Redeeming Luke, page 5
part #1 of Days of Grace Series
The old building smelled of wood and hay. The walls moaned in a strong wind. Some spots in the roof needed repair before the rain returned, but it was his sanctuary. A respite when he needed to get away. And tonight he needed to get away.
Emma Darby’s face floated into his mind as if carried on the evening breeze. She was a pretty little thing with delicate features. A halo of blonde curls, and a pink heart shaped mouth that turned an easy smile. But he saw fire hiding behind those innocent blue eyes. He wondered what it would take to light it.
He smiled at the memory of the blush on her cheeks when he caught her staring at him. How long had it been since a woman looked at him like that? His smile faded. Give her time. Soon enough reality would replace whatever she thought she saw in him.
He didn’t want her attention anyway. He’d only hurt her. It’s what he did.
Then there was Ruth. Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t seem to do anything right with her. He couldn’t believe it when Emma told him Ruth thought he didn’t care. He’d taken her in, hadn’t he? He even quit his well-paying job on the bridge a year early to provide a steady home life for her. She had food and clothing and stability.
And what was that business about not hiding anything else about her school work? What did that mean? The question in Emma’s eyes told him she‘d caught it too. Hundreds of possibilities flew through his mind. None of them good.
“Shake it off, Morgan. You’re too young to worry yourself to death over a teenager. And too old to be mooning over a pretty woman. ”
Ruckus tilted his head at his master’s voice.
Luke reached for an old, yellowed canvas and pulled it back to reveal a metal contraption that would make no sense to anyone but him. And that was fine. It didn’t need to make sense to anyone else. Not yet.
Several bales of hay stood one on top of another, at various angles and directions. A saddle straddled the bale in the center. The metal cage, as he called it—he’d have to find a better name for it soon—encircled the saddle. Luke walked around the bales and the cage, eyeing the angles. He knelt on one knee and examined the soldered points. The two light bulbs hanging from the ceiling swayed to and fro, making it difficult to see well. He squinted through the dancing shadows and reached for two joined pieces of metal. He tested them for strength. They came apart.
Luke grumbled under his breath. He thought he’d gotten that joint strong enough.
“Luke?”
He jumped to his feet and spun to face the barn door. Ruth and Emma stared back at him.
He reached for the canvas and hastily covered his project “What are you doing out here?” he groused at them.
Ruth stepped forward. “Miss Darby needs to go home.”
He glanced back and forth between the two of them. They needed to come out here to tell him this? “Okay. Well. Goodbye.”
Ruth huffed, set her hands on her hips, and cocked her head at him.
Females! Why couldn’t they ever just come right out and say what they wanted? He held his hands out.
“Sweetheart, I think this is one of those times Miss Darby was talking about. You’re gonna have to help me out.”
Over Ruth’s shoulder Emma covered a grin with her hand. Ruth wasn’t as entertained.
“It’s shocking that I even have to.” Ruth spread her arms. “Luke, Miss Darby has to go home. And it’s dark out.” She motioned toward the door, open to the night.
Luke stared out at the darkness for a moment.
He dragged his hand down his face. “So it is.” He looked at Emma. Her eyes still held a spark of laughter. “I’m sorry. I was distracted here with my—”
He watched her eyes move to the canvas. Luke reached for the chain connected to the light closest to the canvas and gave it a tug. The canvas disappeared into blackness. Almost. He strode to the other chain and tugged. The whole barn went black.
Ruth complained. “Now we can’t see even to walk back to the house.”
He answered by flicking on the flashlight he kept hooked in the side pocket of his dungarees. He aimed the beam for the house and fell in step with the women. The three began to walk back to the house.
“I really can walk home. It’s not that far,” Emma offered.
“No. Ruth was right to come and get me. I don’t mind.” In fact, he hated how much he didn’t mind.
“Luke never lets me walk the roads at night,” Ruth said. “Even if it’s just to go over to Olivia’s.”
