Chapter 24 – The Ballad of Luke & Mac

If anyone who knows me and my erratic sleep habits had told me I would have gotten a good night's sleep in someone else's apartment I would have laughed and informed you that you were out of your fucking mind. Yet, here it is, nearly seven-thirty a.m. and other than Gail puttering around in the kitchen with my security team drinking coffee, the apartment was quiet. Taylor filled me in – my parents woke at six and headed back to Bellevue with Jackson and their other normal two CPOs; Ray headed out early to bring Bubba up-to-date on the events of the past twenty-four hours, but would be back around noon; Elliot, Kate, and Mia were still asleep in their respective rooms; and finally, Mac and Ana were up all night – one sketching, the other editing.

"Where are Ana and Mac now?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Mac is half passed out in the armchair in the master bedroom watching over Luke. Well, if you can call it watching over him. Fiercely overprotecting him might be a better phrase. Ana is out on the patio with a cup of tea uploading and distributing about dozen books on her computer," Taylor explains with a smirk. "She was like a kid at Christmas when she checked her emails this morning and her ISBN numbers came in. She was rambling on and on about rolling out E-House's new division today."

"New division?"

"She won't tell," Ryan stated with a smirk. "She wants it to be a surprise and has locked herself outside until the press release goes out and the new divisions uploaded. She's been out there for the better part of three hours bundled up in sweats and a blanket."

Taylor's phone vibrates on the counter. He glances at the text before showing it to us. It reads:

Ana: YOU WERE RIGHT! There, I finally said it Jason. You'll probably never hear it again, but just this once I'll cave. It's too cold out here. I should have downed the muscle relaxers and pain meds Grace tried to force-feed me this morning. Rigor mortis has set in. I'm achy and oddly humbled by my own stupidity. Help me Obi-Wan, I'm a freaking dope!

I'd never seen Taylor grin from ear-to-ear, but he was as he typed his reply. There was no missing the mischief in his eyes.

Taylor: What? No saying please? No bowing to my supreme intellect? No offering of my own personal three-dozen batch of your black and white cookies when you feel better? I feel slighted. You prefer Sawyer to the rest of the security team.

Ana: So you want to start getting chunky like Luke due to black and white cookies? It's amazing he's not in a sugar coma. If you come get my sorry butt, I'll make sure a character in one of the books published in our new division is named after you. He's the hottest male gigolo and soldier-of-fortune around. What do you say? Get my lame ass back into the apartment. Okay, well help me into the apartment. I can't get up. (Really – Not kidding here!)

Taylor: Deal – that specific character gets named after me.

Ana: Done!

We follow Taylor as he unlocks the patio doors and heads to the hanging cushioned swing the size of a couch. She's laying on the large swing buried under blankets. Her cheeks are flushed; she's shivering; but grinning from broadly. Reynolds grabs her laptop, while Taylor helps her sit up. She groans when he helps her to her feet.

I knew after the incident yesterday she would be stiff and sore today. I can only imagine how Sawyer's feeling as he fared far worse. After watching her taking a few steps supported by Taylor, I can't help but pick her up, carry her inside, and set her on the couch. Reynolds fetches some fresh blankets; while Gail serves her another cup of hot tea with the medications she refused earlier.

"Thank you," Ana mumbles after taking her pills. "Aren't you going to work today?"

After explaining that Ros, was coming here shortly to be brought up to date, I informed Ana that I was taking a few days off to make sure she was not over doing it and to help her get re-settled as the houseboat was too exposed for her to be able to live there again.

"Well, I lived my houseboat dream for a few days," she laughed wryly. "I figured that living there after yesterday wasn't possible. It's just depressing."

I understand all too well. Over the past six months I've learned the girl doesn't have a submissive bone in her body. She knows what she wants and works hard to make it happen. She was a 4.0 student in high school and college, but when I first met her, she was painfully shy so I couldn't see the drive behind those mesmerizing blue eyes. Now? Well, now, she's just fucking amazing.

She founded a company based on relationships with unknown authors that she'd nurtured over the past six years. No wonder she was able to take the publishing world by storm and hide it from me. Honestly, that's the most amazing part – she kept it a secret and even though my team had investigated E-House and it's elusive founder, negotiated with her through Ros, and even tried to have Barney hack into her website for information, we still had no idea it was Anastasia. Never mind the partnerships with her old professors she formed. In just under six months, E-House Publishing was too much for one person to handle.

"Taylor mentioned you are unveiling a new division at E-House today," I ask.

