Chapter 23 #2
And with that he put Mikey in his bed. He did it gently, almost like Mikey was a china doll he was afraid of breaking.
Mikey yawned and stretched. He was still hovering right on the cusp between being asleep and being awake, and he wanted to make the most of this moment of tenderness.
He wanted to take advantage of it in case things turned sour the next day.
Don’t be such a pessimist.
Luke crawled into bed beside him.
“Come ‘ere,” he said, and Mikey almost melted. There was just something so calm and commanding, yet unbearably tender, about the way Luke said those two words. How was he supposed to resist?
He scootched over and wrapped his arms around Luke, resting his head on his chest. Luke’s heartbeat sounded gently in his ear, calm and steady.
I love you, he almost whispered.
Instead of saying it, though, he just nestled closer, enjoying the feeling of Luke’s arm wrapped around him. And, just like that, he fell asleep.
During their work sessions the next day it became clear Luke meant what he said when it came to taking some of Mikey’s suggestions about what their show should look and sound like.
The set list–including their songs–was starting to take shape, and though Luke took the helm, Mikey was a key part of the process.
He’d would make a few comments here and there, and Luke would take them in stride.
Is this a side of Luke I’ve never allowed myself to see? He thought. Has he really changed that much?
At the moment, they were on opposite sides of Luke’s living room, each of them dressed simply in T-shirts and jeans.
Luke was, of course, strumming his guitar, trying to find just the right notes to go along with the lyrics they’d been working on.
Mikey, on the other hand, was staring out at the fields and woods around the cabin, while Duke sprawled across his legs.
“You’re lookin’ very contemplative today,” Luke said, breaking into his thoughts. It was only then he realized he hadn’t heard any strumming from him for a while, and now he felt like he’d been slacking.
“I’m sorry, what’d you say?”
Luke shook his head.
“I said you’re looking very contemplative today. Penny for your thoughts?”
Mikey didn’t want to reveal what he’d been thinking, so he said the first thing which came to mind.
“I was just thinking it was a lovely day outside. It seems a shame to be cooped up here. I mean, I’ve already been here a couple of days, and I haven’t even seen the rest of your property. I wanna see more of what makes Luke, Luke.”
Luke mulled it over.
“Okay, fine,” he said. “I hate to leave the writing behind, but riding around the place always helps me think,” he said. “And it also makes me get into the creative mood.”
“Communing with the ancestors?”
Luke just rolled his eyes at Mikey’s incessant sarcasm.
“Are you gonna sit there givin’ me shit, or are you gonna come outside?”
“Is Duke gonna come?” Mikey asked.
One of the most surprising things about Mikey’s time out here at the cabin was the extent to which he found himself falling a little in love with Luke’s dog, Duke.
He still thought it was a bit weird Luke had given his dog a name that rhymed with his own but, as with so many other things where Luke Carter was concerned, he decided to just roll with it.
Duke was a great dog, always up for a walk or just to lounge around the house.
An image sprang into Mikey’s mind–similar to the one he'd had when he first arrived–of himself and Luke cuddled up on the couch in front of the fireplace, Duke curled up on the floor in front of them. It was such a beautiful, comforting image Mikey almost thought it was real. It was the kind of future he’d almost given up imagining with anyone, man or woman, but being with Luke made it feel possible again.
“Mikey, are you there? You look like you’re a thousand miles away.”
Luke’s voice, tinged with just a bit of concern, brought him out of his daydream and back into the real world.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m fine. I was just…thinking. Again.”
Instead of asking any further questions, Luke just started walking toward the door and, as he reached it, he gave Mikey a look over his shoulders that threatened to turn his knees to jelly. It was all he could do to keep from jumping his bones right then and there.
When they stepped outside Mikey took a deep breath.
Being out here, in the middle of the country, was just the kind of relaxing he was hoping for when he’d come out here with Luke.
Kissing in the barn had been great, and so had their sexy times inside, but something about the sound of the birds singing in the trees, something about just how clear and clean the air was, something even about the way the wind sounded as it rustled through the leaves, brought him a feeling of peace he didn’t think he’d ever felt since leaving West Virginia ten years earlier.
The feeling only got stronger once they saddled up the horses–Luke took Reba and Mikey took Loretta–and started a slow ride around the property. As he settled into the groove of riding again, Mikey found himself glad he’d taken a few lessons while he was with Mindy.
