19
1683 Words
"How is she today?" Julian asked. There was not an ounce of caution in his voice, only the deep-seated concern of a friend.
"Sickness-wise, she’s healed up nicely and is taking today to help Oma with the house chores," Lukas said before he looked up from driving the post into the ground with the heavy sledgehammer he was holding. He let the handle slide from his grasp, the hammer head sinking into the soft earth slightly. "She's still edgy around me, but I think she's coming around. I don't like seeing her cringe when she thinks I'm going to hit her, though. I want to see her happy, Jules."
"I've ordered a bunch of stuff to replace what her family burned and had them sent to the address you gave me. You really didn’t need to do this, but..." Julian replied, pausing to take a swig from his water bottle, "I'm glad she has you now."
Nodding, Lukas said, "I'm glad you told me about her. She's perfect for me, Jules. She's everything I've been looking for in a woman."
"Promise me something, Luke? I know it feels like I’ve been asking a lot of you since last week, but this is important to me," Julian muttered, leaning on the new fence portion they just finished.
Blinking, Lukas raised the hammer over his head and brought it down on the post until the black mark he’d put on it sank below the line of earth around it. "For you, anything."
"Swear to me that you will do what it takes to help her move on from this. It's all so much for her right now. I just want to be sure that she's with someone who's going to put her first for once." Julian held up the plank of wood while Lukas nailed it into the two posts. He waited for an answer but was met with nothing but silence.
A few more minutes passed before Lukas took a break to get a drink. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his muscles rippling under the morning sun. The smell of freshly turned earth and wood filled the air as he took a swig from his water bottle.
"I just realized something, Julian. I felt a bit jealous over how close you and Johanna are. Then I remembered what happened when my older brother jumped the gun with his boyfriend. It nearly ended their relationship, and I learned a lesson from it."
Julian licked his lips and took a sip from his water bottle, the cool liquid refreshing against the heat of the day. Gathering the courage to speak, he said, "Oh? So, what lesson did you learn?"
"To get the whole story first and react later," Lukas laughed, the sound hearty and genuine. "I had to take a moment to think and work it out in my head. Then it hit me that instead of being jealous, I should be grateful."
"I'm confused," Julian replied, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "Most men wouldn’t hesitate to beat me senseless for how close I am to her. Yet, here you are saying that you’re grateful?”
Another plank went into its place, the sound of wood meeting wood echoing in the stillness.
Lukas moved to the other side, grunting as he hammered the nails into place. His shirt clung to his back, damp with sweat. "The way I see it, she only had you to watch out for her before I came here. You're worried, but so was my brother when I left. There's not much difference in how you treat her and how my own family treats me."
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Julian muttered, his voice low. "You're a smart man, Lukas Roberts. Mother is keeping an eye on Emilia's pregnancy. She's also concerned that I'm going to be blamed for a child that may not be mine."
Lukas frowned, his hand stilling in mid-air as he listened to the sounds around him. The distant call of a bird, the rustling of leaves in the breeze, and the rhythmic thud of the sledgehammer were the only noises that met his ears.
Staring at his friend in concern, Julian tried to figure out what Lukas was listening for. "Something wrong?"
"I thought I heard something," Lukas said as they got back to work. "I'm probably overthinking it. Let's just get this done."
Still, he couldn't shake that dark desperation clawing at him. The fear crept into the back of his mind, trying hard to take root in his thoughts.
He refocused on the fence, using the work to take his mind off the thought of there being any danger. They still had another twenty feet of fence to fix, and he wanted it done before he left. Any help he could offer his grandmother and uncle made him feel better about turning their lives upside down.
Once more, the feeling that someone needed him struck. Putting the hammer down, he pulled out his phone and called his father. "Dad, hey, is everything okay at home?"
"Yesh, why?" His father's slurred speech was a telltale sign.
"Have you been drinking again?" Lukas asked in annoyance. "Where's Markus?"
His father sobbed, "He told me to back off and stay out of his bushiness, so I went to vishit David. We shellibrating."
"Celebrating?"
"Freedom from you brats. Now that you all gone, no more early mornings shiz for me! Nope... oops... David, get ze mop... anywaysh, why you calling, fratz?"
There was a commotion before David finally took the phone from Trace. "No worries, Luke. I'll make sure he's sober before you come home with your bride. Babysitting his ass is irritating, though. And he just spilled another shot. Damn it all!"
"David, listen, I hid a bottle of Angel's Envy in my closet for you before I left. Replace the one he's drinking with that, and please don’t mention its existence to my father," Lukas said with a laugh. His father was plastered to the point that talking to him was out of the question. "Has anything happened since I left?"
"Nothing’s going on here," David replied. "And I'll get that bottle from you when you get home. I'm not letting Trace anywhere near a Bourbon that tasty. Take care, kid."
He thanked the man before hanging up the call. Nothing was wrong at home, so why was his intuition suddenly acting up? It wasn't anything like when Jaxon's acted up. This was different. This was more like someone close to him was in imminent danger.
Deciding to get the work done as soon as possible, he got back to nailing the pine planks into place, the rhythmic sound of hammering providing a temporary distraction.
“Angel’s Envy?” Julian asked, laughing as they worked, the sound of his mirth mingling with the rhythmic pounding of the hammer.
Lukas shook his head. “My father was once a man who could drink himself into a stupor, but my best friend put an end to it a few years back. Now, he only has a social drink with his buddies or when it’s a celebration of some kind. Make no mistake, Jules, my dad is the furthest from abusive when he’s on the bottle. He’s more of a child.”
Again, his new friend cackled with laughter. “A child? Do explain that one to me, will you?”
Shaking his head, Lukas felt the now familiar burn of his muscles. The sweat trickling down his entire body, and his new, sharper mental focus were things he looked forward to each day. The way his arms, back, abdomen, and thighs were sporting a thicker, harder muscular look gave him a sense of pride and satisfaction. The farm work had transformed him physically, each task a testament to his growing strength and endurance.
He’d been right in assuming that working on the farm would increase his mass and abilities. Hitting Johan that day hurt a lot less than it would have prior to beginning his training. Taking another mouthful of water, he breathed a sharp laugh. “Yeah, my father can be a total smartass, and he’s scary smart with tech. He raised me and Mark with only the help of his friends and mob family, but the divorce from my mother put him on the alcoholic path.”
Julian's expression softened, a hint of understanding in his eyes. “That doesn’t sound like a good atmosphere, Luke,” he said warningly.
“Think Uncle Kris times two,” Lukas advised, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and humor. “Making hangover juice turned into a life skill that we utilized more times than enough until Jaxon whooped Dad’s ass into realizing what he was losing. Now it’s just making sure he’s safely in bed or curled around the toilet and leaving him some Tylenol and water before we head to bed ourselves.”
Setting his jaw, Julian scowled. “Seriously? Lukas, are you sure it’s safe to bring my little sister into that?”
“Dad won’t let her see him in that kind of state if he wants her to like him,” Lukas stated, his calm demeanor never faltering for a moment.
“And what of the rest of the mob?”
Though the question was valid, Lukas still felt annoyed with it. “If the older generation wants to f**k around and find out, then I’m more than happy to join up with my teammates and make them eat every assumption they ever made about us. Between me and Jaxon, we’d be relentless in taking out their systems. Phoenix would challenge his father for the seat of power, and Kennedy would totally help. Mark and Memphis would be the most likely to beat the guards into early graves, and Skylar would make sure no one bothers me and my best buddy.”
“Should I be scared?” Julian’s humorous comment made him laugh.
“Only if you cross me,” Lukas answered.
- Writer
