Page 6 of Luke

Luke entered the offices of MDOL and headed straight to his desk. He sat down in his chair and turned on his computer. As he reached into the drawer for a pen, something caught his eye, and he froze. It was a baby rattle. He looked around the room, but no one seemed to be paying attention to him.

With a shake of his head, he picked up the rattle and stood, facing his brother Beau’s desk.

“Real funny, Beau,” Luke said with a grin, prompting laughter from everyone in the room.

Shaking his head again, Luke placed the rattle back in the drawer and took his seat once more. Despite being a pain at times, Beau was still his brother, and they had always been close. Beau had recently gotten married to Brenna Lawrence, and he was finally happy after a messy divorce. Beau’s wife cheated on him with Brenna’s husband. And though it had devastated both by the affair, Beau and Brenna started seeing each other and fell in love and Luke had never seen him happier.

As Luke began to go over some cases at his desk, his phone started buzzing. Seeing an unfamiliar number on the screen, he answered.

“McCallister.”

“Luke? It’s... it’s Bryce Spencer.”

“Bryce, how are you doing? And how’s your daughter?”

“We’re both doing great thanks to you.”

“No need to thank me. You did all the work,” Luke replied with a grin.

Bryce’s laughter could be heard on the phone before she cleared her throat.

“I need to find a place to stay. I didn’t want to ask the nurses. Is there a hotel or something nearby that I could stay in? I hate to ask, but I don’t know anyone else.”

“It’s not a problem, Bryce. I told you to call me if you needed anything.” Luke let out a sigh. “The only issue is that there’s only one hotel here and one in Hartland. I can see if they have anything available.”

“I see. I don’t know what to do. And I can’t travel for at least two weeks.”

“Let me check for you. Is this your cellphone number?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” Luke hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?” Beau asked as he appeared at Luke’s desk.

“Bryce needs help finding a place to stay. But with just the two hotels, it’s going to be tough. Especially with the snowstorm. People will need to stay somewhere so they don’t get trapped on the roads or highway.”

Beau sat down in front of the desk. “Yeah, that won’t be easy. How long before she can drive again?”

“She said at least two weeks.”

“Damn. Well, see what you can do. And if worse comes to worst, she might have to stay with you.” Beau grinned mischievously.

“No way. Not happenin’.”

Beau chuckled. “What if that’s the only option she has?”

Luke shook his head. “I don’t know. I value my privacy.”

“We all do, but you can’t just leave her hanging. You know she can’t make that trip to Seattle right now and it’s unlikely she could handle such a long journey with a newborn even in two weeks.”

“Shit. You’re right. I’ll try my best to find her a place.”

Beau stood up from the chair. “Do you want to grab lunch today?”

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