by: Marty Chrisman

Luke glanced out of the kitchen window and cursed under his breath. “What the heck is she doing now?” he muttered when he saw Shelby in the corral sitting bareback on Lobo’s broad back. Sitting down his coffee cup, he slammed open the screen door and hurried outside. Shelby saw him come out of the house and smiled faintly as he crossed the barnyard to the corral. Glaring at her as he pushed open the gate, he said “What are you doing? You know you ain’t supposed to be doing no riding.”

“I’m not riding. I’m sitting. There’s a difference.”

“Well, git down off of there before you give me a heart attack or something.” Luke told her. Shelby grinned but she didn’t resist as he reached up to help her down. She could feel the strength in his arms as he lifted her down from Lobo’s back. She put her hands on his shoulders as he set her on her feet. Through the thin material of his shirt, she could feel the rippling of his muscles as he easily lifted her weight to the ground.

They stood like that for a moment, neither one of them moving, Luke with his hands still on her waist and Shelby with her hands still on his shoulders. They looked deeply into each others eyes. Then, unable to resist the impulse any longer, Luke bent his head and lightly brushed his lips against her mouth. He felt her tremble slightly but she did not pull away from his kiss. At least that was an encouraging sign.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” She told him, stepping back and putting a little distance between them. “I just miss not being able to ride Lobo.”

“Well, you do scare me when you do things like that.” Luke admitted. He grabbed her hand so she couldn’t pull away entirely. “I don’t want anything to happen to you or to the twins.” He reached out and gently rubbed his hand against her stomach. “It feels like they’re wrestling around in there again.”

“No, actually I think they’re having a contest to see which one of them can kick me in the ribs the hardest.” Shelby told him with a grin.

Luke laughed. “You wanna go for a walk? Maybe that’ll settle ‘em down.”

“Yeah…maybe it will.”

Smiling, Luke kept hold of her hand as they began walking towards the trail that led into the woods behind the farm. Daisy pulled into the driveway just as they were disappearing around the side of the barn. She smiled when she saw that Luke was holding Shelby’s hand. At least they weren’t avoiding each other today, that was a good sign.

Luke and Shelby walked until they reached the stream. Luke sat down on the ground and Shelby sat down beside him. He was mildly surprised but pleased when she leaned up against him and rested her head on his shoulder. He fought back the impulse to put his arm around her. He didn’t want to read more into her gesture than she intended. She was in a quieter, more relaxed mood today then she had been in a long time and he didn’t want to spoil the moment.

“I’ve been thinking about names for the babies.”  She told him “What do you think of Jesse Kristopher?”

“I’d like that.” Luke said with a smile “And Uncle Jesse will too.”

“I have a name for a girl too….that is if it’s okay with you.”

“What?”

“Kelly Lynn.” Shelby said quietly, holding her breath anxiously as she waited for his reaction to her choice.

Luke felt his breath catch in his throat at the name she wanted to use. He knew that she was doing it for him, both to honor Kelly’s memory and to give him another Kelly to love. His daughter. It was a few minutes before he could find his voice to answer her. “I’d like that too.” He finally said, the slight crack in his voice betraying his emotions.

“Then I guess it’s settled.” Shelby said in a pleased voice, happy that Luke agreed with her choices for their children’s names. She turned her head so that she could look into his eyes. “I know how much you loved her, Luke and how much you miss her. And I know that nobody can ever take her place. She’ll always a part of you.”

“I never expected you to take her place if that’s what you’ve been thinking.” He told her

“I never thought that.”

“Then what’s wrong? Why have you been working so hard at shutting me out?”

“Because I was scared….” Shelby finally admitted “Scared of loving you….of losing you….of you wanting to get married for all the wrong reasons. Scared of being hurt….”

“I’d never hurt you”

“Sometimes you can hurt another person without even realizing it or without meaning too..…it’s not always on purpose.”

“I’m not sure I’m following all of that.”

“I know….but that’s okay.”

“Someday I’d like to get a straight answer out of you without having to read between the lines all the time.” Luke told her, sighing softly

“Now you sound like Cory. He used to tell me the same thing all the time” Her eyes clouded with sadness at the memory of her brother.

“I guess I’m just wondering what’s going on here….where this conversation is leading to….”

“Maybe it’s leading wherever you want it too…” Shelby said with a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Luke laughed softly and shook his head “I’m never gonna get a straight answer out of you, am I?”

“Probably not.” Shelby admitted smiling up at him.

Unable to control the impulse any longer, Luke bent his head and kissed her. Really kissed her this time. There was a hunger in his kiss that couldn’t be denied. Shelby didn’t try to resist, instead she melted into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. She opened her mouth for a deeper kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could smell his unique scent, a combination of his aftershave, the clean fresh smell of his skin and the aroma of the soap that Daisy had used to wash his shirt.

Luke lay back down on the ground, pulling her down on top of him. He continued to kiss her as his hands roamed freely over her body. His own body began to ache with unfulfilled desire but he deliberately held back. He had missed her so much and he didn’t want to do anything that might cause her to put the wall back up between them. It felt so right just being here with her like this.

Shelby kissed him back with a hunger of her own. She knew that he wanted more, she could feel proof of that, but she knew that he was holding back and that he wouldn’t go any farther then what they were doing right now. She lost herself in the simple pleasure of his kisses and the touch of his hands on her body. She realized that she felt safe and protected in his arms, something she had never felt with any other man. She knew that she needed him in her life as much her babies needed him in theirs.

Finally, reluctantly, Luke pulled away and stood up, reaching down to help her to her feet. Smiling, he slipped his arm around her shoulders as they silently walked back to the house together. Daisy noticed immediately that something had happened between them as soon as they walked into the house. She could see it in their eyes and hear in their voices. They both looked happier than either one of them had been since Shelby came back to the farm. And Daisy was happy for them. Maybe now things would finally be alright again.