It took him an amazingly long time to catch her, and then he had to tackle her to get her to stop, twisting so he took the brunt of their fall. But then he was forced to protect himself from her pummeling fists, his heart nearly stopping when he realized she was sobbing as she lashed out at him.
He finally just hugged her so tightly that her blows became ineffective, and cupped her head to his cheek. “Shhh,” he crooned, wrapping his legs around hers to stop her struggles. “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
She suddenly went limp. “Let me go.”
He chuckled humorlessly. “Not a chance, lady. Just listen to me, will you?” he said in a rush when she started struggling again. “I just spent the last two months searching Springy Mountain for your mother’s satellite, which crashed there last summer.”
She went still again, only this time she remained guardedly tense.
“But I got caught in a blizzard, and your brother-in-law Jack Stone found me and brought me to your parents,” he quickly continued. “I told them who I was. Well, I told them I was Luke Pascal, but I did say I was the man you’d been corresponding with all last winter. Anyway, I wasn’t aware they didn’t know you no longer worked for NASA, so you can blame that one on me. But it was Fiona who sent them a Christmas card, which led them to believe you were living here in Go Back Cove.”
He shrugged, shrugging her with him. “I don’t know why they refused to come get you themselves. But your mother said something about their needing you to wantto come home. So she asked me to come get you.”
He sighed, pressing his face into her hair. “I don’t know if any of this is making any sense, Camry, or even getting through to you. I only know that your parents love you immensely, and they’re . . . aw hell, they’re hurt and confused and probably scared sick that you’ve been keeping your secret from them for so long.”
She went completely limp again, and this time Luke knew she wasn’t faking. It might have had something to do with her silent sobs, or the fact that instead of pushing him away, she was now clutching him with wrenching desperation.
He slid his fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I am so damned sorry for not telling you up front who I was, and I’m sorry for letting your parents talk me into coming after you in the first place. This was none of my business, really, but since I’m rather invested now, I have to ask: Why couldn’t you tell your mother what was going on with your work?”
He slackened his hold just enough to lift her chin, and his heart nearly stopped again at the pain he saw in her eyes. He brushed a tear off her cheek and smiled tenderly. “You have my word, MacKeage: I won’t run home to your mama and tattle. That’s completely between you and her. But having met Grace, and seeing how much she loves you, I can’t figure out why you couldn’t go to her with your problem.” He widened his smile. “As for your father, that man scares the hell out of me almost as much as you do.”
She blinked at him, and Luke took a relieved breath, figuring he’d gotten them past the worst part. He slackened his hold even more, and when she didn’t start swinging at him, he released her totally, gently rolled her off him, and sat up. But when she tried to stand, he took hold of her wrist and held her sitting beside him.
“Just a minute. There’s a bit more you need to hear.”
She didn’t try to break his grip, but simply stared out at the ocean.
Luke took a deep breath. “I had been eavesdropping on your mother’s satellite for several months before I started corresponding with you. I was fascinated with what your mother was doing, and have been working on the same problem myself for nearly ten years. I know what I did was unconscionable, but I was getting so frustrated and so damned desperate, I simply didn’t care anymore.”
He looked over at her. “I swear, it wasn’t my intention to steal your mother’s work; I just wanted to find something—anything—that would move my own work along. But last summer something went terribly wrong, and Podly suddenly fell out of orbit and crashed just north of Pine Creek. I’ve spent the last two months searching for it on Springy Mountain, hoping I could take it to Grace so she could salvage some part of her work.”
“You don’t find it strange that Podly crashed so close to Pine Creek?” she asked, her voice raspy with lingering sobs.
He frowned. “Well, I admit it’s more than a little perplexing.” He turned to face her fully, and lifted her hand so he could hold it in both of his. “But what I’m trying to tell you is, I am truly, profoundly sorry for what I did. And I’m asking for another chance. Please, let me prove to you that even though nothing could ever justify what I’ve done, my intentions have always been honorable.”
She pulled free, folded her hands on her lap, and stared out at the ocean again.
“Please don’t shut me out, Camry. Let me prove my sincerity. Help me find Podly and bring it back to your mother.”
“I can’t ever go home again,” she whispered. She hugged her knees to her chest, huge tears spilling down her cheeks as she continued staring out at the ocean. “I can’t face either of them. I’ve been lying for what seems like forever. I’ve been lying to my entire family.” She dropped her head to her knees. “They’ll never forgive me.”
Luke leaned down and brushed away a tear with his thumb. “So you’re saying that if one of your sisters had a bit of a midlife crisis, then tried to cover it up and deal with it herself, you wouldn’t forgive her?”
“You don’t understand. This wouldn’t happen to one of my sisters. MacKeage women don’t have midlife crises, because we’re too damn busy being brilliant, successful, and happy.”
Luke snorted, then smiled when she glared at him. “Nobody goes through life avoiding brick walls. I’d bet my last dollar that every one of your sisters has hit at least one, if not several, walls.” He took hold of her hand again and held it in his. “You may be standing in front of one right now, but it’s not the end of the road. If you can’t go around it, then you just have to find a way through it. And your mother,” he said, giving her a squeeze, “is desperate to help you. And your father . . . well, I bet he’d give his right arm to help you through this.” He leaned forward to look her in the eyes. “And so would I, Camry.”
She said nothing, pulling her hand away to hug her knees again as she stared out at the ocean.
Luke turned to watch the waves gently lapping toward them. “I sold my soul trying to unlock the secret of ion propulsion, but over the course of this last week, I’ve decided that I don’t give a flying damn about it anymore.” He looked over at her and took a deep breath. “Tell me how to help you fix this,” he softly petitioned. “I’ll do whatever you want . . . except walk away. I’ll go home and face your parents with you, or if you prefer, I’ll go get them and bring them here. Or I can take you home to my mother in British Columbia and wait until you’re ready to go home to yours.”
She remained silent, then suddenly got to her feet. “I need to think.”
He also scrambled to his feet. “I don’t have a problem with that,” he offered, falling in step beside her as they headed toward the house. “As long as you understand that I’m not leaving.”
Chapter Nine
Camry walked down the beach at a brisk pace, her head feeling like it was going to explode from the tears she desperately fought to hold back. So much had happened this morning, she wasn’t sure she’d ever recover. She’d been hit with so many lies and half-truths about so many things—not the least of which was silently walking beside her.