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Sweet, unforgettable Luke. Her Luke.
It would be wonderful if she could show him her new place. She looked around her in awe. This was her home. It wasn’t anything grand by any means, but it was hers. The little cottage had belonged to her grandmother. When she’d moved in a few months ago the place had looked like a wreck. Hard work and help from a few local contractor friends had transformed it into the place of her dreams. It sat about one hundred feet from the house she’d grown up in—the home her mother still lived in. Although she appreciated her mother’s generosity in allowing her to live at home, Morgan had felt the need for her own space. Living in Paris had shown her the benefits of being on one’s own.
The cemetery where her grandparents were buried lay just over the hill, close enough so that Morgan could bring flowers once a week to their graves. And she still lived on the family property, so she was able to help Mama with grocery shopping or errands.
All in all, it was shaping up to be an idyllic living situation. Luke’s face suddenly flashed before her eyes. She felt a sudden yearning for him. What would it have been like if she and Luke had stayed together and settled down? Maybe this cottage would have been too small for the two of them, but she imagined they might have put an addition on it and outfitted it for the two of them. She tried to shake away the image of Luke being here in the cottage with her, but for some reason she couldn’t get the image out of her mind.
A sudden pinging sound grabbed her attention. She sat up straight. Although it was very slight, she knew that she hadn’t imagined the sound. It was coming from her bedroom. She got up and walked in, making sure she turned out the light so no one could see inside. She’d never felt afraid living here, but she knew a woman living alone needed to be on alert at all times.
Ping. She heard the noise again. It sounded like something was being thrown against the windows. From a safe distance, Morgan peered outside.
Although it was dark outside, her outside porch light illuminated a tall figure standing about ten feet from her house. It was Luke!
She lifted up the window. “Luke! What are you doing here?”
He took a step closer. “I’m sorry about the pebbles. I figured it was better than ringing your bell at this time of night. I know it’s late, but I needed to tell you something.”
Morgan frowned. It must be important if Luke had decided to just show up here unannounced at almost eleven o’clock at night. She prayed nothing was wrong.
“Come outside.” He beckoned her with a wave of his hand.
“I’ll be right there. Just give me a minute.” After quickly tossing off her robe, Morgan threw on a sweatshirt, leggings and a pair of moccasins. She made her way to the front door and stepped outside into the glorious night.
Luke was right there to greet her.
“What’s going on? Has something happened?” she asked, her nerves on edge even though she sensed there was no crisis. Luke’s expression didn’t display any distress. If there had been something urgent, his face would have betrayed it.
“I’m sorry if my being here startled you. Everything’s fine. I just really needed to talk to you.” He was looking at her with such intensity. It made her shiver. She folded her arms across her chest. She almost felt as if she needed a buffer to protect herself from the feelings Luke was stirring up inside her. She’d never been entirely comfortable with the way he made her feel.
“Okay. Shoot. I’m listening,” she said.
A frown marred his otherwise perfect face. “I didn’t like the way we left things the other day.”
“No?” Why was her heart beating like a jackhammer? Luke’s presence always caused a physical reaction. It felt like pure adrenaline was racing through her veins.
He took two steps closer to her, making the existing distance between them nothing more than a foot or so. He was so close to her she could easily reach out and touch him. The very thought of it made her nervous. She could hear the sound of her ragged breathing
“Morgan. I’m tired.” For the first time Morgan noticed the lines at the side of his eyes and the slight shadows resting underneath.
“Are you well?” she asked, fear gnawing at her at the idea of Luke being sick. When he’d been hit by a car a few months ago and been hospitalized, it had been an earth shattering experience. She’d uttered more prayers for Luke’s well-being than she could ever remember saying in her whole life.
“No, I’m not. And I don’t think I will be until you’re back in my world.”
She raised a hand to her chest to try and soothe the achy feeling inside. Her heart was reacting to Luke, bouncing around in her chest as if it could take flight and soar.
She shook her head, then took a step backward. Being alone with Luke in the moonlight was a terrible idea. He had a girlfriend. She respected that fact, even if it sometimes made her feel jealous and out of sorts. For the most part she tried not to think of the two them together as a couple. “Luke, we can’t—”
“Things between Violet and I are over.”
Luke’s announcement had the effect of a grenade going off in her heart.
Had she heard him correctly? He and Violet were over?
“Really? You guys broke up?” A feeling of joy rose up inside her. She felt like doing a little jig right in front of Luke. Even though she’d tried to convince herself over and over again that Luke had a right to move on with Violet, her heart had never been fully convinced. It had hurt to know that he’d possibly found love with another woman. Feeling that way had always made her feel guilty, especially since she knew that loving a person was the most natural thing in the world. “Love one another.” It had been God’s command to His people. It was the most precious gift one person could give to another. Love.
“What happened?” she asked, needing to fill the silence with words. She didn’t know how to react, what to say to Luke. It might look insensitive if she started jumping up and down in celebration.
“Violet did the honors.”
