Love In Between(20)

I laughed as I rinsed my mouth and spat in the sink. “I don’t even have a cat.”

“Not yet, you don’t, but you’ve been talking about maybe getting one.”

I smiled and smacked her on the arm as I left the bathroom. I grabbed my black cowboy boots from the closet and put them on. I twirled around the living room.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“I think you look hot, and Luke isn’t going to know what hit him when he sees you.” Giselle smiled. “There’s nothing sexier to a man than short jean shorts, tank tops, and cowboy boots.”

I tilted my head. “How do you know that?” I asked.

“I dated a cowboy once.”

“Oh yeah, that creepy guy from Montana that wouldn’t let you take your boots off during sex and wanted you to ride him on a bull.”

“Yep, that’s the one.” She laughed.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The second I opened it, Luke looked me up and down.

“What did I tell you?” Giselle whispered in my ear as she walked by me. “Have fun everyone, and Lily, make sure you call me tomorrow.”

“Hi, Charley,” I said as I patted her head. “Hi, Luke.” I smiled.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“I sure am. Just let me grab my purse and camera.”

I turned around and headed towards my bedroom. I could feel his eyes staring at me as I walked away. You know that feeling you get when you know someone’s looking at you? That’s the feeling I had. I grabbed my purse, put my camera around my neck, and walked back to the living room.

“You look really pretty, Miss Gilmore,” Charley said. “Uncle Luke, doesn’t she look pretty?” Charley asked as she tugged on his pant leg.

“Yes, Charley, Miss Gilmore does look pretty,” Luke said in embarrassment.

Charley looked at me and winked. I needed to watch out for this little girl. We climbed into Luke’s Jeep and headed for the carnival.

“Nice camera. I take it you like to take pictures,” he said.

“Yeah, I love taking pictures. Photography has always been a passion of mine. Someday, I’d love to work for a big magazine.”

“You mean like National Geographic or something like that?” He smiled as he looked over at me.

I nodded my head. “Yeah, something like that.” I smiled back.

***

Charley’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the lights. “I can’t wait to get inside!” she said with excitement as she grabbed onto our hands and dragged us through the parking lot. Luke looked over at me and smiled. We got to the gate, and I pulled out my wallet to pay for my ticket.

“I got your ticket,” he said.

“I can buy my own ticket, Luke.”

“Charley invited you, so I’m buying your ticket.”

We stepped up to the window, and he purchased three wristbands. I tried to give him my money, but he wouldn’t take it.

“If I let you buy my ticket, then this becomes a date. I don’t do dates,” I said to him.

He stared at me for a minute. “I can assure you that this isn’t a date. I don’t do dates either.”

“Will you two stop it and hurry up,” Charley said with an attitude.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Luke said. “You can buy the food.”

“Deal,” I said as I held out my hand to him, and we shook on it.

We both held one of Charley’s hands as we walked around the carnival. The lights were bright, and the music coming from the games was loudly blaring through the speakers. Charley saw a ride she wanted to go on, so we waited in line.

“Do you watch Charley a lot?” I asked as I looked at Luke.

“Yeah, I do. I try to help Maddie out as much as I can. It’s hard being a single parent.”

“I’m sure it is. I could only imagine,” I said.

“What about your parents?”

“They help out a lot. Right now, they’re on a month long cruise.”

“They own the apartments?” I asked.

“Yes. They’ve owned those apartments for over twenty years. I remember them buying the building when I was seven years old. It’s where Maddie and I spent most of our childhood. What about you?” he asked.

I didn’t want to talk about my childhood or my family. It wasn’t a topic that I was comfortable with. The only thing I ever wanted was a normal, happy childhood. I can thank mommy and daddy for not giving me that. I felt horrible for having to lie to Luke about my family, but I didn’t want him to know about how horrible they were. I didn’t want to be judged for their actions. And as far as I’m concerned, my family is dead.

“I grew up in Seattle with my parents and my sister. They died a couple of years ago in an accident.”

Luke looked at me, and I could see the empathy in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Thank you. I don’t like to talk about it,” I said so he wouldn’t ask me any other questions.

Luke nodded his head. We finally arrived to the front of the line, and Charley got on the ride. We stood there, waving to her as the car she was sitting in sped by us.

“She’s a great little girl.” I smiled.

“She’s the best,” Luke said. “She’s a huge part of my life, and I will do anything to protect her.”