by: MacSas
“Shawna”
She turned at the deep sound of her name, but at first saw no one familiar. Then, the sea of people in front of her seemed to part.
And there he was.
Lukas. K. Duke.
Marine sergeant, war hero, car builder and general all-round good guy.
He never did tell her what the ‘K’ stood for.
He seemed to pause for a moment, taking in the sight of her, as she was of him. The years had been kind to him. His lean frame was still well muscled, his hair still the colour of night, his eyes still that sharp blue. And his smile, well …
He came towards her.
“Hi” he said simply.
“Hi” she replied with a smile. What should she do? she thought. Hug him? Shake his hand? Kiss his cheek? All or none of the above?
She swallowed, sure he could hear it. Her saving grace was that he seemed just as nervous as she. Finally, he stepped forward and swept her into a huge hug.
Releasing her, he took a long look at her face. “It’s been a while”
“No kidding,” she laughed.
Luke continued to look at her with those intense eyes – was he trying to see her soul? Shawna shifted under his gaze, alerting Luke to her discomfort.
“Sorry” he said. “It’s just that you still look as beautiful as the day you did when we said goodbye …”
“Luke” Shawna interrupted.
Like a man coming out of a daydream, Luke snapped back to attention.
“Well,” he looked around. “Where are you’re bags?”
Shawna pointed to a large case, which Luke quickly retrieved. Starting down the street, he motioned for Shawna to join him.
“Is there some place we can talk?” she asked.
“We can talk at the farm” he replied, motioning to the battered pick up truck as they crossed the road.
“Some place more quiet was what I had in mind, Luke” she told him.
Luke put her case in the bed of the truck, then turned and looked at her.
“What’s going on Shawna?”
“That’s what I intend to find out” she told him simply.
Luke walked to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door for her. Without a word she got in.
During the ride, Luke swallowed the urge to hit her with a barrage of questions.
“Beautiful country” Shawna’s soft voice broke into his thoughts.
She was leaning against the passenger door with her head resting against the window, watching the scenery pass by.
Luke noticed that she looked troubled, almost sad.
“That it is,” he agreed.
After a silent moment, Shawna added, almost to herself, “Nothing like Vietnam”
Luke caught her comment and frowned.
A ghostly sensation started tickling the back of his neck.
* * * *
Back At The Bus Terminal
He’d known that she’d come here. Knew that she’d run to her former lover.
As the man watched Shawna drive off with Luke, his anger boiled. He’d known this would happen the moment she’d seen that card.
He’d waited long enough for this to happen, waited and planned a long time to have the two of them together in the same place. It made his job a lot easier. No loose ends to worry about.
He pulled his car into the light flow of traffic, careful to keep the pick up in sight.
As he glared at the silhouettes of Shawna and Luke, he wondered what they’d be talking about.
Old times? Old memories? Old husbands?
He ground his teeth.
At least she’d waited 16 years before throwing Kane out of her life. That still didn’t give the man behind the wheel too much comfort though. Vows made were vows never to be broken.
He could understand Shawna’s need for closure, her desire to put the past to rest. But he couldn’t overlook how quick she had taken the bait to contact Luke. Apparently all she’d needed was a good enough reason.
And the bait that he’d sent her was good enough.
Soon the trap would be sprung, and he would have two rats in his sight.
* * * *
Hazzard Creek
“I thought about you a lot over the years”
Luke looked up from his spot near the willow tree and smiled. “I thought about you too, and us”
Shawna smiled up at him from where she sat on the grass. “Us, huh?”
Luke sighed. “You know if I could have married you, I would have”
“You just didn’t have the chance to propose” Shawna jokingly mocked.
Luke shook his head. Tossing aside the leaf he had been slowly shredding, he walked to the creeks edge. “I was new in the service, I thought my future was already mapped out. I didn’t know when, or even if, I’d be home again. I didn’t want a wife sitting at home worrying about me all the time …”
Realising what he’d said, he turned to face Shawna, an apology on his lips.
“That’s the way life ended up for me anyway” she smiled. “Ain’t it ironic?”
She stood and joined him at the creeks edge.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he said.
He quickly looked away in case Shawna say the guilt in his eyes.
“Well” he changed the subject. “Let’s see this letter you got”
Shawna took the crumpled card from her jeans pocket and handed it to him.
The small card was embossed with bold black writing.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID
I KNOW WHY YOU DID IT
KANE NEVER KNEW –
LOVERBOY KNOWS MORE
ABOUT KANE’S DISSAPERANCE
THAN YOU THINK…
BRAVE ENOUGH TO ASK?
Luke re-read the note and frowned.
It appeared to be a two-part message. The last part he had no problem understanding. The first part was obviously meant for Shawna.
“What was it that you did that Kane didn’t know about?”
Shawna laughed. “What is it about Kane’s disappearance that you know?”
* * * *
The man watched from his hiding place.
Luke and Shawna were discussing the letter. Good, he thought, they’d figured each was keeping a secret from the other. Who would be the first to crack and tell all?
Excitement rippled through him. This was perfect!
He would finally ensure that Kane had justice. So far his plan had gone well. The idea of the letter had been to make Shawna seek out Luke. That would ensure they were together when the man struck.
Kane would be avenged!