by: Marty Chrisman
Jesse frowned as he watched Luke throwing the bales of straw off the truck. He was worried about him, he couldn’t deny that. It had been over a week since Lynn’s murder and Luke still refused to talk about it. Since she didn’t have any family, Jesse had arranged for a small simple service and a neighbor had donated a plot in the cemetery but Luke had refused to go. Jesse knew that he was holding everything inside which wasn’t healthy.
Of all of the kids, Luke had always been the most reserved. He seldom displayed his emotions and tended to keep things bottled up until he exploded. But Jesse knew that this was one time that he needed to open up and share his feelings with someone before they festered away inside of him and killed that part of him that could love again someday. He wouldn’t even talk to Bo about it and that was a bad sign. If nothing else, Luke had always been able to talk to Bo but now he was even shutting out Bo.
Jesse sighed and went into the house wondering what else he could do to help Luke get through this. Enos had stopped by that morning and told them that Roger Malone had been caught. He had confessed to shooting Lynn but even that didn’t seem to penetrate the wall that Luke had built around his emotions. Jesse knew that Luke had been sneaking into his shine at night so he had hidden it somewhere else to protect Luke from himself. Drinking would only mask the pain it wouldn’t make it go away and Luke needed to deal with the pain not run away and hide from it in a bottle.
Luke raised his head and watched with clouded eyes as Jesse went into the house. Jumping down from the bed of the truck, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. He knew that Jesse was concerned about him and he didn’t want to worry his Uncle but the situation with Lynn was something he couldn’t bring himself to talk about with anyone, not even Bo. His heart felt as if it had been ripped from his chest leaving behind a gapping hole that could never be filled. He had loved Lynn for so long when they were younger, then he had lost her. Then when he finally found her again, he lost her again only this time it was for good. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Luke wished that the bullet had taken his life instead of hers.
Slowly, Luke began walking following a trail beside the barn that led into the woods that surrounded the Duke farm. He walked without paying much attention to where he was going until he found himself standing at the edge of Widow’s Peak. Widow’s Peak was a deep jagged ravine filled with huge rocks and jutting crevices.. Local legend was that a young woman had thrown herself and her infant child to their death after her husband was killed in the civil war. Luke stood there looking down at the rocks so far below. It would be easy to just take a couple of steps closer to the edge.
“Don’t do it, Luke….” Startled, Luke jerked his head around to meet Daisy’s worried anxious eyes. He stared at her with a hint of anger in his eyes realizing that she must have followed him when he left the farm. “Please….don’t do it, Luke…” Daisy whispered, taking a cautious step closer to her older cousin.
“Stay back, Daisy…” Luke said a warning tone in his voice. He didn’t want her to come any closer. He knew he wouldn’t do anything as long as she was standing there and she knew it too. But he still didn’t want her to come any closer.
“Come back to the house with me, Luke…” Daisy coaxed. “You need some sleep…and something to eat.” Luke frowned. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten or slept for that matter. But that didn’t seem to be that important anymore. Nothing seemed very important anymore.
“Luke….please…” Daisy said quietly. Without Luke noticing she had edged her way towards him until she was standing directly in front of him. “Come home with me….” Slowly she reached out and touched his arm. Luke looked at her like a startled animal when she touched him, he hadn’t realized she was so close.
“Daisy….” He whispered in a ragged voice. Suddenly, he fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands. Daisy sank to her knees in front of him and put her arms around him, holding him close. She could feel his body shaking with silent sobs as he finally let go of his emotions. She gently brushed his hair with her hand and made soft soothing sounds as she comforted him. Her own eyes filled with tears that fell down her face without shame as she felt Luke’s pain as strongly as if it were her own. It was a long time before Luke finally regained control of his emotions and gently pulled away from her embrace. He stood up, offering Daisy his hand to help her to her feet.
“It’s gonna be okay, Luke.” Daisy told him “It may not seem like it now…..but it will be okay eventually.”
“Let’s go home…” Luke said with a soft sigh. He hoped that Daisy was right and that someday the pain wouldn’t be so bad. He slipped his arm around Daisy’s shoulders as they began the long walk back to the farm together.