Coming home

chapter 3

Luke Brook hadn’t expected to have seen Claire at the ranch when he got there. He had heard that she was coming home but hadn’t heard that she was in yet. He wasn’t ready to see her yet, hence him not attending her father’s funeral. James could have warned him when he called about the fence and cows so he could have prepared, but was there really any preparing for it? Although James could have relayed everything that Luke had to say and Luke wouldn’t have even gone. James probably knew that and was why he didn’t say anything. It had just put everyone in an uncomfortable situation, even James.

Once upon a time, he had thought that they would spend forever together, but she just up and left without an explanation. Luke had only found out when he showed up to talk to her and her dad said she had got up early and left for college. She hadn’t left a note or anything for him. It was just like he hadn’t existed anymore. When he tried to call, he got the “temporarily disconnected” recording. Sure, he knew where she was going, but she had changed her number, proving she didn’t want him to contact her. He had left it alone and dealt with his own pain by altering his life goals and focusing on becoming the best horse breeder in the area. Luke might have realized his career goals, but he hadn’t realized how lonely he was until today.

Today, he had seen the woman he knew she would become. Her brown hair was much shorter than she ever wore in her youth. Her body had matured with age, putting all the right curves in all the right places. Her face hadn’t changed a bit though. When she cut her bright amber eyes his way, it still had the same impact on him as it did in their youth. It was like time stood still. She had the same ageless expressions of her youth. Time had been easy on her, it seemed.

When Claire had left back then, Luke wasn’t sure how to function. He had run into Mr. Smith at the local feed store when he went to get dog food for his dog Jake. Mr. Smith was talking about selling his spread and moving with the store owner. Mr. Smith said he was getting too old to manage his ranch and wanted a smoother life for him and his wife since Nancy was graduating and starting her own life. All of this was news to Luke, but a family’s business was just that, family business, and he wasn’t going to elaborate on any of it.

The selling of the ranch did pique his interest though. With the unexpected turn that things took with Claire, he needed a new goal in life. He approached Mr. Smith and asked a few questions about the selling. It turned out Mr. Smith was looking to sell lock, stock, and barrel and hadn’t even put it on the market yet. Luke couldn’t believe his luck. This is what he needed. This is what he had wanted, even if it wasn’t the way he had planned to get it. Plans change, after all. Luke left the feed store with a better outlook than before.

Ten years, ten years is what it took to get out of debt and start coming out of the shadows of the Smith brand. Now that he was finally starting to make a name for himself, Claire was back and was going to throw a wrench in his plans. Luke just knew it. He had known that David Johnson was letting the Roaming J go downhill. He had been planning on making another offer before long. This time he felt certain it would be accepted. But then David had other plans. Now Luke was going to have to come up with another way to get the Roaming J. He was still plotting when Elizabeth busted through the door. It was her last day of school and he was sure she was already making summer plans with her friends. He had even thought about hiring someone to run her from place to place to take some of the burden off of him.

“Hey honey. How was school?” Just like every day during the week, Elizabeth came in as a whirlwind and sat down, chatting up a storm about the goings-on with school and her friends. Luke noticed for the first time how much like her mother she was becoming.

Her looks have changed through the years. Elizabeth had started off looking just like her dad only with her mother’s hazel eyes. He had hoped that wouldn’t change, but as the years went on, her hair lightened up and took on the curls her mother had been proud to display. It was like her facial features had morphed overnight.

Nancy had said her curls were her signature look. Nancy had always been a force to deal with. Once she got an ideal in her head, it seemed there was no stopping her and no talking her out of it. She fought tooth and nail about it, but as soon as she turned around it was like she didn’t even care anymore and dropped the ideal as if it was too late. Now he was dealing with an offspring that may turn out to be just like her mother and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it.

“Hey… Hey! Mr. Brook! Elizabeth yelled while snapping her fingers in front of his face, bringing Luke back from the past. He knew he was in trouble. She never called him that unless she was getting mad at him, which has been happening a lot here lately.

He had started getting concerned about it until someone had pointed out that she was starting to get into the preteen stage of life and things were going to change with her. This knowledge had hit him out of nowhere. It had been just her and him for a while now and he hadn’t realized that he was going to need another female around to guide her through this stage in her life. He had wished things hadn’t gone like they did with Nancy, then she would be here for her daughter.

“What honey?”

“Can I go?” Elizabeth demanded.

“Go where?”

“To Susan Tomlin’s! You haven’t been listening to me, have you? Elizabeth said, stomping her foot forcefully, sending her curls flying. Just like her mother, Luke thought to his despair.

“When?” Luke decided that he was just going to ignore her little fit in hopes that this was just a preteen phase and from experience, he knew, she skipped over the details when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.

“From tonight to Sunday morning. It’s a 2-day slumber party. This is going to be so exciting. We have never had a 2-day slumber party before. Oh, I want one for my birthday.” Elizabeth ended with her hands in a pleading stance. Her facial expression, however, was one of pure determination that she would get exactly what she wanted.

A female influence, Luke thought. With Elizabeth gone for the weekend, he would have free time to find one. “Su…” Luke didn’t even get the word out before Elizabeth dashed off to her room to start packing her overnight bag.

When they pulled up to Susan’s, Elizabeth jumped out and ran in leaving Luke to bring in her things. He was coming to the conclusion that he had created a spoiled child. Since he started paying attention to what he now saw was indeed, well-meaning people had been trying to tell him. He was starting to agree more and more that Elizabeth needed more discipline, structure, and a female in her life. He could start with the later this weekend. Luke hoped while grabbing Elizabeth’s bag and headed to find the grownup that was brave enough to say yes to this slumber party ideal.

Mrs. Tomlin was one of those soccer-type moms, all bubbly and full of energy. She wasn’t brave, she was just insane. The brave one, Luke deemed, was whatever man married this woman. Just talking to her wore Luke out beings he had to follow her from room to room as she hustled kids around. “She will be perfectly fine,” Mrs. Tomlin replied when he wanted to make sure that Elizabeth had got the two-day slumber party right, “Now get, so the girls can start their party,” she said while taking Elizabeth’s bag from his hand. Luke shrugged and headed back to his truck.

With that task behind him, Luke decided to stop by the Roaming J to get an update from James of how the rest of the day went. His hands had just started getting back when he was leaving and he was sure they had scattered for the evening. Besides, James would have the run-down and might even have a suggestion about a female influence for Elizabeth.

James was saddling up a horse when Luke arrived. There must have been a problem, Luke thought as he got out and approached James. Luke noticed a worried look on James’ face and launched right into his mission instead of the polite small talk. I was coming to see how things went this evening, but from the looks of it, you’re on a mission yourself. If you let me borrow a horse, then I’ll ride with you and we can decide together on the fence.”

“It’s not that. It’s Claire,” he said in a huff. “She left earlier by herself. She said she was going to ride some fences and never returned… but her horse did just a few minutes ago,” James said, nodding toward the ole paint named Chaos. For a split-second, James thought he had seen concern in Luke’s eyes, but that disappeared as fast as it appeared. James didn’t know exactly what he expected from the younger man, but it wasn’t Luke’s lack of emotion when he just simply asked “A horse?”