Free Just Believe by Anne Manning Page A

over and popped open the
lock.
    "Didn't mean to wake you," she said,
getting in the car.
    "No matter," he said, handing over her
keys. "Is Erin all right? I was about to come up to check on
her."
    "Good thing you didn't. Your brother
showed up not long after you left." Annabelle started the whiny
engine of her rented import.
    Lucas sat up and turned sideways in his
seat, his eyes burning intensely.
    "Gaelen was here? What did he
say?"
    Backing out of the parking space,
Annabelle twisted around and didn't answer right away. She had
trouble reconciling the urgency in Lucas's voice at the mention of
his brother's name with the charming Dr. Riley who'd introduced
himself in Erin's room.
    "He's concerned about you," she finally
answered, easing the car onto the street and heading out of town to
her mother's house.
    Lucas puffed out a disbelieving grunt.
"Concerned for himself, you mean," he said, his voice
low.
    Driving beyond the bright lights of the
medical center, they rode in silence through the velvet black
night. Though he didn't make a sound, his tension rippled through
the air. Annabelle could almost hear his nerves twanging, the
annoying sound of a rubber band being plucked.
    Her own nerves tightened. "What's with
you and your brother?"
    "What do you mean?" Lucas didn't turn
toward her as he spoke.
    "You seem to be worried about seeing
him."
    "Actually, Gaelen isn't the one I'm
most worried about."
    "Who then?"
    A snort preceded his answer. "I can't
tell you now. Maybe later, if..."
    "If what?"
    "If I can get myself out of the trouble
I've made for myself and Erin." His head dropped back against the
back of the seat.
    "You've got my attention, Lucas. Tell
me." When he didn't speak, she added, "You've just said my sister
is in trouble. You're going to tell me what's going on. And don't
give me any more nonsense about it being dangerous for me to
know."
    With a deep sigh, Lucas said, "When I
can, I will. There're some things I need to find out first." His
eyes closed and he turned toward the window.
    Annabelle let him rest, deciding to
pursue the issue when she had him in the house.
    "Here we are," she announced, pulling
the parking brake.
    Lucas sat up and looked around. "Do you
think we can get me in without your mother seeing me?"
    "Let me check," Annabelle said, opening
her door and getting out. She hurried up the walk and pulled out
her house key. Unlocking the door slowly, she listened for any
sound showing her mother was still up and about. After finding her
sleeping soundly, Annabelle went back to the front door and waved
Lucas in.
    He passed her and headed straight for
the basement stairs.
    "Where are you going?" she
asked.
    "I'm going to hide out in the rec room.
There's a couch down there, right?" he whispered.
    "Yes," Annabelle answered, following
him down the stairs. She hadn't expected him to settle in. "How
long are you thinking of staying?" All she needed was for her
mother to wake up and find this guy here. Annabelle wasn't in the
mood for a hysterical scene right now.
    "Just until I can figure a way out of
this." He dropped onto the beat-up plaid sofa, stretching his long
legs. A grimace twisted his face and a grunt of discomfort ground
from his throat.
    "What's wrong, Lucas? Are you hurt?"
Annabelle knelt in front of him and laid her hand on his
knee.
    Lucas squinted at her. "Just a little.
I fear I injured my shoulder a bit, tore something."
    "Oh. Let me get you something. Some
aspirin?"
    "No! No aspirin."
    Annabelle jumped at his tone. He
sounded like she'd offered him strychnine.
    "No aspirin," he repeated more quietly.
"Upsets my stomach, you see. Just a teaspoon of cinnamon in a cup
of hot tea, if it wouldn't be too much trouble."
    His charming smile, so like his older
brother's, melted some of her unease about this whole
thing.
    "No trouble at all." She left him
stretched quietly on the sofa and went up the stairs to the
kitchen. All the while she heated the water and spooned out the
cinnamon into