She giggles. "It's already up on the E-House site and books are available for download on all of the big websites – Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.… I even sent out the press release and started online advertising before I begged Taylor to help me inside."

"What type of division?"

Again she giggles before glancing over at Taylor. "Gay fiction – romance, action, adventure, comedy. I think it's what I've been most excited about developing. It's a severely underserved market and in the next year I want to corner it. I posted ten new works this morning and have another dozen or so in the pipeline. I think I'm going to hire part-time literature students as editors. It will help them through school by allowing them to work around their school schedule and it ensures I hire people who are highly literate at a reasonable salary. I emailed a few of my old professors for student recommendations this morning. I can't wait to hear back and head to WSU to interview people. If I hire editorial assistant interns, I can afford to hire more people and get more books to press earlier."

"You've got a good head on your shoulders. If you decide you need another full-blown editor, Ros's wife Gwen used to edit fiction for Harper Collins in New York nearly ten years ago. She's a stay at home mom, but I know she's interested in working part-time now that the kids are in school," I inform her.

We talk for a few more minutes about her upcoming trip to New York. As the conversation goes on I can feel Ana's body, which had been stiff, begin to relax against me. Every time I glance down at her, she's struggling to keep her eyes open. She agrees that she not only needs security, but also that she probably shouldn't stay at the hotel. Apparently she'd spoken to Mac, and at some point overnight Sawyer, and agreed to stay at her apartment on Central Park West.

"If you want to come to New York with me Christian," she barely whispers before she yawns. "It would give us some private time to talk about all the stuff we've avoided discussing since we first met. Mac's place is large enough to accommodate half-a-dozen people or more. I'll be busy from seven a.m. to roughly seven p.m., but after that we can spend some quiet time figuring whatever this is between us out."

"I have a townhouse on the east side of Manhattan. We can all stay there. It has the latest in high-tech security and private, garaged parking. It will be safer than Mac's apartment. I think it's best if we stayed there solely for the security if offers."

Looking down at her, I find her eyes closed as she lightly nods in agreement before sighing, "Okay."

"For security we'll take the GEH jet. Since we can both work remotely, we can leave for New York any day you'd like. It might be more secure than here right now."

Again, she nods and mumbles, "okay."

"So when do you want to head to the Big Apple?" I have to admit, I'm excited about the uninterrupted time I'll get to spend with her. Glancing down, I realize she's sleeping peacefully.

Behind me Taylor clears his throat. "Yes Taylor."

"Ms. Bailey is on her way up."

Carefully, I pick Anastasia up to carry her to her bedroom but she awakens rubbing her tired eyes. "What's going on Christian?" she asks as she wiggles out of my hold.

"My number two, Ros Bailey, is here," I explain.

She giggles, explaining she's been dying to meet the woman who has put up with him from day one at GEH. She must have the patience of a saint. "Besides, she's the one that has been emailing my alter ego at E-House giving me the hard push for GEH purchasing my company. And you called Kate tenacious. She's got nothing on Ros Bailey."

"Who's got nothing on me?" Ros asks as she sweeps her red hair out of her green eyes as she steps out of the elevator. She glances between Ana and I with amusement. "Nice to see you are dressed for work Christian. Casual Tuesday?"

"I'm taking the rest of the week off," I explain so it's sleep pants Tuesday. "Get over it."

Ros grins broadly at Anastasia. "So you're the woman who cracked that candy-coated heart of his. I'm Ros," she explains shaking Ana's hand. "Until you came long, I'm the only woman who put up with this thickheaded ass for more than a few minutes. Hell, spending time with him turned me gay."

Ana laughed nervously. "So the more time I spend with Christian, the closer I come to batting for the other team?"

"Most definitely and it's not a sexually transmitted disease, though I imagine that would cause the transformation to go into overdrive," Ros teases. "Seriously though, I'm glad you weren't badly harmed during the cluster fuck yesterday."

"Thanks," Anastasia replies shyly before offering to get us coffee. Before she can get up from the table, Mrs. Jones appears with a tray containing coffee, tea, and chocolate-filled croissants. We get comfortable in the living room.

"So Ros, how is the E-House acquisition coming? Shouldn't that be a done deal by now?" There was nothing better than being able to bust Ros's chops.

Ros shifts uncomfortably and clearly looks unhappy. "It's not going to happen. Ms. Lambert made it quite clear that it wasn't for sale. Apparently she has other offers or at least that is what she stated in her emails. She won't even take my calls."

