Page 57 of Charmed By Destiny

Everything was moving fast, and Luke had nothing more than a look from Richard to go on. The last thing he wanted to do was make Richard uncomfortable in his own home. If he stayed in the neighboring guesthouse, at least he’d allow Richard to keep some distance between them as they adjusted to their new reality.

“Very sensible,” Clark said.

“We can talk after dinner if you want,” Richard offered.

“Thanks, I’d like that,” Luke replied.

“Great, now that we have that area settled for now, let’s move on to the next topic,” Rosalind remarked.

“I told you they probably made a list while you were driving over,” Richard muttered.

“This doesn’t involve you, Richard,” Clark told his eldest son. “Lucas, I was curious about your necromancer. You mentioned when you first arrived that you were still on speaking terms. How is he doing? Is there anything we can do to assist him? Is he alone somewhere, or does he have family?”

Luke closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “We were on speaking terms until yesterday.”

“Oh no, what happened?” Richard asked.

“Right before I left for the wedding, he called me. The conversation didn’t go well, and it became obvious that his only reason for communicating with me was so I could continue sending him half my paycheck. He won big yesterday at whatever casino he’s at, and I begged him not to gamble it all away. His argument was the same as ever. You can’t win money without gambling it. And he didn’t see the harm in doing so since he had a steady supply of cash being funneled to him by me.”

Richard rested his hand on Luke’s arm. “I’m sorry, that must be very painful. He’s your family.”

“Thanks, Dragonfly. I suppose it’s fair to say he’ll always be family to me, even if we can’t communicate until he’s willing to get some help.”

“Are you doing okay with money?” Clark asked. “I wish you’d let someone know you were sending so much of your hard-earned wages to your necro. We would’ve supplemented that income.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask for that,” Luke argued, appalled at the thought. “It was my choice to send it. I was foolish enough to think I wasn’t enabling him to continue being irresponsible. I’ve been sensible with the other half. Nearly all of it is in savings. I was planning on buying a car in cash since I wasn’t sure if I was staying, but now I can afford to take on a payment.”

“Were you thinking of quitting?” Richard asked, his blue gaze wide with shock.

Luke had finished his plate and had no appetite left to take more, despite not being full. He fiddled with his napkin as he thought through his options. But there was only one way for him to answer Richard, and that was with full honesty.

“I don’t want secrets between us,” Luke said. “So, I think it’s time for me to admit that I wasn’t completely truthful when I first arrived. My necromancer learned about your family, and he believed this was a good option. That I’d come here for a bit so we could pull some money together. I didn’t think I was starting over, but now I wonder if that wasn’t his thought from the start. I’d work and send him money to keep his favored lifestyle afloat. While his father was alive, that was our existence. We had a condo, a little money to keep our freezer stocked with frozen dinners, and the rest was wasted by Foxe. Once his father died, his brother cut him off. We hit the road and mostly grifted from one town to another.”

“I don’t want to speak poorly of Foxe because I know you love him, but Lucas, he doesn’t deserve you,” Richard remarked, squeezing his arm affectionately again. “No matter what your intentions were, I’m glad you had the courage to try something different. You’ve been a remarkable asset to the office.”

Maribeth elbowed Richard hard enough that he squeaked. “And?”

“And what?” Richard asked, rubbing his midsection where she’d nailed him.

“Soulmate,” she hissed.

“Yeah, and?” Richard retorted. “You want me to thank him for that? It was destiny. That’s what we were taught.”

“At least thank the man for taking you to bed.”

“Stop embarrassing me,” Richard insisted with a glare. His cheeks were bright with either temper or modesty, and it reminded Luke of how his face flushed with passion. Luke grinned like an idiot.

“Children, behave yourselves,” Clark chided. “Lucas, I’d lie and say I don’t want to pry, but destiny has made you part of the Marwoods, so I’ll be as direct with you as I would with anyone else in the family. Necromancers are immortal, how did yours lose his father?”

Luke tore his gaze from the enticing Richard and shrugged. “No clue. Foxe wasn’t close to him because of his gambling addiction, and his brother never explained how he died.”

“Oddly, that story sounds familiar,” Gabriel stated. “Is their surname Wynnter?”

“No,” Luke replied. “Their family tradition is to name their inspirits with the last name Wynnter. Thewynnpart comes from their last name, which is Arwynn.”

Clark lifted a black brow. “Interesting. Do you know the Arwynns well?”

“Nope, never met any of them besides Foxe. According to him, both his brother and father are assholes. I saw the outside of their estate in DC, it’s huge. So, they have money. That’s about all I know.”

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