Luke's Recovery

by Angela Franklin

  “Being in the hospital was hard. I didn’t want her to see me as weak, so I pushed her away. When Chase told me he had found a way I could recover at home, I agreed to whatever he wanted just so I could come home. When I got here, he had hired her. That made it worse, that meant she would have to help me with things not even a wife would want to help with. Then she did the most incredible thing. She managed to help me without taking away my dignity. I promised myself I wouldn’t say anything until I could walk again, but today she went on a date. I can’t just let her go without trying. So, tell me Lindy, does that sound like I only want you because you’re here?” Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.

  “Lindy, will you give me the chance to be your Clark Kent?” He looked nervous, but she was to stunned to answer him. Could he truly want her?

  Chapter 8

  Luke’s heart felt like it had stopped as he waited for her answer. Maybe she did have a thing for Tray. It’s possible she just didn’t like him like that. That kiss had been the best he ever had, and it was only their first, but maybe she didn’t feel the same sparks he did. Her face had gone pale, and her hand was cold. Crap, he had been an ass to just blurt it out like that. She wasn’t ready.

  “Just breath, Lindy, we can pretend this never happened.” Luke said as he released her, and started to stand up.

  “Are you sure?” She asked quietly and he paused.

  “I have never been more sure,” He was looking in her eyes as he said it. “If you want to try, we can go slow. I can give you time to see if it’s right for you.” All he needed was a chance and he would make sure she never had a reason to change her mind.

  “What do we do now?” She asked him shyly.

  “That depends, is that a yes?” He held his breath waiting for her answer.

  “Yes.” She looked him in the eye and said with total confidence.

  “Thank God.” Luke said as he brought his lips down on hers.

  He said he would take it slowly, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t kiss her. With her lips on his, and his arms around her, he felt like he was home. He leaned back slowly pulling her with him, and they spent the rest of the evening cuddled up together watching TV. At bed time, he kissed her good night, and they went to their own rooms.

  Luke woke up early the next morning. He couldn’t wait to see Lindy. He went to the kitchen and made coffee, then carried a cup to her room. The sight of her laying curled up under the blankets made him want to crawl in with her. He walked over carefully and sat the mug down on the night stand. Slowly, he bent down and brushed his lips against hers. She sighed, but didn’t open her eyes, so he did it again. Her eyes fluttered open slowly to look up at him. The sleepy little smile she gave him melted his heart.

  “Good mornin’ Beautiful.” Luke smiled down at her. “How about some coffee?” He reached back for the mug.

  “Yes, thank you.” She said as she pushed up in the bed to take it.

  He sat beside her on the bed as she took the cup. Seeing her plump lips sipping at the coffee made him wish he was the cup. She moaned at the first sip and he gripped his cup tighter. He must have made a noise, because she looked up at him and bit her lip. He reached up and carefully pulled her lip free, then ran his thumb over it softly. He carefully took her cup and sat them both on the night stand.

  “Luke.” She whispered.

  He had only wanted to tell her good morning, but he should have known he wouldn’t stop at that. Her sleepy eyes had turned to red hot desire as he touched her lip. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer. The minute her lips touched his, he was lost. He hadn’t bothered with getting dressed, so he was only wearing basketball shorts. Her soft hands were running up and down his chest, leaving fire in their wake. When he felt her trace the waist band of his shorts with her finger tips, he pulled back.

  “Good mornin’, Luke.” She had a look of pure happiness on her face.

  “Want to go sit on the porch and read?” He asked her. If he stayed in this room much longer, he would do something he was sure she wasn’t ready for.

  “What will you do?” She furrowed her brow. He couldn’t resist reaching up to smooth it out.

  “I’m going to sit and hold you while you read.” He must have been smiling because she reached up and caressed the dimple in his cheek.

  “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” She whispered.

  “You can do anything you want to me, as long as you don’t leave me.” He said and kissed her softly, then got up. “I’ll see you on the porch.”

  He went to his room and got dressed before heading out on the porch. Lindy came out a few minutes later with her kindle. She sat so that she was leaning against him, and he draped his arm over her shoulder so that it rested on her stomach. They sat there a long time. He had looked over at her kindle and saw a few words that surprised him. No wonder her cheeks had a bright blush on them a lot when she was reading, he thought.

  “Is your book good, baby?” Luke asked after he had read a very steamy paragraph.

  “Mhmm.” She mumbled.

  “You gettin’ ideas for later?” He moved his hand up till it brushed the underside of her breast and she gasped.

  “Are you reading over my shoulder?” She huffed at him.

  “Only occasionally.” He kissed the top of her head.

  “That’s not nice.” She slapped his thigh.

  “Of course, it’s not. It gets you all worked up and leaves you hanging.” Luke teased her.

  “Who said it leaves me hanging.” She said as she bit her lip.

  “What do you… Oh you little minx.” He said seeing the smile on her face. He pulled her head back and kissed her.

  “Hi, guys.” Callie said loudly, and they pulled back panting.

  “Hey.” Luke smiled at her, holding Lindy tight so she couldn’t run away.

  “Chase wanted me to ask if y’all wanted to cook out again today.” Callie was rocking back and forth on her feet.

