Shelter Me(25)

Luke leans back, tucking me into his side. “Well, now. We need to remedy that, don't we?”

He holds me close and looks up to the sky. I rest my head against his chest and follow his hand when he starts to point them out.

“That one right there, that's...”

He continues to tell me the meaning and history behind the constellation while tracing his finger along the stars. His voice is deep and rough, and so sure. He is definitely in his element and I’m in mine, safely tucked in his arms with his heart steadily beating beneath me and his voice wrapping around me like a blanket. The night is clear and the stars are shining brightly, winking at me as he continues on. I feel myself drifting, his words and voice a soothing lullaby as I snuggle further into him.



************



I wake to the vivid sun shining down on my face and look up into magnificent, striking green eyes.

“Hey,” I whisper, my voice still thick with sleep.

“Hey, back, baby.” A smile lights up his face, revealing his perfect white teeth. His five o'clock shadow has turned into a seven o'clock shadow, and his eyes are lit in excitement.

“Let's get up and grab something to eat. There is somewhere I want to take you today.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, curious as to what has him so motivated.

“It's a surprise.”

“A surprise, huh?” I cock my eyebrow at him.

“Well it's not that exciting, but yep, a surprise. You'll just have to wait to find out when we get there.”

I immediately get up, thrilled to see what he has up his sleeve, and come into the house. I set the coffee pot and go upstairs to get dressed.

“Shayne?” Luke calls out as he walks from the kitchen toward the stairs.

“Yeah?”

“Pack for a few days, and make sure you bring a swimsuit,” he smirks.

I continue up the stairs and go about packing my bag. As soon as I’m done, I head back downstairs to make a light breakfast. We finish eating and make our way outside. Luke grabs my bag as I lock up the house and we dash out to the cars. When we reach my car, he places my bag in the backseat and opens the driver's door for me. Once I’m settled, he leans in to give me quick kiss.

“Follow close, okay?”

I nod my head and pull out right behind him. When we pull up to a streetlight, I grab my phone and call Lucy to tell her good morning.

“Hi, Mommy! We’re getting ready to go get Uncle Adam at the airport!” she squeals into the phone, overly enthusiastic. She continues to tell me about the day she has planned, including a trip to the State Fair and hot dogs for lunch. I can't help but smile as she rambles on and on in my ear.

“When I see you, Mommy, I am going to give you a hug and a kiss and a secret,” she finishes.

“You are, huh? What’s the secret?”

“I can’t tell you that, Mommy, or it won’t be a secret.”

“Okay, sweetheart. You have a great time with your Uncle Adam.”

“I will, Mommy. I love you. Bye.”

“Bye, honey.”

Hanging up the phone, I put it back in my purse just as we turn off of the main road and onto a paved, winding, side road surrounded with trees that almost form a tunnel. The view is absolutely breathtaking. Flowers and vines cascade all around, twirling along branches, and kiss in the middle. As we approach the clearing, a huge log cabin with a perfectly manicured lawn and trees with the most beautiful purple blossoms surrounding it comes into view.

“Good Lord,” I mutter to myself. This house is gorgeous!

I feel nerves starting to take over. I know we need this time together and somehow I will make this work out, but I hope I am doing the right thing here. If I stay at Luke’s house with him, what will be his expectations of me? We have definitely thrown ‘taking it slow’ out of the window. And what about Lucy? She expects to hear from me every day; how will I get away from Luke long enough to check in on her? I guess I’ll have to figure out something.

I watch two out of the four garage doors start to glide open. Holy shit! I pull into the second door and climb out of the car just as Luke climbs out of his.

“Luke, this is beautiful! I never pegged you as a log cabin kind of guy,” I smile.

“Who says I live here?” he responds, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Cut the crap,” I tease as I lightly punch his arm.

“Whew, my baby has guns,” he laughs as he squeezes my upper arm. “We've got a full arsenal, locked and loaded.”

“Har, har, very funny. Big bossy lawyer man has jokes.” At that, he laughs outright, a full, hearty laugh that sends shivers through my body.

“You know it, baby. Come on; let's grab your bag so I can show you around.”