The rhythm of the horse’s gait, the clean fresh air, the aching beauty of rural West Virginia…it took his breath away.
Maybe I should think about moving back here.
Mikey opened his mouth–to say what, exactly, he didn’t really know–when a truck came barreling down the road toward them.
His mind abruptly flashed back to that day, a decade earlier, when a truck very much like this one had interrupted one of his makeout sessions with Luke, reminding him of how dangerous it was for them to do stuff like out in public where everyone could see them.
His heart started racing in his chest, and he looked to Luke to see if he was feeling the same.
To his surprise, though, Luke had a big old smile on his face and, waving to Mikey to follow him, he urged Reba to a trot, heading toward the fence and waving his hand.
The truck came to a stop, and whoever was inside rolled down the window.
“Well, Luke Carter, it’s nice to see you out and about,” a woman who looked to be in her late fifties said.
She was one of those women who Mikey’s mother would’ve called handsome rather than beautiful: her face had strong bones, and her gray-streaked brown hair was drawn back from her face in a tight bun.
Something about the laughter dancing in her dark brown eyes, however, suggested she was someone who didn’t take life too seriously.
“Mikey, meet Shelly,” he said. “She’s one of my neighbors up that way.” He gestured with an arm up toward the hill behind them.
Mikey put on his most affable smile and urged Loretta up beside Reba. Now he was closer, he found himself liking her immediately. Something told him she really cared about Luke.
That makes two of us, he thought.
“What brings you out this way to Luke’s cabin?” Shelly asked. The question was friendly enough, but with just enough of an edge to her voice to make it clear to Mikey she had a reason for asking.
Just answer honestly, he thought. But don’t go too far.
“It’s really nice to meet you,” he said. “I came out here to help Luke out with a bit of music. We’re putting a benefit concert together for the Northern Appalachia Center for the Arts.”
Shelly’s eyes lit up, but she didn’t lose the faint look of suspicion, still trying to determine whether she trusted Mikey or not.
“Is that so?” she said. “I haven’t seen anyone come out this way in a long time.
And the only other people who do are usually Bryce and sometimes Katrina.
It’ll do Luke some good to have someone else here.
” She held up an admonitory finger. “You just be sure not to break his heart, you hear? He’s already had enough. ”
“Shelly,” Luke said, rolling his eyes. Mikey didn’t miss the flush creeping up his cheeks, though. Was Luke Carter actually embarrassed?
“Don’t you talk to me in that tone,” Shelly said, and while her tone was still light, it was clear she was like a mother hen where Luke was concerned.
“If you’re not going to look after your heart, then who else is going to do it for you?
Besides, God wants all of us to watch over each other, so that’s what I’m going to do. ”
Mikey was a bit taken aback by this casual mention of God, but Luke didn’t seem bothered by it, so he didn’t make a big fuss. However, he made a mental note to ask about it when this very strange, if lovely, woman had gone on her way.
“Well, I won’t keep you both,” she said. “I’ve got some errands to run in town, and those groceries aren’t going to pick up themselves.”
And then she was gone, and Mikey and Luke were left alone again.
“So, uh,” Mikey began, “she seems fun.”
Luke shrugged. “What can I say? We’re a bit of an odd bunch out in this part of the county, to be sure, but we stick up and show up for each other.
When I first came here after…after everything, it was Shelly who ended up bringing me food every day until I was back on my feet and not too depressed to function. ”
Mikey reached out and threaded his fingers through Luke’s.
“I wish I could’ve been there for you.” He paused and then corrected himself. “I wish I would have been there for you. I should’ve been, but I wasn’t.”
Luke turned to him, then, with a solemn look in his eyes. Mikey’s heart beat faster, but not in a good way.
“You already apologized for that,” he said softly, “and I already accepted it. It’s time to let go of the past, okay? There’s no need to hold onto it.”
Mikey swallowed past the lump in his throat. Here Luke was, offering him forgiveness again, and he was still trying to make it all about him.
“Okay,” he said. “I promise I’m going to try not to be so apologetic. I know it can sometimes be a lot, and I also know sometimes it’s more about making myself feel better rather than trying to actually offer amends to the person who I’ve hurt.”