“Only if you both intend to stand beside me on this,” Luke warned.
A crooked grin on his face, Cody held up his hand for a high-five. “That’s what brothers are for.”
Luke realized that was something he was finally beginning to understand, thanks to Jessie. It killed him to admit it, but it just might be that she was a hell of a lot smarter than he was when it came to matters of family and the heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Her hands clutched tightly together, Jessie stood at the window of her room and watched Luke and Cody’s sometimes heated exchange below. When Luke finally shut off the truck’s engine and emerged, a sigh of relief washed through her. She had been so afraid that the desperate call she’d made to Cody had been too late. She’d also known he might be her only chance to make Luke see reason.
She knew from her own conversation with Cody on Christmas that he had given her relationship with Luke his blessing. It had been her first hint that not every member of the Adams clan would be opposed to the feelings she and Luke shared.
This morning she had sensed that even more than Cody’s ability to stand up to Luke, what was needed was someone who wouldn’t be passing judgment on the original cause of the disagreement between father and son.
As she watched Cody and Luke enter the house, she prayed that all of Cody’s skills at persuasion wouldn’t be wasted the instant Luke ran into his father.
Drawing in a deep breath, she decided that this was not a battle Luke should have to take on alone. It was their fight. Plucking Angela from her crib, Jessie emerged from her suite and started downstairs.
Halfway down she realized Luke was waiting at the bottom of the steps, his gaze fixed on her. Her pulse skittered wildly as she tried to anticipate what he would say to her. Beside him, Cody shot her a wink and an irrepressible grin.
“I think I’ll join Daddy for some coffee,” Cody said. “I want a front row seat for the next act.”
Jessie smiled at him. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”
“No problem. Nothing like tangling with big brother here to get my adrenaline jump started in the morning. Can’t wait to get to Daddy now. I might even try to persuade him to let me buy that new tractor I’ve been wanting.”
After he’d gone, Luke finally spoke. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have run out and left you to deal with Daddy.” The apology seemed to have been formed at some cost. He was watching her uneasily.
Jessie reached out and touched his cheek. “You thought I’d chosen them over you, when nothing could be further from the truth. I chose us, Lucas. We can’t have a future if we don’t settle this with everyone now. It will eat away at us, until we’re destroyed. Hiding away on your ranch is no solution, and in your heart, I think you know that.”
His lips curved in what might have been the beginning of a smile. “You play dirty, though, Jessica. Threw my own words back in my face.”
“No, I didn’t.” She grinned unrepentantly. “I had Cody do it. If I could have gotten him here fast enough, I would have had Jordan add his two cents.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “You are worth fighting for, Jessie. Never doubt that. The way I felt when I climbed into that truck, the empty space inside me where my heart had been, I hope to God I never feel that way again.”
“You won’t,” she whispered. “I promise.”
Angela stirred in her arms just then. Luke glanced at the baby and his expression softened. “Come here, sweet pea,” he said and claimed her.
A look of resolve came over his face as he clasped Jessie’s hand. “Shall we go face the enemy on his own turf?”
She halted in her tracks, forcing him to a stop. “We won’t get anywhere, if you keep thinking of your father as the enemy.”
“How else should I be thinking of him? He’s standing square between me and the woman I love.”
The declaration made her smile. “Try thinking of him as a father who’s defending the honor of his son who died.”
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
