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For a brief moment, it felt like we were talking about different things.
“When will you be back in Fairleigh?” I asked, feeling hopeful we could work it out in person. It was hard to read him over the phone. I needed to see his eyes.
There was long silence on the other end. “I…er…don’t know. There’s a fair bit of work coming up…”
My heart dipped. “Will you be back for my birthday at least?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”
I counted the weeks in my head and sighed. “I guess I’ll see you in six weeks then,” I replied, feeling helpless.
“I’ll call you every chance I get.”
I exhaled despondently. “Yeah, okay.”
We ended the call that was supposed to heal my heart, but something left unsaid lingered in my chest.
* * *
Jake didn’t make much of an effort to contact me over the weeks that followed. No more than our regular weekly chats that consistently left me feeling like something was off. He was aloof and snappy. Traits I wasn’t used to.
I tried not to let it bother me, but it did. Luke noticed, but never said anything. He simply increased my lesson times and worked me harder to distract me from my thoughts. It worked, and my guitar skills were improving dramatically. So much so, there wasn’t much left he could teach me.
“So, do you still want to hear some of my songs?” Luke asked, on a day I was feeling particularly down.
“Are you kidding me?” I gushed. “Yes!”
He smirked at my response. “Go easy on me, okay?”
After he bared a few pieces of his incredible work, I finally built up enough courage to show him mine. They were rough, and I knew they needed work, but I sang them anyway.
“You never stop amazing me,” Luke stated, as I finished my last piece.
I blushed. “They could be better.”
“Doubt that,” he muttered with a chuckle.
“They need backing vocals…and a better guitarist. But seems like an easy fix, don’t you think?”
I gave him my apple pie smile, and he laughed. Not one, but two dimples appeared on his face as his grin grew.
“Alright, let’s do it. But don’t tell your brother.”
I was surprised how natural it felt to sing together, and I suspected Luke felt the same. Our voices blended effortlessly and with Luke taking control of the guitar, I was able to focus on the lyrics. The place I wanted to be.
Luke bought some basic recording equipment and set up a makeshift studio in Dawn’s music room. Whilst Dawn was at work, we spent hours experimenting with different sounds and recording my songs. He encouraged me to make a demo, but I knew I was far from ready to do anything like that.
In lieu of music, we discovered other ways to spend our time together. Luke would often join me on my daily stroll down to the creek, help me give the horses a run, or simply sit with me in the barn and chat.
Somewhere along the way, our friendship had changed. He wasn’t just Nate’s best friend anymore—he had become mine. Perhaps we were just filling the void my brother left behind, or perhaps it was something more.
