Chapter 9

It was after midnight,and Lucas was still wide awake.

He was sitting on Maddie"s couch, the pile of blankets he"d been intending to sleep under still folded on the end.

Maddie had gone to bed as soon as they"d gotten home.

She"d been quiet, and he"d given her space.

He was still reeling from the day. From her. From?—

His phone rang, and he saw it was Jacob finally calling him back. He answered it quietly. "Hi."

Jacob wasted no time with small talk. "How is she?"

"She"s solid."

The sigh of relief was audible. "She"s good, then?"

Lucas looked at the photos on the coffee table. Her friends. Her dad. No boyfriend. "She"s got a great dad. Great friends. Successful business." He paused, then decided to be honest with Jacob. "She has shadows from her past, but she doesn"t remember any of it. What do you remember about her time at Ivan"s?"

Jacob let out his breath. "Shit. It was bad. It was bad for all of us. I protected her as much as I could, but when you hear or see the violence, it"s almost as bad as if it actually gets to you."

Lucas rubbed his eyes wearily, his heart heavy for the shadows Maddie was carrying. She might not actively remember what happened, but her soul knew. "I don"t think she wants to know what happened."

"No need," Jacob agreed. "It"s a bunch of crap anyway. Should I come out there?"

Lucas grimaced, but the Harts didn't keep secrets from each other. "She doesn't want to see you. She doesn't want to go back to the memories she"s hiding from."

"I get that," Jacob said, his voice quiet. "Tell her that I"m here for her, in any way she needs or wants. She"ll always be my sister in my heart, even if she never remembers who I am." He paused. "Dylan says Les doesn't appear to have found her yet, but thanks for watching out for her."

"You got it." From Jacob"s comment, Lucas figured Dylan had talked to him. "You doing all right?"

"Yeah. I"m keeping Phoebe and Annie close, and I let Dylan put a few men on us. I hate having them around, but it"s not about me anymore. Phoebe and Annie are everything to me, Lucas. Every fucking thing."

Lucas smiled. "I know. They"re lucky to have you." The entire Hart family, Jacob included, would never have believed that Jacob would wind up with a woman and a child. He just couldn"t handle people in his space, even his own family, for long.

But Phoebe and Annie fit him, and they were giving him life and freedom that he"d never had before.

Lucas was jealous. Not jealous, so much as inspired. If Jacob could find someone who fit him, who could get past the demons and the nightmares, then all the Harts had a chance. Even Lucas. "I gotta ask you something."

"What"s up?" Jacob sounded curious.

Lucas stood up and paced across the room, away from the bedroom door. "Maddie"s radiant, Jacob. She literally lights up any room she"s in. She sasses me, and she and her friends don"t give a shit that I"m a Hart. She told me I would owe her a billion dollars for every photo of her that winds up on the web because of a paparazzi shot of me. She"s funny. She"s irreverent. She"s tough. And at the same time, she"s so fucking vulnerable."

Jacob was quiet for a sec. "You like her."

Lucas let out his breath. "Yeah."

"You want to know if I"m okay if you date her?"

"Yeah." Lucas paced across the kitchen, surprised that his heart was actually racing.

"Hell, bro. You know my answer."

"I need to hear it."

"Since when did you turn all soft like that?" Jacob said with a chuckle.

"Since I met her."

"Ah…it"s like that." Understanding softened Jacob"s voice, a timbre that had been reserved only for horses until Phoebe and Annie had taught him that people needed him, too.

"Yeah," Lucas said.

"Like Annie and Phoebe?"

Lucas had been there the moment Jacob had driven up with Annie and Phoebe for the first time. The mom and little girl had jumped out of his truck and raced across his lawn. Lucas had expected Jacob to be spiraling, unable to handle them in his space.

And then he"d seen the look on Jacob"s face. Peace. Serenity. Expressions and emotions he was pretty sure Jacob had never experienced before in his life. Emotions that he was pretty sure Jacob hadn"t even understood.

Lucas hadn"t understood them either. Not really.

But now he did, because Maddie had awakened a softness that he hadn"t known he was capable of. "Yeah. It"s like Annie and Phoebe."

Jacob let out a low whistle. "Then I wish you all the luck in the world, bro. I hope you find what I found."

Lucas closed his eyes. "So, you"re good with it? With me and her, if it works out?"

"I"ve known you since I was a teenager. Lost, fucked up, and scared shitless. I know who you are. I know how you treat people. You"re the one who takes care of everyone. Makes sure we"re okay. You"ve held me together so many times when I thought my mind was going to explode and shatter. Maddie would be lucky as all hell if she wound up with you. And I mean it."

Lucas felt his throat tighten. He knew that Maddie meant everything to Jacob. She"d haunted him since the day she"d disappeared. The fact that Jacob would trust Lucas with her was…a statement. "Thanks."

Jacob"s voice was equally rough. "I love you, bro. I believe in you."

"Thanks. Love you, too."

"If she"s the right one for you, it"s worth it. It"s worth hanging in there. But it"s not easy. It"ll scare the shit out of you more than anything you"ve experienced in your life."

Hell. Lucas had experienced a lot. "Yeah." It had been a very long time since Lucas had been drawn to a woman. He"d been burned badly, and the lesson had branded itself into the fiber of his being.

Until now.

"I"m not sure what to do about it, Jacob," he admitted. "Maddie wants her distance."

"Give it to her. Phoebe gave me the distance I needed. That"s why I was able to handle what I was feeling. Give her time. Patience."

Lucas laughed softly. "You"re the people expert now?"

"Nope. Just a man who hated people, until he met the one he"d been waiting for all this time."

Lucas lightly punched his fist against the cabinet. "Fuck. I"m so happy for you, Jacob."

"Yeah, me, too. I want to go back to them now. We good?"

"Yep."

"All right." He hung up abruptly, making Lucas smile.

He knew Jacob so well. When Jacob"s ability to connect reached his limit, he had to retreat. Suddenly. Completely. But at least now, he was retreating to Phoebe and little Annie.

Lucas hung up the phone and tapped it against his chest.

How did he go forward with Maddie? The last thing he wanted to do was push her. He"d never push her. But?—

"Lucas?"

He spun around, his chest tightening when he saw Maddie standing in her bedroom doorway. She was wearing plaid pajama bottoms, a loose sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks. She looked tired and tense, and he had to force himself to lean back against the kitchen counter instead of striding across the small house to pull her into his arms. "You okay?" Obviously she wasn"t, but he wasn"t going to make her admit anything she didn"t want to reveal.

She hugged herself. "I can"t sleep. Usually Violet is enough, but my mind is going crazy."

Something inside him softened. Tough, independent Maddie. He loved that she"d been honest with him. "How can I help?" Did she want him to sit in her room? Hold her while she tried to sleep? Sleep on her floor? He was down with any of that.

"Pizza."

He started laughing at himself. "Pizza?" Not him being some heroic presence in her bedroom, cradling her. Pizza. Fuck, he loved that. Maddie had powerful boundaries, and he respected that.

"And ice cream."

He grinned. "You bet. Got a favorite place?"

The corner of her mouth quirked. "What do you think?"

"I think you"re a woman who knows her pizza and ice cream."

Her smile made it to her eyes. "A gold star for Lucas Hart tonight."

"You want me to go pick it up?"

"It"s too late for delivery, but we can go together." She held up her phone. "I already put my order in. Do you want anything?"

"You bet." He walked over to her and accepted her phone. Their fingers brushed, and he met her gaze. For a split second, Lucas saw interest flash in her eyes, and then she looked away.

But he"d seen it.

Maddie was as aware of him as he was of her.

He had a chance.