They reached the house and Ruth went inside to get the keys to the truck. Luke led Emma to the vehicle, opened the door and waited for her to tuck her feet inside before he closed it.
Ruth brought the keys to him.
“Hop in,” he told her.
“No, I think I’ll stay home. I’ve got all that extra credit work to do, remember?”
Ruckus leaped around Luke’s heels, tail wagging, anticipating a ride. Ruth quickly grabbed him and held him back. The smile on her face told Luke her overactive dreams of romance were at work again. He muttered to himself, walked around to the driver’s side and got in, turning the key a couple of times before the truck rumbled to life.
“Which direction?” he asked above the noise of the engine.
Emma pointed east. “Just past Finnegan’s Hatchery.”
He turned the headlights on and drove toward the hatchery. He should say something to her, right? Be polite. Learn more about her. His own questions echoed in his head. Had he completely lost all ability to interact with a pretty woman? He cast a brief look at her. She stared ahead, her delicate profile silhouetted against the dark night. She seemed at ease with the silence. He turned his attention back to the old dirt road. Was that possible? A female at ease with silence? He’d only known one in his life. The sweetest thing that ever happened to him.
Until he destroyed her.
Emma pointed to her right. “The next driveway.”
Luke pulled his truck onto a short driveway that led to what looked like a one room cottage. The headlights on the truck revealed a place in need of work. A fresh coat of paint, a couple of shingles repaired. The porch looked none too sturdy. Why did she live in a place like this?
“I’ll get your door.” He got out of the truck and walked
around to her side, proud that he’d remembered at least that much chivalry.
He opened her door, and held out a hand for her. She took it, and gingerly stepped out onto the running board, then to the ground.
“Thank you.” She smiled, sending a rush of warmth chasing up his neck.
Thankful for the cover of darkness, Luke held his hand out for her to lead the way to the front door. As they approached the first step up to the porch, Emma paused.
“You’ll want to walk on the right side.”
The spongy texture beneath his feet confirmed his suspicions. The boards were rotted.
“Who owns this place?” he asked.
Emma unlocked the door. “A man named Jasper Loomis. He lives in Oregon.”
“You’d think he’d have put a little work into the place before letting you move in.”
She opened the door without answering. Luke started to follow but she jerked to a stop, her screech echoing in the night. Luke snatched her elbow and yanked her aside. The blur of an animal catapulted out the door, across their feet, onto the yard, and disappeared into the bushes beyond.
Emma held her hand to her heart, breathless. “Land’s sake! I hope I didn’t wake the dead!” She peered around Luke. “What was that?”
“I think it was a raccoon.” Luke lowered his hand from her elbow. He stared into the dark house. “How did it get inside?”
“I have no idea.” Emma cautiously stepped in the house and lit an oil lamp. She warily eyed the floor around her before stepping back out onto the porch. “Well, it’s gone now, thank goodness. Thank you for the ride, Luke. I really am sorry to have interrupted you tonight.”
“It‘s no problem,” he muttered, looking back toward the bushes. He faced her again. “Do you mind if I come in?”
Emma’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.
“I—I don’t mean that.” Luke sputtered. Was it possible to make a bigger fool of himself? “I just want to see if I can figure how that animal got in your house.”
“Oh!” Emma‘s shoulders relaxed. “Of course, come in. I’ll light some more lamps.”
Luke stepped inside and saw that he was right. It was a one room cottage. A mattress covered with a feminine quilt of blue and pink flowers lay on the floor, tucked into a corner of the room. A small desk stood against the opposite wall, with neatly stacked papers and a few books on it. Next to the desk stood a wardrobe that dwarfed the already small space. To his right was a kitchen of sorts. A stove, a sink and a very small ice box on one wall, and an old beat up pine table with two mismatched chairs. In between the “bedroom” and the “kitchen” sat a small sofa which looked as if it had seen better days. A crocheted blanket of blue and white yarn spread across the back. Two side tables each held an oil burning lamp. A closet sized door directly across from him probably opened to a small bathroom. At least he hoped it was a bathroom, for her sake. He hated the idea of her having to use an outhouse.
