joy had been removed. He could feel tears sliding down his cheeks. Unashamed, he let them fall as he watched his father. Not until this moment had he realized how desperately he wanted forgiveness from him, not just for his brother’s death, but for this, for loving Jessie.
Harlan finally sank back, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I don’t suppose there’s anything I can do to stop you from getting on with a life together,” he said grudgingly. “You’re both adults. You’ll do what you want whether I approve or not.”
Luke thought
