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Nine hours later, I was walking to my truck and climbing in. It was raining like it did nearly every day in late spring. I drove to the office just to check on everything before I headed back home. I wanted to see Luke. No... I needed to see Luke.
“Hey, Emmy. We weren't expecting you until Monday.” Samantha said when she saw me.
“I was just coming by to make sure everything was in order since I was gone for a few days.”
“You are already so much like your grandfather.” She smiled and handed me the mail that had been sitting on her desk in a basket. I walked down the hall and into the office. There were folders strewn across the desk I had claimed as mine, and I just stood there looking at them.
“Chris was in here this morning looking for something,” John said from behind me. “Welcome back, by the way,” he laughed.
“Yeah, thanks, I think.”
“Speaking of Chris, can we talk before you leave?” John asked.
“Yeah. I’ll stop by your office in a bit. I’m just going to find out what he was looking for.” I turned to go to Chris’ office. He stood as soon as he saw me and made a beeline for me.
“Emmy, you're back.” He smiled broadly.
“I am. What were you looking for in my office?”
“I needed a file.”
“Which one?” I watched as he shuffled papers on his desk looking for the file he had taken from my desk. He handed it over, and I thanked him, turning back toward the door. I glanced around his office, no clue how he could keep up with anything. As I did, I caught sight of my umbrella and one of my scarfs laying in the corner. I crossed the room and picked them up.
“What are these doing in here?” I lifted the umbrella and scarf.
“I found your umbrella by the door and carried it back, but your office was locked, so I put it there.”
I studied the scarf my grandfather had given me.
“The scarf… I don't know? Maybe the cleaning lady moved it in here.” I turned and walked out of his office, heading straight to see John. My gut said there was more to this than he was admitting, but I wasn’t in the mood to ask questions or get into it at the moment, so I took my things and left.
“You wanted to talk to me, John?” I stopped as I was reached his door.
“Yes. Can you come in and shut the door?” I pushed the door closed behind me, not exactly sure what was going on. He started filling me in on a few things that had been happening around the office. As I listened, I slowly sank into the chair in front of his desk. Plans for a couple of upcoming jobs were missing; that was his biggest concern. Then, he informed me he’d seen Chris with my mother a few times during the week and asked if there was anything weird about that in my opinion. I gave him my two cents on my mother’s desire for playing matchmaker. That brought him to the last thing he wanted to tell me about a man who had been there looking for me and that there had been a confrontation with Chris. When he started describing a man that seemed to be Luke, I was floored.
“I followed him outside, just to make sure Chris didn’t try anything underhanded after the way he’d talked to the guy,” John said.
“What was he driving?”
“A white pickup.” My heart skipped a beat. Luke had been here for me.
***
I sped down the driveway, kicking up gravel all the way to the house. My tires skidded to a stop. I ran up the steps and went to grab the handle on his door and stopped, thinking maybe I should knock. I raised my fist and hit the door a few times. When he didn't answer, I walked around to his shop and tried to look in, but it was locked, and that meant he wasn't home. I walked back to the front of the house and noticed the RV was gone. Luke’s truck sat in the driveway, but Ryan’s wasn’t there. Still, they must have gone somewhere. I walked up to his door again, pulled the screen door open, and tried his door, but it was locked. I lifted my phone, but put it back in my pocket. I wanted to talk to him face to face, not on the phone or over text messages, so I would just have to wait until he got home.
***
I spent Saturday morning on the porch as per my usual. I had thought a lot about everything that was happening. My feelings for Luke had come about quickly and fully. In some ways, I knew where I belonged. There were just so many uncertainties, and I wasn't sure how to fix those. I stood at the sink rinsing out my coffee cup thinking a good walk into the woods would help me clear my mind, so I changed clothes and headed out.
The further I got into the woods, the wetter it got. I started slipping and sliding around on the trail, but I made it to my meadow. I hadn't expected to see Luke standing in the middle of it. I stopped and just watched as he moved slowly doing what looked like Tai-Chi or something similar. I’d never seen him do that before. I wanted to walk to him, but I stood there appreciating the view—him shirtless, his skin shimmering with sweat and the backdrop of the large trees was intoxicating. I sat on the root of a tree and just relaxed.
After about fifteen minutes of watching him, I began my approach quietly. Or so I thought. A large branch cracked under my foot, and he looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. I continued to walk toward him, and he slowly turned to face me.
“I didn't know you were out here.” I sat down my backpack. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“I didn't know you were back.” The rumble of his voice sent tremors down my skin.
“I got back last night. I came by to talk to you, but everything was locked up.” I found his gaze, and I wasn't sure I liked it.