Irritation niggled at him. Why did such a beautiful, educated, well-spoken woman live like this? She didn’t even have electricity. Was she not paid what she deserved at the school?
“I don’t know where it could have come from,” Emma’s voice broke into his thoughts.
Luke rubbed his neck and looked around the baseboards. “Animals will find a small opening, maybe something started by a mouse, and they’ll work at it until they can fit through.”
“Oh.” her worried tone drew his attention.
“Don‘t worry. We’ll find where it came in, and make sure it can’t come back.” Or bring any friends with it. “May I?” He pointed to the closed door.
“Yes, of course. It’s the bathroom.”
Luke opened the door to what amounted to little more than a closet with a sink, toilet, and bathtub crammed so tightly that she must have to leave the door open to actually utilize the room. He quickly scanned the area and closed the door again.
“I don’t see anything in there. Do you mind if I move the desk?”
“Not at all. I’ll help you.”
They worked together to scoot the desk away from the wall. Sure enough, after they’d moved the piece out far enough, they saw a hole in the wall, just large enough for a small animal to get through.
Emma sighed and crossed her arms. “You were right.”
Luke scratched his temple. “At least it didn’t mark its territory.”
At her questioning gaze he held up a hand. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
She let out a weak sigh. “I suppose we could move the wardrobe over here to block it.”
“Good idea.”
They moved the wardrobe out enough so that Luke could move the desk into its place. Then they pushed the wardrobe into the desk’s original spot.
“I’ll come by tomorrow and patch up the hole,” Luke offered.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that.”
He held up a hand. “That Loomis guy is going to pay me to fix it. Along with some other things around here.” He walked to the door and stepped out onto the porch. “You know, he’s got a lot of nerve even charging you rent before this place was repaired.”
She hugged her arms to herself. “I didn’t have time to search for a place before I came.”
Luke wondered why she’d had to move so quickly that she didn’t have time to find a proper place to live. And why she acted as if it were her own fault the place was in such bad shape.
“Just the same, if you’ll let me contact him, I’ll take care of it.”
“I would appreciate that.” She added quietly, “I have a feeling you’d get farther with him than I would.”
Luke’s brow furrowed. “All right then. You can give his number to Ruth at school tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome.” He started to touch the rim of his hat, then remembered he wasn’t wearing it. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Goodnight.”
He waited for her to close the door, and listened for the latch to engage. He drove home, repeating to himself that Emma Darby was simply his niece’s teacher. A good teacher in need of help. Nothing more.
CHAPTER SIX
“Hiya’ Ruth! Gimme a push!”
Ruth laughed at four-year-old Jacob Hawkins, Olivia’s youngest brother. He wore denim overalls, a size too big, with no shirt. The soles of his feet were black and his blonde hair in need of washing. Sweat smudged the dirt on his cheeks.
He had wedged himself into the old tire swing hanging from the oak tree in the Hawkins’ front yard. His little legs swung with all their might trying to get the tire to move. Ruth walked over to the boy and gave him a healthy push.
“You need to grow longer legs, shorty.”
“I know.” He held his legs out in front of him as he flew through the air. “Push me higher!”
“Okay.” Ruth giggled.
“Look at me! I’m flyin’ Like an airplane!”
Ruth laughed again. She hadn’t pushed him nearly that hard, but she imagined to a four-year-old, it must feel it.
“Be sure you have a safe landing. Your Mama will be none too happy with me if she comes home to find you’ve flown away.” She gave him a salute. “Safe travels, Captain Hawkins.”
She walked up the steps to the Hawkins’ front door and knocked.
“Come on in.” Olivia called from the direction of the kitchen.