"She sounds like a real bitch," Ana counters.

"Supposedly she has offers from Harper Collins and Random House for her company. Also, if the rumors are true, she's negotiating with SIP," I counter watching Ros's reaction closely. "Harper Collins and Random House blew our offers out the window. We're talking over ten million plus her own independent division, and total control. Apparently they were given a limited preview of her vision, upcoming publications, and deals on the table and are now chomping at the bit to acquire E-House."

"SIP has nothing to offer E-House and deep down they know it. It's E-House that can save SIP by bringing a large group of first time, talented authors into the mix. The SIP senior staff is on edge because they know if Roach can't come to some agreement with Lambert, the doors close by year's end. Plus, if the rumors are true, Lambert has managed to come to some creative arrangements with a few television and movie studios," Ros explains. "We wanted E-House so we could buy and save SIP. Without E-House, Seattle's oldest independent publishing house will go under. There's no saving it. Even with E-House there was only a fifty-fifty chance of saving it. We either need to either take the risk and up our offer or move on."

"Did you bring the files on SIP?" It takes every ounce of self-control I have to not smirk at Ros. She's clearly frustrated with the failed E-House acquisition; after all, at GEH we don't fail. Okay, rarely we don't acquire our target.

She hands me a thick file from her leather satchel along with a thumb drive. I push them over toward Ana, grin, and comment, "Here you go Miss Lambert. Everything you need to know about SIP and then some."

We watch as Ros's jaw drops open in shock. "How long have you known that Anastasia Steele was Stacie Lambert?"

"I told him last night," Ana replied apologetically. "I didn't want him to interfere with my business."

Ros's throaty laugh fills the room. "So you managed to keep this a secret from him even after we ran background checks on the company? I'm impressed. So unofficially, what did Harper Collins, Random House, and SIP offer you?"

She explained Harper Collins and Random House each offered in excess of ten million dollars, her own division, and relocation to New York. "I was looking for a print vendor since E-House is exclusively E-books. I wanted to be able to produce limited, collectible quantities of some upcoming books and mass produce one in particular that is due for publication next month. I need print copies of this book because both Sixty Minutes and Dateline are in negotiations to cover the story behind it. So I researched Seattle publishers to see if I could cut some type of a print deal, but SIP wanted a larger partnership. Roach offered to sink some of his personal funds into the company, which as you know is in a proverbial financial cesspool, to keep the company afloat if I take over as creative director and merge the two companies."

"And?" Ros asked. "What did you decide?"

"I haven't decided anything yet. I'm meeting with all three companies this weekend while I'm in New York at a publishing conference. I imagine after the media fiasco yesterday, Roach has figured out that Stacie Lambert isn't my real name. He's probably not happy with me anyway because I told him in no uncertain terms that if we come to an agreement I take complete control of SIP, keep the staff they need or I want, and the nepotism that goes on currently will end in a bloody mess of terminations."

"You need to review the HR files carefully before you make a decision. That place is teeming with miscreants, minor offenders, and all around assholes in mid-level management and above," Ros explains. "Without E-House that place won't survive. You hold all the cards, but I'm guessing you know that. While I was thinking about the entire E-House & SIP acquisitions, I thought all E-House needed was to contract with a reputable printing company. There's Gorham here in Seattle who are excellent. I know from my research on E-House you do your own editing, typesetting, and cover designs. In a pinch they can help with the typesetting if you need it. I actually met with them when I thought we would acquire E-House to get their best deals. I can set you up with my contact at Gorham if you'd like."

"I appreciate it. Right now I have to figure out this weekend what I'd like to do. I want to make a decision by the middle of next week. Frankly, I'm hesitant on the SIP deal solely because they are almost at the point of no return financially and I don't want to risk losing what I've built in the past six months. That, plus I sure as hell don't want to be responsible for any of their past debt. I'm still willing to talk to them, but that seems like the least likely scenario out of the three. As to the Harper Collins and Random House, well, relocating to New York City is a deal breaker for me," Ana explains, which makes me feel better. "Unless they are willing to waive that there won't be a deal there either."

"What will you do then?" Ros asks.

Ana smiles. "E-House grew much faster than I ever dreamt it would. I was fortunate to be an antisocial bookworm in high school and college, so through my free online fiction obsession I've befriended well over one hundred and fifty potential authors with incredible potential. I started editing many of their books back in college, so it was easy to start E-House. Right now though, I have more editing than I can handle on my own, so if I decide to stick with just E-House, I'll be finding office space and ramping up staffing in the form of interns, another editor or two, and probably a graphic artist to typeset and design the book covers. I understand your wife is a former editor at Harper Collins in New York. Would she be interested in an editor position?"

