CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Unknown Number
Monday morning began like every other.
Coffee.
A quick kiss goodbye.
Emily reminding Luke not to forget his lunch on the kitchen counter.
“You almost left it again,” she called.
Luke turned around, laughed, and grabbed the brown paper bag.
“I would’ve been eating vending machine crackers.”
Emily smiled.
“And I’d have heard about it all evening.”
He walked back, kissed her one more time, and headed for the truck.
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“I love you.”
Luke smiled.
“I love you too.”
Around ten-thirty that morning, Luke’s phone buzzed.
The caller ID showed the number from Cascade Manufacturing.
His heart immediately started pounding.
He stepped outside before answering.
“Hello, this is Luke.”
“Good morning, Luke. This is Karen.”
“Hi.”
“I’ll keep this short.”
Luke held his breath.
“We’d like to officially offer you the position.”
He closed his eyes.
For a second, he couldn’t even speak.
“You’ll be working Monday through Friday, with weekends off. You’ll be home every evening.”
A smile spread across his face.
“We were impressed with your interview.”
Luke finally found his voice.
“I’d be honored to accept.”
“Welcome to the team.”
The call ended.
Luke stood there in complete silence.
Then he laughed.
Not because something was funny.
Because everything he’d been hoping for had finally become real.
Emily answered on the first ring.
“You got it, didn’t you?”
Luke laughed.
“Was I that obvious?”
“I could hear it in your voice.”
“I got it.”
Emily squealed so loudly he had to hold the phone away from his ear.
“I’m so proud of you!”
“I start in two weeks.”
“This changes everything.”
Luke looked toward the sky.
“It really does.”
That evening Emily had decorated the kitchen table with balloons and a homemade banner that read:
CONGRATULATIONS, LUKE!
He laughed the moment he walked in.
“You did all this?”
“I may have gotten a little excited.”
“A little?”
She shrugged.
“Okay… a lot.”
The two of them celebrated with takeout from their favorite burger place, chocolate cake from the local bakery, and hours of talking about the future.
“We’re actually going to get there,” Emily whispered.
Luke nodded.
“Our house.”
“Our horses.”
“Our dogs.”
“Our life.”
He reached across the table and held her hand.
“I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Emily smiled.
“You never had to.”
Later that night, as they climbed into bed, Luke plugged his phone into the charger.
The screen lit up for a moment.
One new notification.
Unknown Number
He frowned.
No name.
No contact photo.
Just one text message.
Luke stared at it for a long moment before opening it.
The message was short.
?Hey, Luke… it’s Ryan. I know it’s been years, but I need to talk.?
Luke’s smile disappeared.
Emily noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
He handed her the phone without saying a word.
She read the message once.
Then again.
She slowly looked back at Luke.
After all these years…
His brother had finally come back into his life.
Neither of them said a word.
Outside, the summer night was quiet.
Inside, everything had just changed.