Page 9 of Revived

Chapter 3

Luke

“Clara, are you sure you’re alright with watching Grayson for a few hours?”

She scoffs and then I hear something drop in the background of the phone call. “Luke, it’s fine. I’m working a lot from home right now anyway, trying to prepare to take time off once the baby arrives. It’s only for a few hours and besides, that little boy is the cutest and it will give us practice. Right, Coop?”

I can barely make out the muffled response through my Bluetooth speaker in my car, but it sounds like Cooper tells me to stop being dramatic and get my kid over there ASAP.

“Okay, we’re on our way,” I say before hanging up and checking on Grayson in the rearview mirror, his legs swinging happily as we cruise to Clara and Cooper’s house on the other side of town.

When Cash called me yesterday and asked if I was still thinking about hiring a nanny, his timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Once I got home last night, my dad called and filled me in on my mom. She did in fact break her hip, which means surgery and recovery that will take months before she’s normal again. I feel helpless and guilty that it happened while she was watching Grayson, but she assured me on the phone last night it was her own clumsiness.

Still. Now I am out of childcare for the foreseeable future and in desperate need to hire someone immediately. My dad said he can watch Grayson tonight during my evening classes, but most of his time in the next few weeks will be at the hospital and home with my mom. Her surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, so until then he’s helping the best way he can. However, he was there late with her last night, so the last thing I wanted to do was ask him for his help this morning to watch Grayson for a few hours while I met with the person Cash said would be perfect for the job of looking after my son.

All he mentioned was that she was a friend of Piper’s, which seems kind of odd seeing as how she just moved back out here from her home back east. But I guess she must have made some friends while she was living out here before all of that shit went down with her two identities. And even though Cash doesn’t have kids of his own, I trust his judgment and know he wouldn’t recommend someone lightly.

After dropping Grayson off at Clara and Cooper’s, I rush across town to Skye’s Creations, a local organic coffee shop that is known for gourmet coffee drinks and baked goods made fresh each morning. Ask anyone in Emerson Falls and they will have a favorite drink from Skye’s, my personal favorite being the peppermint mocha.

Once I arrive and park, I rush inside out of the cold. The weather calls for snow tonight, which will make for a fun drive to the college tomorrow, but apparently the flakes decided to fall early. As long as the snowfall is below a certain number of inches, classes stay in session. We’ve had one week of classes cancelled so far since the start of the semester, an interesting event for me since my work as a deputy was never cancelled. You reported in snow, or a hurricane—didn’t matter.

“Hey, Skye,” I greet the owner as soon as I step inside and unwrap my burgundy scarf from my neck, the smell of chocolate, coffee, and sugar hitting my nose instantly. One look in the mirror behind the counter and I realize my dark hair looks like I have dandruff in it from the snowflakes that attached themselves to it during my small trek from the car to the shop. My black peacoat is covered too, so I shake my entire body like a dog while Skye chuckles at me from behind the counter.

“Hey, Luke. Peppermint mocha for you?” She asks, reaching for a light blue cup and writing my order on the outside.

“You know it. Can I get a raspberry scone too, please?”

“Absolutely.”

I pay for my order and then find a table for four tucked away in the corner. Cash and Piper said they would tag along to introduce me to their friend so it wasn’t terribly awkward at first, so I know I need to save seats for them too.

As I take a sip of my drink, trying not to burn my lips or tongue on the scalding liquid, the door chimes, alerting the arrival of a customer. The sight of Cash and Piper walking in makes my pulse start to race, particularly when I see the woman trailing them and recognition spikes.

“Hey, man!” Cash raises his hand in greeting, Piper waves, and then Rachel looks up, locking eyes with me.

You’ve got to be kidding me? The woman who I let watch my kid for two hours yesterday is a friend of Cash and Piper’s? How the hell did I not know this?

And more importantly, why is my stomach fluttering with nerves? All of a sudden, I’m extremely uneasy and can’t stop staring, especially as Rachel smiles at me and then gives me a small wave. As she turns her head back to the menu and her ponytail swishes with the movement, my heart beat quickens, my throat feels like it’s closing in on itself, and my head is telling me that my reaction to this woman is dangerous.

This is the first woman since my late wife that has my body responding to another female and I’m stunned. Maybe because it’s been almost five years and my manhood is finally starting to rebel at the fact that I’ve haven’t touched a woman since? Or maybe it's her, which is equally exhilarating and terrifying, especially since I need her help desperately.

Once Cash orders for all three of them, they find their way over to the table as I stand to greet them.

“Cash. Piper. Rachel,” I reach to shake her hand as Cash’s head bounces back and forth between us and Piper just grins.

“Wait. You know each other already?” Cash is flabbergasted and I can’t help but shake my head at the irony of the situation.

“Yeah. Funny story. You want to fill them in, Rachel?”

Her eyes veer up at mine beneath dark lashes, and that green hue hypnotizes me again.

“I actually told Pfeiffer last night when she told me Grayson’s name.”

“You told her his name? Where was I? I’m so fucking confused right now.” Cash looks over at Piper as she straightens in her seat. I call his fiancé Piper still, since that’s who she is to me, but it’s clear that Rachel still calls her by her actual name.

“Does it matter? She was going to find out, eventually. And it just happened in conversation. But yes, it seems you two had already met, which makes this even more perfect.”

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? I haven’t seen you in weeks, man. And now, suddenly, you met Rachel before I even got the chance to tell you who she is or the fact that she’s living with us?”

---