"Probably," Ros states as she scribbles Gwen's number on a piece of paper and hands it to Ana. "When you're ready, call her to discuss the opportunity. You might also want to talk with Gwen about working in a high level position at Harper Collins."

After Anastasia thanks Ros, she excuses herself to get ready to face her day. If I had my way, she'd be taking a nap as she's been up all night. I knew from security reports that since the car accident she'd been having major sleep issues, but seeing her first hand after having been awake all night bothered me. I could only imagine her sleep issues worsening after the incident yesterday.

Ros and I spent a good hour discussing GEH and the remainder of the week. I explained the New York trip and how I'd like the media dealt with. I also asked Ros to have Andrea get me a list of available office suites in the rental portion of Grey House. While I contractually agreed not to interfere with Ana's business, it didn't mean I couldn't hand her a list of available suites, mention the above average security at Grey House, and hope she does the right thing and rents one for her company. My gut is screaming she's going to pass on the offers from Harper Collins and Random House, and then kick SIP out the door, as she's right, it's too much of a personal risk for her. The risk would be drop in the bucket for GEH if the venture failed, but E-House is too new. In the end, SIP would go under. I had to respect Ana. She had a good read on the publishing business as it stands today, found her place, and is living her dream.

There is nothing worse than a penthouse full of frustrated people, especially when we're all frustrated by one person – Anastasia. She was up all night working, worked all day editing with her only breaks for meals. After dinner, Elliot headed back to his home, Mia to Bellevue, and finally, Ray reluctantly departed as well. This left the Ana, Kate, Mac, Gail, and the security team at West Union. I knew the plan for this evening, yet I wasn't looking forward to it. I was heading back to Escala with Kate wearing a brown wig. Most of the security team would be with us. What I wanted more than anything else was for Ana to stay at Escala. I understand her reluctance after what happened there between us nearly six months ago, but still, I was worried about her safety. Part of me wondered if she'd ever set foot back there.

Ana and I spent some time together just talking and really getting to know each other. We compared upbringings, likes and dislikes, pet peeves, and even our favorite dirty jokes. The entire time we spoke, I knew in the back of my mind that she really wanted to know about how I came into BDSM and my childhood before I was adopted. Those were two things I was holding back until we were totally alone in New York.

When it came time for me to head back to Escala, Ana grew quiet. Mac and Ana both insisted on me taking all of my security with me with the exception of Luke, who really wasn't much security in his current state. I knew the building was secure, but still I would have felt better if they'd allowed me to leave Ryan and Reynolds behind. When Taylor proposed Ana not leave the penthouse without security, she agreed.

When Kate entered the living room wearing one of Ana's outfits, a long brown wig, and Ana's sunglasses, we all smirked. "I wasn't meant to be a brunette," she muttered. "Do I look innocent enough?"

"You need to wear it to Elliot's and play Pretty Woman," Ana informs her with a smirk. "Or really make his day, dress him up as Tom Baker's Doctor. The scarf and everything is for sale online. Then you can dress as Amy Pond with a red wig and some of my clothes and miraculously go back in time to meet him."

Taylor and I both snickered when Kate replied without shame, "Been there, done that. We've done the whole Amy and Rory too, and Rose and Tennant's Doctor. Oh and we've done River Song and a few of the doctors. It was my personal favorite because River is a kinky psychopath. Spoilers!"

All of us laugh as Ana puts here hands over her ears, blushes profusely, and mutters, "TMI! White paper, white paper."

Taylor, Ryan, and Reynolds escort Kate to the SUV in the garage, while I remain in the penthouse to say goodbye to Ana privately. "Promise me you won't leave the safety of this apartment without calling Taylor so he can send Ryan and Reynolds to protect you."

She smiles gently at me. "I believe I already agreed to those terms. What time are we leaving for New York tomorrow?"

"I arranged to borrow Mac's father's jet, so the GEH jet will remain on the ground here in Seattle and we'll be able to slip out of town unnoticed. I was thinking around noon."

"That works," she replies attempting to stifle a yawn.

"Promise me you'll get some sleep tonight or at least try," I whisper after pulling her into an embrace. "I'm worried about you."

"I will."

I can't resist tenderly kissing her lips. When she runs her fingers through my hair, I deepen the kiss. When I finally pull away, I ask, "Are you certain you don't want to come stay at Escala until this all blows over?"