Ruth let herself in, and crossed the small living room of the clapboard house to join Olivia in the kitchen. “Jacob needs a bath.”
“Like I don’t have enough to do. I’ll throw him in the creek later. He’ll love it.” She tossed a kitchen towel at Ruth. “You’re just in time to dry dishes for me.”
Ruth caught the towel “Gee, thanks.” She picked up a dripping glass and began to dry it. “When is your mom coming back, anyway?”
Olivia dunked a dirty plate in the dish water. “I don’t know.”
Ruth frowned, wondering what could be taking Mrs. Hawkins so long to return to her family. She decided it best not to question Olivia. She had other reasons for being here anyway. “So … listen, Liv—”
“No.” Olivia pointed her wet, soap soaked, index finger at Ruth. “Don’t say it.”
“Come on.” Ruth pressed her hands together as if praying. “Just this once.”
“Just this once?” Olivia let out a sarcastic laugh, dried her hands and crossed the kitchen, reaching into the laundry piled on the kitchen table. She retrieved a t-shirt that had seen better days, and folded it.
“You are going to get caught. Luke is already watching you like a fox watching a hen house since he found out about Grady. Besides, I thought you said Grady asked Luke about taking you to the social.”
“He did.”
“Why would you want to go and mess everything up then?”
“You think Luke is actually going to say ‘yes’?”
Olivia shrugged. “You never know. But one thing’s for sure. He’ll say ‘no’ if he finds out you’re sneaking around. He‘ll lock you in the house and not let you out till you‘re old and fat and gray.”
Any other time, Ruth would have laughed at her friend’s melodramatic prediction. Olivia’s bright eyes and bouncing blonde curls added a sense of whimsy to nearly everything she did and said.
Ruth stuck her lower lip out. “No, he won’t.”
“Come on, let’s go to the five and dime, and look at the new magazines. I hear Greta Garbo is on the cover of Photoplay!”
Ruth set the towel down. “I already promised him.”
“Promised who?” Jacob’s voice sent Ruth‘s heart racing. “And what’dya promise?”
Ruth’s eyes darted to Olivia.
Jacob tugged on Olivia’s skirt. “Livy, can I have an apple?”
Ruth held her hand to her heart, willing it to stop pounding. Olivia tossed a pair of socks on the table and crossed to the counter to retrieve an apple from a bowl. She handed it to Jacob.
“Now, scoot. And don’t come back in.”
“Why?” Jacob bit into the apple. He spoke through the mouthful, juice dripping down his chin. “It’s too hot outside.”
“Well, it’s no different in here. Now, Go. You can pick more apples from the Graysen’s orchard.”
Jacob didn’t budge. Olivia knelt in front of him. “Listen, if you go outside and don’t come back in until I say, I’ll take you down to the creek for a swim.”
Jacob’s eyes lit up. He scampered out of the kitchen.
“Whew!” Ruth leaned against the counter, holding her hand to her cheek.
Olivia shot her a disapproving look. One her mother would have given, had she any clue what Ruth was up to. She started to plead her case again, but the rumble of an engine drew her attention. Through the kitchen window she spotted Mr. Hawkins’ old Ford kicking up a cloud of dust as it grumbled its way to the house. She had to get an answer from Olivia before her father came inside.
“Daddy’s home,” Olivia stated. “What are you going to do?”
“I just have to go, Liv! Please?”
Olivia set her hands on her hips and exhaled. She stared out the window. Mr. Hawkins’ heavy boots sounded on the steps outside.
“Liv,” Ruth hissed.
“Fine.” Olivia whispered. She waved her hand toward the back door. “Go. And don’t get caught.”
“I won’t, I promise. Thank you. You’re the best friend ever. Remember, I was here for two hours. See you at school tomorrow.”
Ruth slipped out the backdoor of the Hawkins home, and rushed to the old abandoned barn a quarter mile away, her heart nearly bursting with anticipation.
