Page 104 of Theirs

Just as I was reaching for my phone, Luke’s alarm clock went off. Dammit, I don’t think I got more than an hour or two of sleep. I yawned as he shut off his clock, groaning when he rolled over to me.

“I can’t do this for much longer.” Luke pulled me against him.

“I know,” I said, against his chest. “Anyone else brought up what to do with the farm?”

“No, we are all skirting around the issue because we know Iris is going to have a shit,” he said, his voice still raspy from sleep.

“Everyone has a life they'd like to get back to unless… unless you want to stay here?” I tried not to cringe because if he asked me, I don’t know if I could live here.

“No, I miss Denver. I left for a reason because this was not for me,” he sighed. “I just wish Iris didn’t have such good memories here. I know she wants to keep their memory alive, but at what cost to the rest of us. Every time I talk about it, I feel selfish.”

I was worried this would tear them apart, if they couldn't agree on a solution.

“Theo has to go home too, he’s got a whole ranch to take care of and if Jude wants to have a job he’s gonna have to go back too,” he said, sounding tired. “I also can’t expect you to leave your job, things have been going so well for you. It’s not fair.”

I squeezed him tightly. Luke always had big feelings and sometimes felt like he needed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I was also surprised he hadn’t mentioned Genevieve. Maybe inviting her was a mistake.

“I also don't know if I want to leave Genevieve,” he said softly. “We haven’t talked about her coming back and what that means, even if it does mean anything. She said the right words and I really loved what we had before she got scared.” He sighed again. “I know we need to sit down and talk it out, but after yesterday, I have this urgency to have both of you with me. Unless that isn’t what you want.”

“Cariño,” I said looking up at him, seeing the torment in his eyes. “Take a deep breath.”

He did as I asked.

“I think we need to have that conversation with your siblings because everything you vented about centers around this farm,” I said, cupping his face. “I know no one wants to have this conversation, but it needs to happen. After that, we can decide what we need to do.”

He sighed. “You're right, there is no sense in getting worked up if?—”

“Getting worked up is a normal response, you've been through a lot and I know you hate fighting with your siblings.” I leaned up to kiss his lips. “Let's do one thing at a time.”

He studied my face and I knew he was going to ask about Genevieve or how I was feeling towards her.

“Ok,” he said, kissing me.

He opened my mouth with his tongue, rolling over so he settled nicely in between my thighs. His kisses turned frantic, his hips thrusted against me.

“Cariño, you don’t have time,” I sighed, as he kissed down my neck.

“Hermosa, I always have time for you,” he said, kissing me again.

His words made me shiver. How much time did we really have?

It waseleven thirty in the morning and there was still no sign of Genevieve. Not even a phone call. Anger was stewing in my chest, it was better than being disappointed. I also felt restless, like I had to keep moving, but I also felt like something wasn’t right.

“Hey, are you ok?” Iris pulled me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, why?” I snapped.

She looked at me with wide eyes. “Uh, you're washing very aggressively.”

“I’m sorry, Iris,” I said, taking a deep breath seeing a lot of suds and water everywhere.

“It’s ok. I’m sure being here is hard,” she said, rinsing some dishes.

I sighed. “It’s not?—”

“Don’t lie,” she said. “I know it's been hard on both of you.”

“Iris,” I said, debating on what I wanted to say.

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