Family Man

infuriated look in Atwood's eyes had indicated there was something very personal about the assault on Gilchrist. Something that went far beyond the annoyance of a man who had lost a cold-blooded business gamble.
    Luke got into the Jag and sat quietly behind the wheel for a moment. He decided he would do a little more probing on the subject of Nate Atwood.

    Later that evening Luke sprawled on the sofa in Katy's cottage and brooded about his day as he gazed into the fire. Zeke, having recently polished off the last of Katy's most recent pesto experiment, had flopped down in front of the hearth. His dish lay beside him. Matt was studying at the kitchen table.
    The whole scene should have felt cozy and serene. But Luke could not shake a nagging feeling that he had left loose ends dangling somewhere. Or perhaps it was simply Atwood's last words that were getting to him: At least I didn't sleep with her before I moved on .
    Everyone seemed to agree that Katy was not his type, Luke reflected.
    He glanced up as she came out of the kitchen carrying two small glasses of brandy. She smiled softly as she handed one to him and sat down beside him.
    “You've been awfully quiet this evening,” Katy said.
    “I'm thinking.”
    “Ah. Never interrupt a Gilchrist when he's in a contemplative mood, I always say.” Katy took a sip of brandy. “Are you ready to tell me how it went today?”
    “I think Eden can forget about Atwood.”
    Katy put her hand in his. “Thank you, Luke. This is going to mean a great deal to Eden.”
    “I don't really give a damn how much it means to Eden. I didn't do it for her. I did it for you. And this had better be the last time, Katy.”
    She turned her head on the cushion to look at him with searching eyes. “What's wrong? Why does it bother you so much to help the members of your family?”
    “They don't deserve any help. They resent me, they're suspicious of me, and they think I'm only here to get revenge for what happened to my parents.”
    Katy raised a brow. “Well, you haven't gone out of your way to reassure them otherwise, have you?”
    “Why should I bother? I won't be around long enough to worry about what they think.”
    “You are in a bad mood tonight, aren't you?”
    “What do you expect from a Gilchrist?” Luke put down his brandy glass. “Let's take a walk.”
    “All right.” Katy got to her feet and put her head around the kitchen door. “I'll be back in a little while, Matt.”
    “Okay,” Matt said.
    Zeke picked up his bowl and followed Luke and Katy outside.
    Luke walked in silence for a while, conscious of Katy's soothing presence. She had a calming effect on him even when he was in a surly mood, as he was tonight. He realized he was beginning to look forward to this strange sense of contentment that he experienced around her.
    He had never known this kind of deep certainty before with any other woman, not even Ariel. It occurred to him now that one of the attractions with Ariel had been the very lack of certainty he had known when he was with her.
    The wildness in her had been exciting, but tonight Luke questioned again how long the relationship would have lasted if Ariel had lived. How long before the jealousy and the passion and the never-ending roller coaster of emotional uncertainty would have combined into a bitter tonic that poisoned the marriage? he wondered.
    With startling clarity Luke realized he did not want a lifetime of chills and thrills. He wanted some peace. He wanted some softness in his world. He wanted happiness.
    Now that Katy had forced him to start thinking about his future, he was finding it impossible to stop. It was as though a small leak had been opened in a dike that had been holding back a great river. The hole was widening daily.
    Luke tightened his hold on Katy's hand as if she could somehow keep him afloat.
    “How did you persuade Nate to leave Eden alone?” Katy asked.
    “I dug up some information on him. Some false financial statements he prepared a few years ago. Figured where there was smoke there must be fire. Convinced his latest backers that he was a high risk. They folded and left him with a deal that's dead in the water. I told Atwood there was more where that came from if he kept hounding Eden.”
    Katy looked up at him in amazement. “My God. You make it sound so easy.”
    Luke shrugged. “It wasn't hard.”
    “Maybe not for you. For anyone else it would have been impossible. You're incredible, Luke.”
    “Rescuing