Ten minutes later, Luke practically skipped into the kitchen of the Snyder farm.
"Hi, Mom," Luke chirped to his mother who was sitting at the table. He bounced over to her and pecked her cheek.
"Hello," Lily said, surprised. "You're very cheerful."
"Mmhm," Luke agreed, digging through the fridge for a snack.
"You want to tell me why?" Lily asked.
Luke pulled his head of the refrigerator and looked at his mother.
"You sure you want to know?"
"Of course."
"Alright," Luke said, closing the fridge door without taking out anything. "It's because of a guy."
"Do I know him?" Lily asked, genuinely interested.
"A little. Remember Reid?" Luke's eyes twinkled when he said his name. "The guy I was studying with on Halloween?"
"Your lab partner?" Lily asked, smiling a little.
Luke nodded and his lips tugged upward into a smile.
"You like him?"
"We kissed," Luke blurted out, unable to contain himself any longer.
"Oh!" Lily said, surprised. "That's wonderful!"
Luke grinned at his mother from ear to ear. "Just now. That's where I was when you called." He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
"I'm incredibly happy for you," Lily said, walking over to Luke and giving him a big bear hug. "And I would love to hear more about him, but I really do have to get to this meeting at the Lakeview. Faith is out with friends, but Natalie and Ethan are in the living room watching a movie. Your dad should be back in about an hour. You'll be alright watching them until then?"
Luke nodded and smiled again at Lily.
"Okay." She kissed him on the cheek and left the farm.
Luke peeked into the living, saw Natalie sitting quietly with Ethan on her lap watching a movie, and went up to his room to get a book.
As he settled onto the couch with his book to half-consciously watch Natalie and Ethan's movie, Luke's phone buzzed with a text message. He pulled his phone of his pocket and saw it was from Reid: Hi :)
Luke smiled and responded: Hey there :)
A minute later, Luke's phone buzzed again: Just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your visit this morning. ;)
Me too ;) Luke texted back.
"What are you doing?" Natalie asked. Luke's chuckling had pulled her attention away from The Lion King.
"Nothing," Luke said.
"You were texting someone," Natalie said.
"No I wasn't. I was setting my alarm for tomorrow," Luke lied.
"No you weren't! You were texting with someone," Natalie insisted. It was at times like these that he wished Natalie didn't share his stubbornness.
"Fine, Miss Noseypants. I was texting a friend," Luke said.
"Are they a boy?"
Luke scowled at his sister.
"Maybe."
"Luke? Are you here?" Holden's voice called from the kitchen, saving Luke from further interrogation by his little sister.
Luke got off the couch and walked into the other room to greet his father.
"Hi, Dad," Luke said.
"Oh, good. I need your help with something," Holden said.
"Sure."
"Did I tell you I'm having the farm expanded? Building more grazing land, more stables, and more space for riding lessons?"
"No."
"Well, now you know," Holden said with a little laugh. "Anyway, I need you to drop off some paperwork at the architect's house for me."
"Sure."
"Great. He lives just down the road," Holden said. "Him and his son live in that house that was abandoned for years. They moved in over the summer."
"Are you talking about the Olivers?" Luke asked, his mouth dropping open in shock.
"Yeah. Why?" Holden asked, giving Luke a curious look.
"Do you remember the boy I was studying with on Halloween?" Luke asked, failing at containing a smile.
Holden nodded.
"That's Reid Oliver. Your architect's son."
"Oh! Yep. I think he mentioned that his son was in one of your classes with you."
"Reid was telling his dad about me?" Luke definitely smiled this time.
"I guess so. Why?"
"There, might, sort of be something going on between us," Luke mumbled.
"Excuse me? Do you want to repeat that?" Holden asked.
"Reid and I might sort of be dating," Luke said, smiling at his father.
"Sort of?" Holden asked, though he was smiling.
"Well, we just kissed. So we haven't really talked about it," Luke said, but he was still grinning.
"You should get on that," Holden said. "Not talking about it got me and your mother into all sorts of trouble."
Luke laughed. "Do you have the paperwork you wanted me to give Reid's dad?"
"Hmmm. On second thought, maybe I'll bring it over myself," Holden said, pulling the envelope away from Luke.
"Dad!"
Holden laughed and handed the folder to Luke.
"I need it back by nightfall, so don't get too distracted," Holden said, as Luke left the farm.