  “Just us?” Luke asked.

  “He was going to call the usual crowd.” Callie said looking over at Lindy. She was going to be questioned later, he was sure.

  “What do you think, baby, do you want to have a cook out today?” Poor Lindy was as red as a firetruck.

  “That’s fine, if you want to.” She whispered.

  “Tell him that’s just fine with us then.” Luke said then leaned down and kissed Lindy again.

  “Great, I’ll have him call you.” Callie had a sparkle in her eyes as she walked away.

  “Luke, do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Lindy snarled at him.

  “I kissed my girl.” He gave her an innocent smile.

  “Callie has wanted this for a long time. What if you change your mind, it will break her heart.” From the look on her face, she thought he was going to run any second.

  “It’s just a cook out, she could have one anytime she wants to.” Luke said pretending to miss understand her.

  “You know damn well I’m not talking about the cook out.” Lindy hissed at him.

  “Then what are you talking about?” He hoped he was wrong and she wasn’t already talking about their relationship being over.

  “I’m talking about whatever this is between us.” Her gritted teeth told him how agitated she was, and he was starting to feel the same.

  “I told you we could go as slow as you wanted, but I won’t hide how I feel about you. I’ve been hiding it way to long.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her against him.

  “Whatever this is can’t last. I am enjoying it now, but you are the gorgeous town hero, and I’m, well me.” She sighed and looked away.

  “Right, you are you. You are beautiful, smart, funny, caring, but you are also my Clark Kent. You have Superman running under the surface ready to take over when needed, but I love your Clark. I love your snarky, sarcastic, emotional side, that makes you, you. I know it sounds weird because he’s a he, but I know you understand
me. You can carry on crazy conversations with me, that no one else could ever understand. You have become the center of my whole world, and I refuse to hide it. Baby, please don’t cry.” By the end of his speech, she had tears running down her cheeks. On one level, he wanted to take it back so she wouldn’t be upset, but he knew if he did that, she would always doubt him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

  “Luke?” She whispered.

  “Yeah?” He said pulling back to look at her.

  “If you ever call me a guy again, I might have to kill you.” Her face was serious, but her eyes were sparkling with humor.

  “Okay, baby. You can be my Kara Danvers and Supergirl. Is that better?” He smiled as he wiped away her tears.

  “How about I just be your Lindy, and you can be my Luke.” She had a smile on her lips as she looked up at him from under her eyelashes.

  “You can be anything you want, as long as you’re mine.” Luke whispered against her lips before sealing it with a kiss.

  “So, are we dating?” She asked breathlessly when she pulled back.

  “We can start with that for now.” He could give her some time to come to terms with what he really wanted.

  *****

  Lindy had dreaded seeing Callie again all day. She would have lots of questions but then again so would everyone else at the cook out. On the other hand, her heart was still fluttering over Luke’s speech. She was lost in the memory of it as a strong set of arms wrapped around her waist, and soft lips kissed her neck.

  “Hey baby, what are you making?” Luke whispered in her ear, his hot breath sent goose bumps down her arms.

  “Just putting a salad together.” She shrugged trying to ignore her body’s reaction to him.

  “Maybe you should set the knife down. The way your hands are shaking, you might cut yourself.” Luke eased the knife from her hand, then spun her around.

  Before she could regain her balance, he had her wrapped in his arms, and his lips on hers. She pulled her arms up around his neck, and ran her hands threw his hair. His tongue touched her lips and she sighed opening for him. She had no idea how long they had been kissing, but the sound of someone clearing their throat had him pulling back. She looked over, and saw Callie watching them.

  “I’m gonna go outside with Chase.” Luke told her giving her another quick kiss before he disappeared. Therapy must be working well, he was walking with only a slight limp.

  “Oh. My. God.” Callie screeched excitedly pulling Lindy’s gaze from where Luke had just walked out.

  “Yeah.” Lindy blushed and went back to making the salad.

  “Details, I need details.” Callie said bouncing over to her.

  “Nothing to tell.” Lindy bit her lip hoping to drop it.

  “Nothing to tell? I have walked in on two very steamy kisses just in the last few hours.” Callie said fanning herself. “I’m surprised the house isn’t on fire.” Lindy’s face paled at the comment. “Oh, honey. I didn’t think about that before I said it. Are you okay?” Callie was rubbing her back trying to comfort her.

  “Yeah, sorry. I just wasn’t ready for that.” Lindy said taking deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart.

  “So, what’s going on with you and Luke?” Callie asked again.

  “We had our talk yesterday, and we are dating now.” Lindy was still trying to get her heart rate down, so she forgot to evade the question. Callie’s squeal and bouncing brought her out of her fog.

  “I knew it!” She yelled.

  “Don’t get your hopes up.” Lindy warned her.

  “Sure, sure.” Callie waved away her comment, then picked the salad up and headed outside, leaving Lindy to follow behind her.

  “There’s my girl.” Luke walked over and kissed her cheek.

