Chapter 16 #2
for a snack. You don’t mind, do you?”
I cross my arms and smile. “Oh, this I have to see.”
I watch in fascination as Luke’s rooster follows him into the kitchen, sticking close to his feet as he gets some tortilla shells out of the fridge and pulls half a piece off before moving over to the cupboard to retrieve a small ramekin dish.
He digs into another cupboard for some crushed walnuts and then gestures for me to follow him into the living room.
I sit on his camel-colored leather sofa as Luke adds some more logs to the fire and stretches out on the rug, lying on his
side as Rufus the Rooster comes over, clucking up a storm in anticipation.
Luke tears the tortilla into tiny pieces and puts them in the small dish, holding it out for the bird, and Rufus pecks at
the ramekin, jerking his head back to get the food down his sharp beak. Luke smiles up at me like a kid on Christmas morning.
“It’s cool, right?”
“It’s something,” I reply with a laugh, tucking my legs under my chin.
“Did you ever have any pets?” he asks, taking his hat off and setting it on the floor to run his hand through his hair. The
fire backlights his wavy strands making him look like he’s posing for some sort of farm life magazine.
I hesitate before answering his question, my knee-jerk response wanting to be no. But there’s something about this moment
and this night and, hell, this week, that makes me want to tell the truth.
“I had a dog as a kid,” I croak, my voice quiet.
“What was its name?” Luke asks, adding more tortilla shreds to the bowl.
“Backpack.” I swallow down the tightness in my throat.
“Backpack.” Luke laughs and looks up at me. “How’d you come up with that?”
My cheeks flush with anxiety as I answer, “My little brother named him.”
Luke loses all humor on his face as he holds my gaze for a long, quiet moment.
He knows my brother died in a car accident years ago, but that’s the extent of what he knows and honestly, it’s more than most people know.
I told him about it one night because he asked, and there’s something about Luke that really makes me not want to hide from him.
I slide down off the couch and sit crisscross, reaching out to run my hand over Rufus’s tall tail. “Aaron had just started
kindergarten, so he was pretty into backpacks I guess.”
Luke chuckles but that sympathy in his eyes is still there, holding me without touching me. “It’s a cool name for a dog.”
“Yeah . . .” I feel a pressure in my chest build as I say the next part. “He died in the car accident too.”
Silence grows between us, and I look up to make sure Luke heard me. He did. His eyes are intent on me as he lets me process
the words I just shared.
“I’m sorry, Roe,” he says softly, abandoning his bowl and reaching out to lay his hand on top of mine.
“Me too.” I feel my eyes burn with incoming tears. “We buried my brother with Backpack’s collar.”
“I’m sure they found each other on the other side,” Luke says, his voice full of comfort.
I shoot him a watery smile. Luke always feels like comfort to me, which is unfair because he has the loss of his dad to work
through as well. He doesn’t talk about his dad much either. Or maybe he does but just not to me. I wouldn’t blame him after
the way I behaved during that time in his life.
I guess both of us have some death traumas we’re still unpacking in our own ways. Maybe we never will unpack them fully. Maybe
death is just something you have to learn to carry with you all the time and you can never truly unload the sadness of it.
He eyes me with arched brows. “Fact or fiction. Aaron was a little stud.”
“Oh, that’s a fact,” I reply with a garbled laugh, grateful for the levity. I turn to face Luke, my hands gesticulating with
pride because I never talk about my brother, and it feels good. “He would make me approve all his outfits before school every
day and would take ages gelling his hair. He missed the bus so many times because he was in the bathroom primping.”
“Really?” Luke laughs and the crinkles in his eyes give me butterflies. “I’m sure your dad loved that.”
“It made him crazy. Said he couldn’t wait until I got my license so I could drive Aaron to school.” My voice drops at the
end as I realize Aaron didn’t live long enough for that to happen.
God, life is such a fucking bitch.
Rufus bocks, ripping me out of my quiet turmoil. “Ugh, I feel like I’ve aged a decade this past week.” I groan and stretch
my legs out and wiggle my toes. “So many big life changes. Marriage, moving, wedding planning.”
Luke watches me thoughtfully for a moment before replying, “And don’t forget about the lumberjack competition.”
“How could I forget that?” I smile and reach out to touch his chin. “Your chin is looking way better.”
He reaches up to trace the same area, our fingers brushing as I pull my hand away. “I hope I have a cool battle scar as a
keepsake.”
“You certainly surprised the hell out of me that day.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Just wait till you see me next year.”
“You’re going to do it again?”
“Fuck yeah I am,” Luke chirps, his eyes narrowing with determination. “I need to put that Ivan fucker in his place.”
I giggle and cover my face, not sure why I like the idea of Luke being jealous of Ivan so much. It’s not a normal reaction a friend has with another friend, but it still feels good. I like knowing he cares.
Luke looks up at me, the crinkles around his eyes deepening as he smiles. “I know it’s only day one . . . but I like having
you here.”
I tilt my head and look around the room, taking in the warm, cozy feel. “I think I’m going to like it here.” We’re silent
for a moment before I add, “But there is no way in hell I’m joining that Fletcher family carpool spreadsheet you texted me.”
“What?”
“You guys leave for Boulder every day at six thirty in the morning!”
“Yeah, so?”
“It’s a no from me.”
Luke hops up from the floor and wipes his hands off on his jeans, Rufus squawking at the quick change of position. “Wyatt
is going to be pissed at you.”
“Why?”
“Because Fletcher Mountain is an eco-friendly peak. Did you peep the solar panels when you got here? You’re increasing our
carbon footprint and he is not going to be pleased.”
“Well, you’re my husband,” I snap up at him.
“Yeah . . . and?”
“And you should stick up for me like I did for you today with your mom,” I exclaim, glowering up at him with all the rage
I can muster when deep down I friggin’ love this kid.
Luke watches me for a moment, a strange look in his eyes that I can’t quite read. He takes a beat and lowers himself down
onto the sofa so he’s no longer towering over me. “That was really cool what you did for my mom today, by the way.”
“It was nothing.” I reply, looking away so I don’t say out loud, I didn’t do it for her. I did it for you.
“No, it was something.” He makes a noise in the back of his throat and adds, “I fucked up and you saved the day and made her really happy. Thank you for doing that.”
I offer him a weak smile. “I’m going to need help planning this dang wedding anyways.”
He chuckles softly. “Yeah, your dad knew exactly what he was doing with that request.”
“He’s evil.” I growl, my hands balling up into fists. “But at least we’ll have a couple months to get used to faking this
marriage thing so by the time I have to walk down the aisle to you in a puffy white dress, we can make it look halfway convincing.”
Luke’s eyes tighten ever so slightly before he nods and bends over to pick up Rufus. “I’m going to put this guy back outside
and then probably crash. Back to the real world tomorrow.”
“Ugh, work. I hate Mondays.” I reach my hand out for Luke to help me up and as he does, in one fluid motion, I pull him in
for a big bear hug, squeezing his waist and burying my face in his chest. Rufus clucks loudly at my sudden close proximity
and I think I feel the peck of his beak in my hair.
“What’s this for?” Luke asks as he wraps his free arm around me and rests his chin on my head.
I squeeze tighter and inhale his scent of sandalwood and lavender. It’s rugged and soft. Just like Luke. “Thank you just isn’t
enough.”
I pull away and his hand lingers on my back, his eyes warm on mine as he looks down at me. “Sleep well, wife.”
That label has my contented smile growing. “Good night, husband.”
And the two of us part ways to head to our separate bedrooms for some much-needed space to wrap our brains around what the
next year of our life is going to look like.
Lord help us.