“I love you, babe. I’ll do anything it takes to protect you. I figure, now is just as good of a time as any to tell you what the next few weeks of your life are gonna be like.” I stilled at his words; this couldn’t be good.
“When I leave, I want you to stay at my house. Red will be there too, along with Maddie and all the other ol’ ladies. You have met most of them. There won’t be anyone there who doesn’t wear a patch or belong to the club. No women you don’t know or men that I don’t trust. I want you to work from home until I get back. If you have to go to town, take someone with you, but it better be important. I know it sounds extreme, but if you are there then I know you are safe, and that’s one less thing for me to worry about.”
I stared out the windshield, trying to concentrate on the love bugs that had taken over and were crashing into the glass. There were millions out this time of year. It was pointless to wash your car until after the first frost.
“Babe,” Luke said, giving me a little shake. I nodded my head in agreement. There was no point in arguing. Luke needed to be focused, not worrying about me and what I was doing, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I let out a big sigh, and looked up at his face. His eyes darted between me and the road. He was trying to keep from killing us while reading the expression on my face.
“I don’t like it. I want to scream and kick, but I don’t want to piss you off and I don’t want you worried about me. I would rather be stuck inside your house with a bunch of women for a few days than have you getting shot because you were too busy worrying about me and not looking after your own ass.”
Luke smirked at me, “You, Miss Dallas Knox, are amazing. Here I was thinking I was fixing to have to put you in your place. You are always full of surprises.” He kissed my head and held me against him. I sure was gonna miss these arms while he was gone, which was the only reason I let him slide on the ‘put you in your place’ comment. I was gonna suck at being an ol’ lady.
As we pulled into my driveway, I noticed that Luke had followed through on his word. The ugly, smoldering pile of barn was now nothing more than a thin layer of dirt. The yard looked empty without the barn and I felt a twinge of guilt for burning it. I would have someone to construct a new one this week. It would be something to keep me busy while Luke was gone.
Shit.
I couldn’t leave Luke’s house. I would have to wait until he got back. Maybe then we could do it together, and weed these flower beds. The thought of us together, weeding flower beds made me smile.
“Something funny?” Luke asked, pulling under the carport.
“Would you weed flower beds?”
“Fuck no,” Luke said without hesitation. He put the truck in park and got out, holding his hand out to me. “I have to draw the line somewhere.”
I laughed at him and hopped down from the truck.
“Okay babe, get your shit. I have a few phone calls to make. Fifteen minutes, we still have to go by and see the PROSPECT,” Luke said in his no-nonsense voice. I shot him my impression of his signature smirk and was rewarded with a smile. He was already on the phone and I watched him as he strolled around the driveway with one hand in his pocket. He looked so good in that white t-shirt. He caught me staring and mouthed, “now” to me. I shook my head and walked into the house.
The familiar smell of old books filled my nostrils. My library was a wonderful place. Often I thought of Frankie, Crazy and Dennis standing in this very spot. They had poisoned my home, my life and my family. I hope Luke killed them all. I shook off my thoughts of death and brutality, and made my way to my closet to begin the impossible-pack for an undetermined amount of time in less than fifteen minutes. Yeah, that shit wasn’t gonna happen.
Jeans, shorts, dresses, shirts, sweats, pajamas, bras, panties, heels, tennis shoes, flip flops, slippers, two suitcases and my traveling jewelry box covered my bed twenty minutes after Luke told me I only had fifteen. I grabbed my makeup, brushes, toothbrush, curling iron, hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner and three different kinds of body wash from the bathroom and deposited them on my bed. I looked around the room to see if there was anything else I might want or need. My laptop, a couple of books and my iPod should be enough to keep me busy for a while. Luke walked in and stopped in his tracks. His eyes grew round at the mountain of shit on my bed.
“Dallas, babe, no.” He said looking at me like he was trying to be very patient, but I was pushing it.
“I need this stuff, Luke! Who knows how long it will be before I get to come back?” I exclaimed, standing my ground. Luke would not win this battle. I had agreed to stay cooped up in his house and away from my job for him. The least he could do was let me take whatever in the hell I wanted. Luke let out an exasperated sigh and ran his hand over his head.