Okay- this is by the fabulous Elenhin. Enjoy and thank you for being so kind and reviewing. We sure appreciate it! Enjoy! -Jordyn
Family
Luke didn't say it, because for some reason he always found it so hard to utter words like that, but he was thinking them. He didn't say it, but since he had come to live with his aunt and uncle, Luke had never thought about Bo and Daisy as anything but brother and sister going by the name of cousins.
He didn't tell Daisy that because for all of his intelligence he didn't know how to. He just gave Daisy a hug that came all the way from his heart and hoped that she knew.
Daisy did know, and she pulled away so she could look at him, wishing he still had those dark curls so she could run her fingers through them. It was something she enjoyed and while he claimed not to he always relaxed and enjoyed it when she did it.
"I was gonna ask ya what kind o' pie ya wanted for supper?" Daisy remembered with a soft sight.
"I don't know Daisy, I ain't really hungry." Luke told her quietly as he sank down against the hay again.
"I know Luke, but ya could use a good meal." Daisy tried to tempt him, "now, what kind of pie fer dessert?"
Knowing far better than to try and hold out against his cousin Luke gave in. "Anything ya want Daisy, I like them all." Shifting in the hay he too thought about the chocolate cakes they had always gotten for their birthdays only he was not thinking about the ones their aunt did. When Luke turned eleven their aunt had been incredibly busy with something else and Daisy had baked the cake. She was a talented little girl but it was her first try and even though the thing came out a bit lopsided and uneven, nothing could have tasted better to Luke. The fact that she had taken the trouble for him had made it the sweetest thing possible.
"How about crab apple?" Daisy suggested giving him her most winning smile.
Luke nodded, "Sounds really good Daisy."
"Do ya wanna come with me, or do ya want me ta call ya when suppers ready?" Daisy asked hoping he would come back inside.
Luke shook his head and bunched up the hay a little. "Nah, I think I'll stay here a bit." If there was one thing he did not need it was to have his sweet little brother get all riled up and start calling him a low-down dirty rotten-rotten- pole cat. Bo had called him a liar and made it clear that he wanted Luke gone. Bo had sure drove that point down clear, better than any bullet Luke had ever had fired at him.
If he went back inside that was all that Bo would say and Luke didn't think he could stand to hear it. His cousins meant the world to him and were the only reasons he was able to go out into that war. If Bo wanted him gone, then he might very well find himself gone.
"Are ya sure Sugah?" Daisy asked him sweetly hoping he'd come inside where she could feed him bits and pieces while she cooked.
"Yeah." Luke nodded. "Kinda missed this ol' hayloft." He had, but mostly because of all the nice time he had spent here with his younger cousins. He just couldn't stand it to be called another name by Bo. He had only wanted to help, to help Daisy, and now Bo claimed he had made everything worse. He guessed it was possible that the Marine training had destroyed him... that it had turned him into a baby killer as so many said.
"I'll call ya a few minutes before supper." Daisy promised as she made her way down the ladder watching Luke nod as he snuggled down into the hay.
Knowing that there was nothing much she could say to him to him to make him go back into the house with her Daisy opted for the best supper she could manage. Then later she intended to have a talk with Bo about how to behave. No matter how bad he was feeling there was no reason to say those things towards Luke. He had all but said he wished that Luke would not come home.
Luke might be less emotional than the other two and he expressed his emotions less than they did. Yet he hurt as much as anyone else.
Luke had made Daisy start to feel better, even if she had a long way to go; it was time that she returned the favor.
While she cooked Bo kept to the boys room and Luke to the hayloft and she kept glancing in both directions. Just like she had promised she called him a few minutes before supper was ready, but it was not until both Bo and Jesse was already seated that he came in through the kitchen door.
"Well there ya are." Jesse smiled at him. "Go on an' wash up, afore this here food gits cold."
He had expected Luke to hurry of to the bathroom to wash his hands but instead Luke leaned against the kitchen counter looking at them uncertainly.
"Bo, I've been thinking about what cha said," he started slowly. "I reckon yer right, it ain't fair to ya. I'm gonna be granted leave once a year until I 's served my time, but if ya don't want me ta come back here when I git leave, I can go somewhere else."
You know what to do!