  Lindy blushed, but didn’t pull away. Lily toddled over and reached up like she was gonna tug on Luke’s jeans, but Lindy scooped her up before she could. She swung her around and was rewarded with the sweet sound of her giggles. She tossed her up and caught her, causing a little squeal, and Lindy dreamed of the day she might get to do this with her own child. She looked over at Luke and the smile on his face made her wonder if he had the same thought.

  After she put Lily down, she walked over to where Callie and Chasity were standing. Chasity had the pregnancy glow, and she looked beautiful. They chatted about random things, as the rest of the crowd came in. Taylor and Kara came over and talked with them while they were waiting for the food to get done. Lindy felt Luke’s arms wrap around her and she looked up and smiled, but he didn’t smile back. His eyes were focused in front of her.

  “Hey Lindy.” Tray said, well that explained why Luke hadn’t smiled at her.

  “Hi Tray.” She said putting her hands on top of where Luke’s hands rested on her stomach.

  “Dinner was nice yesterday.” Tray smiled, and Lindy thought she heard Luke growl.

  “Um, Tray.” Lindy started.

  “I’m glad it worked.” Tray’s smile confused her worse than his words.

  “What?” Her and Luke asked at the same time.

  “I knew if we went to dinner, it would get back to Luke. I also knew that you were his. Us having dinner together was enough to push him into making a move.” Tray seemed pleased with himself.

  “Did you set this up?” Luke asked spinning her around. She felt like she was on a merry-go-round that was going way to fast.

  “No, she didn’t know about it. I did this to help kick you into gear.” Tray said quickly.

  “You really think I would set up a scheme like this to get your attention?” Lindy asked jerking out of his arms.

  “Baby…” Luke started.

  “No, don’t baby me. I knew this was bullshit. I’m done. Game over, Lex Luther.” She snarled at him and ran into the house.

  As soon as she got to her room, she threw some clothes in a bag, grabbed her kindle and purse, then ran out to her car. Jumping in, she locked the doors, and reached in her purse for her keys. Luke knocked on the window, but she didn’t even look up. She started the car and left as fast as she dared. She should have known things were going to well.

  She knew he would be looking for her, but she didn’t want to be found. She drove a couple towns over, and checked into the first hotel she found. It wasn’t very nice, but no one would look for her here. How could she be so stupid. She knew she wasn’t good enough for him, but after his beautiful speeches she had thought it could work anyways. Her phone had been ringing since she pulled out, but she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She picked it up, called the hospital and asked to be put on the rotation starting tomorrow, then turned it off. She laid on the bed, and cried herself to sleep. Her heart wanted to go back and talk to him, but her head said it would only make her hurt worse.

  Chapter 9

  It had been five days since Lindy had taken off like a bat out of hell. Luke had called and left messages until the phone wouldn’t take anymore. He kept bouncing between being mad at her for leaving, and terrified she would never come back. He had been so close to having it all, but he had to go and open his mouth. Logically, he knew there was no way she would have made a plan with Tray, but his mouth started before his brain filtered through his thoughts.

  He was working like a mad man in therapy. His therapist was barely speaking to him. He said Luke was pushing too hard, but Luke snarled at him, and he shut up. Luke had wanted to follow Lindy, but Chase said to give her space. By the second day he wanted to call a private investigator to find her, but Chase had stopped him just as he hadn’t let Callie call one. No one had heard from her, and he was terrified something had happened to her.

  “Chase, I have to find her.” Luke had his head in his hands, he was at the end of his rope.

  “I need you to just step back and giver her time.” Chase said putting a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

  “She could be hurt. We could be wasting precious time.” As long as it had been since anyone heard from her, he was thinking the worst.


  “Luke, look at me. I need you to stop and listen to me, okay?” Chase said pushing against his shoulder. When Luke nodded, he continued. “I can promise you Lindy is okay. She is working, and she isn’t physically hurt in anyway.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Luke wished he could be too.

  “Because I hired a private investigator the day after she left.” Chase whispered.

  “You what? Why didn’t you tell me? Where is she?” Luke was furious, but relieved that someone knew she was okay.

  “I knew you would be worried. I know what she means to you. If I had let you or Callie do it, y’all would have went after her as soon as you knew where she was.” Chase told him.

  “Your damn right I want to go after her. Where is she?” Luke was done. He needed to see her.

  “Luke, from what you and Callie have both told me, she thought she was just a passing fling for you. I know you told her different, but the women around here are stubborn and hard headed. The fact that you even asked if she set that up, would make it seem, to anyone, that you didn’t care.” Chase was being brutally honest.

  “I didn’t mean it. I have to fix this.” Luke told his brother.

  “I know you didn’t, but if words weren’t working before, they sure ain’t gonna work now.” Chase was right, he had to do something big for her.

  “Okay, but can you keep an eye on her till I can get her back?” Luke could deal, as long as he knew she was okay.

  “No problem. I’m sure she’ll come back.” Chase said before leaving. He prayed his brother was right.

  Within another week, Luke was done with the brace. He only had to wear it when his leg was bothering him. Luke did some digging, and found out she had put the lot her boutique was on up for sale. He talked to Chase and figured out how to buy it without her knowing it was him. He had already met with a contractor and had plans drawn up for what he wanted.