She shifts uncomfortably for a moment before replying. "You know I can't do that. Earlier I called a friend of Luke's who is going to help me find a condo or a small house to buy. He's been sending me listings. I'll probably glance at them while we are in New York and let him know which I want to actually go and see. By then Luke should be pretty much back on his feet and can come with me."

"I can come with you."

She giggles uncertainly. "I can see it now, I find a house I like and they raise the price because, as Kate calls you, Mr. Moneybags is there. I'm buying my first home. Luke will come along solely to scope out the security implications; though if he's not up to it, I might beg you to lend me Taylor for the day. I also need to go car shopping when we return. I sold Wanda. Luke called the guy who bought it and they picked it up from Bubba earlier today."

The elevator pings behind us, so I kiss her one more time before heading out. As the doors are closing, she grins mischievously at me. "Tell Taylor, Ryan, and Reynolds to bring cash on the plane. I'm bringing the cards and poker chips. You're welcome to join us. Without Luke there, we will be pretty evenly matched. He can read anyone, so he always has the advantage."

According to Christian their arrival at Escala went flawlessly. The mob of paparazzi had no clue that it was Kate rather than me holding Christian's hand. Kate stayed long enough to change her clothes and put on a red wig before she was heading home in her own car which Ryan had parked in the underground lot earlier in the day. I knew, based on the large paparazzi presence leaving the next morning wasn't going to be as easy for Christian, though they could take Charlie Tango and avoid the entire fiasco altogether.

I both looked forward to the New York trip and dreaded it. This morning I updated the E-House website replacing the name Stacie Lambert with my own. After the fiasco this week when it came out that I was out on a date with Christian I couldn't hide even in New York. I knew that Roach from SIP would figure it out the minute he saw me, as he's friends with Christian's father.

At this point I'm not sure if I'm exhausted and mentally drained, or if I'm really frustrated with the situation. Am I in a relationship with Christian as the GEH press release indicated? I have no idea. Kate seemed happy about it though. Honestly, I think I'm too tired to care. The one thing I'm certain of is technically I'm homeless. I can't go back to the houseboat or Kate's condo. Odds are when I return from New York I'll have to return to Montesano. Hopefully there, people will leave me alone.

I've heard it from all sides about where I should live. Christian believes I should stay with him until this blows over. Fat chance of that happening, as I'm hesitant to return there due to too many conflicting emotions. I know the red room is gone, but still, I can't bring myself to even consider it. Kate and Elliot said I could stay with them. I don't want to be a third wheel.

Luke has a one-bedroom apartment as an extension of his place. If he'd let me actually pay him rent, I'd probably give it some consideration. His home is three stories, fully secure with privacy gates, four-car garage, and I like the idea of having him upstairs. I will admit though, a big part of me wants to avoid this scenario as he's suffered enough trying to protect me.

Then there's Mac, who is insisting I stay with her until I figure it all out. I can't do it though because apparently I have a target on my back and she really doesn't need the drama. This mess should not be brought further onto her doorstep, so I know I will decline her offer. It will be either Montesano or Savannah, as I can work from either location. My preference is Montesano because the thought of spending more than a day or so with my mom leaves me uneasy. I love her in some warped way, but still. I just can't do it.

Before I go to New York I want to see Dr. Flynn, but under the circumstances, I know that's not possible. My sleep issues, which had been improving slightly before this incident, are worse than ever. I even baked two loaves of Challah bread overnight. While my first night at West Union, Mac was awake and working as I was, the second night I was up alone. Well, almost alone. Mac was asleep sitting at Luke's bedside, and Ryan slept in his room. Luke woke up at about four in the morning and hobbled to the kitchen for a drink. The swelling on his face was diminishing, though the bruises were spectacular shades of purple, yellow, and dark red.

"Are you doing to sleep any time soon?" Luke asked as he sat on the one of the chairs at the breakfast bar and sipped his orange juice.

"Should you be up and about?" I countered, hoping to shift the focus of the conversation.

"I actually feel pretty good all things considered," he smirked. "Though I'm going a bit stir crazy and Mac's smothering me with her mothering."

"Mothering?" I couldn't help but glare at him. After a brief stare down, he sighed in defeat. "So are you finally going to explain why you are best friends with her, yet at the same time keeping your distance? And if you say the five-year rule, I'm going to slap you silly. I've known you almost six months and in all that time you haven't been on one date."

