Page 99 of Loyally, Luke
“May the Almighty help us all!” Gordon sighed, incurring a laugh from Pete and a smile from Luke.
“I’ll meet the two of you in town.” Luke nodded, drawing a deep breath and stepping back. “But I need to speak to a few people before I leave Cambric.”
“A few small people?” Pete’s grin broadened.
“One small and two who are nearly as tall as me,” Luke corrected and turned to Gordon. “I’ll meet you in an hour. Will that work for Nessa’s supper plans?”
“Aye,” he said, drawing out the word for emphasis. “And if the bairns can come, bring ’em on. Jamie and Cade have proved good workers and fine boys, and Faye would be good for Nessa’s heart since she’s not seen the grandweans in a month.”
“I still can’t believe the two of you are old enough to have grandchildren.” This from Pete. “My parents are older than you and only have one.”
Reminded Luke of his parents. They’d been high school sweethearts and had Josephine in their early twenties. Probably similar to Gordon and Nessa. Neither of them could be more than fifty.
“Ah, but when you love young, you parent young.” Gordon gave his hefty brows a shake. “And then you still have movin’ bones when you have grandweans. You may be sore after they leave ya, but you can still move the next morn.” He groaned. “Mostly.”
Luke smiled as the two men left, Pete regaling, or attempting to regale, Gordon with a story about his nephew’s antics in usual Pete fashion. Lots of words and animation.
Gordon offering a gruff response or teasing look here and there.
This side of the world kept growing on him, especially when a certain drop-dead-gorgeous blonde came to mind.
He raised a gaze heavenward, wondering what God was trying to teach him. As he’d told Pete, life brought choices of all sorts. Some were easy. Others difficult.
And some left you asking yourself what you really wanted and treasured.
But in all truth, he didn’t have much of a choice about this one. Whatever “list” royals had for their children’s spouses, he didn’t make the cut. And even if he did, could he really see himself giving up his home and life for somewhere he didn’t belong at all? Sure, he could help out here and there with remodels or coming up with ideas to help kids, but banquets and balls and meetings with lots of fancy people all the time?
He groaned at the very idea.
And he wasn’t a big fan of the media, but he could ignore their nonsense for the most part. His grimace deepened. Until he couldn’t and ended up punching somebody important. He shrugged. But at least then that would overshadow Ellie’s past.
After receiving permission from Mrs.Kershaw—who basically offered Luke permanent residency at Cambric Hall for how well he’d worked with the kids—Luke found Jamie and Cade more than willing to take a trip to the Frasiers’. In fact, the boys had developed almost as close a relationship with the grumbly carpenter as they had with Luke. He paused on the thought. Did he come off as a grumbly carpenter? By the time he was Gordon’s age, would he then?
He nodded to himself. He could certainly see that in his future.
He found Faye sitting on the side steps of the hall, doll in hand and a very impressive pouty lip on display. Luke slid down to a seat beside the little girl and allowed the silence to encourage her response.
She rubbed a hand against her sniffling nose, looked up at him, and then sighed so loudly, he was pretty sure she’d only done it for his benefit.
He wrestled with his grin and attempted to portray the seriousness her exaggerated emotions warranted. “Is something wrong, Faye?”
She tucked her doll close and buried her chin into the worn strands of the doll’s hair, releasing another sniffle.
He waited.
“Are you leaving today?”
“I finished my job.”
She sniffled again. “I don’t like it when nice people leave.”
Luke leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, staring out at the view. “I don’t like leaving nice people.”
“Could you stay?”
He looked over at her, at those big eyes searching his, and his heart pinched. “It’s a really nice place to consider staying, that’s a fact. But I have folks back home who want to see me too.”
She nodded and nestled her face back into the doll. Luke couldn’t imagine the dozens or more of “goodbyes” Faye had experienced. And he was another one. A person who came into her life, showed her he cared, and then left.
