Free Sleeping in Eden by Nicole Baart Page B

he had done something. Anything.
    I took the ring, Lucas thought. It was too little, too late, and maybe not the right gesture at all. But he had done it, and now he had to live with the ramifications.
    Lucas both wanted and didn’t want to give Jenna the ring. He leaned over the side of the bed and took it from the nightstand where he had placed it the night before. It felt warm in the palm of his hand, the coil of gold an obvious and almost painful sphere pressing against his skin. Tell her, he thought. Go upstairs, lift her from sleep, and look into her eyes. Tell her what you saw. But now that he was home, away from the crime scene, the bustle of DCI agents, and all the questions, he was speechless. Maybe Jenna wouldn’t understand his gift. Maybe it would hurt her more than it helped. And although he believed with all his heart that the body beneath the floor of the barnwas Angela Sparks—and that DCI would quickly and easily determine that fact—it didn’t erase what he had done.
    Sane, trustworthy, respectable men didn’t steal evidence from a crime scene. And straitlaced, idealistic, reliable Lucas Hudson didn’t either. At least, not until he saw the glint of the ring.
    The telephone was far enough away that when it rang, it was more a dream than reality. Lucas finally turned his head so that his ear was angled at the door, and after a moment of lying perfectly still, he heard it. Quickly, he swung his feet to the floor and slithered out, grabbing his robe off the chair and gliding to the bedroom door on the balls of his feet. The door made the tiniest creak at his touch, but when he looked back to see if he had disturbed Jenna, he remembered that he slept alone. He flung the door open.
    Taking the stairs two at a time, Lucas reasoned that he had probably already missed the call. The answering machine would get it. He should have stayed in bed. But it was too late to turn back. He had committed himself to the chore and now he wanted to make it worth his while—no lousy hang-up. The kitchen tile bit his bare feet as he sprinted across the floor, but Lucas did reach the phone in time. The answering machine clicked on just as he swept the phone out of its cradle.
    â€œHello?” His voice was groggy with sleep and accompanied by a tinny, mechanical voice insisting that the Hudsons were not able to take the call. “Hang on a second, let me turn that off.”
    â€œLucas? You’re such a slacker—were you still in bed?” Alex was loud enough that Lucas had to yank the phone away from his ear.
    â€œNo,” Lucas lied. “Jenna and I were just having a lazy morning.” He spun around to look at the clock on the stove, which read 8:30. Surprised, he used his free hand to massage his face and ended up hiding a wide yawn, even though he knew Alex couldn’t see him through the telephone.
    â€œYou’re a bad liar, Lucas. Always have been,” Alex ribbed.
    â€œOkay, caught me.” Lucas yawned again. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve done that—slept so late, I mean.” He lowered himself into one of the kitchen chairs.
    â€œHey, I’m glad you did. Kids wouldn’t let me—Lily jumped into our bed at five freakin’ thirty this morning, ungodly—but I envy you. Do it every day if I could.”
    Lucas held his tongue. People often didn’t realize how seemingly benign comments like that cut Jenna to the quick. Him, too. Five freakin’ thirty sounded pretty fantastic if it meant that a child had been the alarm clock. Lucas couldn’t help wondering how different his whole life would be if he could laugh with Alex about the so-called chore of children.
    â€œWe’re starting with interviews this morning,” Alex went on. “We’ve been calling since seven o’clock, and have a few appointments lined up already.”
    â€œOn Sunday? I’m surprised the fine residents of Blackhawk