"Most people that go into the military go in one of three ways – as a reservist; or, fresh out of high school; or, through one of the military academies. Let's just say I was different, I went after college."

Finally I am getting a picture of the complicated relationship between Mac and Luke. "So you went after college because Mac was what, fifteen or sixteen at the time?"

"Yup. She was bright, vibrant, and not your typical high school student, while I was a twenty-one year old man whore who knew enough to leave Texas before I did something stupid, like sleep with jailbait. She had a crush on me since she first arrived in Texas. Needless to say, her father figured out that I had feelings for her, didn't approve and confronted me back then, asking me to do the right thing. I did. It was a decision I made on my own before her father and I talked, but everyone was shocked when I enrolled in the military and was gone within a month," he explained sadly.

"You're both adults now."

"No shit." There's no hiding the bitterness in his voice. "She's close to her family. Her father doesn't approve of my having any romantic involvement with her. I will not become a wedge between her and her family."

"When did you last speak to her father?"

"After Mavericks. He was pissed at me for beating the asshole all the way into the ICU. He didn't approve, but I didn't give a shit back then. The asshole hurt her. Not just emotionally, but physically. That's the part of the story she won't tell, so when I went all ape shit on the douche bag, her father assumed I was the same and frankly, I don't blame him. Back then I left Elliot Grey in the dust in terms of women and my complete and total lack of control when it came to the dumb ass, well, that just sealed the deal. I promised her father we would only ever be just friends. I gave him my word and I've kept it."

"What about what Mac wants?"

He laughed bitterly. "No man has touched her since that asshole. She's jumped to the other side. I'm a lot of things Ana, but I'm a man of my word. I always have been and always will be. That's why I'm going to my place today. I called a cab and they should be here by five a.m. to drag my sorry ass home. So let's talk about your New York trip later today, shall we? I hear Grey is going with you and that you actually asked him."

His smirk is contagious and I can't help but grin back at him. "Well, he was going to send me with security."

"You mean he was going to send you with Taylor and Ryan, which meant no doing whatever you wanted. And not to be an asshole here, but what can I say, I play the cards I'm dealt, but you want to spend time getting to really know Grey."

I wanted to smack Luke when he used air quotes around 'getting to really know Grey'. "I'm not going to sleep with him. Just get to really know him. He knows my secrets and I'm hoping he will open up to me there because the mess here is just stress inducing."

"There's a lot of good in that man but there's a lot of darkness too," Luke began gently. "His life has been all kinds of fucked up, which I know you are aware of some of it. I know your life hasn't been a bed of roses either, but compared to his, well it pretty much was. His biggest issue is his bouts of self-loathing. That's just my opinion, but I've been following the man around for a few years, so take it however you want. There will be times when you will want to smack him upside the head because he's stubborn. At those times, be blunt and I mean to the point where it's painful. It cracks through his bullshit. Once the cracks are there, and then he'll really listen. Blunt is his reset button. I don't think even his parents have figured it out, but Taylor and I realized it a few years ago. Ros found the magic button."

I couldn't resist asking him what advice he gave him about me. He laughed before he replied, "Pretty much the same advice, though I did say you were tougher than you looked and when traumatized you get ridiculously introverted while you figure it all out. I warned him not to take it personally, because I know he will."

"Thank you Luke."

"I also told him if he hurt you, I'd put him through a wood chipper and he'd never be found," Luke grinned, but I can't help but think of Bubba when he said that. They've spent way too much time together since I returned to Seattle. Dad, Bubba, and Luke were like the three musketeers of trouble when they went out drinking together in Montesano. I have little doubt he meant what he said and the other two would happily assist him.

"By the way, I emailed Flynn yesterday. He's coming over here this morning to visit with you and give you something to help with your sleeping issues before you drop," Luke commented protectively. "I want you to promise me you will take it. I'm … no we're all worried about you."

Reluctantly, I agreed.

An hour later, I'd been downstairs to Mac's workshop to retrieve clothes for Luke to head home in, found his wallet and keys, made him breakfast, and packed up his medical supplies and prescriptions. I even called Bubba to meet him there to ensure he got settled, took his pills, and pulled a few pre-made meals from his freezer so he would have food. At five, Ryan helped him downstairs to the waiting taxi and Mac slept through it all.

"Are you going to explain to me why Luke left in the condition he's in?" Ryan asked as I made him French toast, bacon, and coffee.

With a quick pout and shrug, I replied, "Because he's a thick-headed moron who is blind as a bat."