Chapt. 26

Luke and Caroline

"Was that another damn reporter?"

"No Luke, it was Bailey," Caroline caught Luke's lips twitch. "What?"

"Let me guess, she agrees with you on how we should be handling these reporters, on what we should be telling them?" He propped against the doorframe and crossed his arms across his chest. His legs crossed at the ankles and he waited on her response.

Caroline sat heavily on the bed with a pout on her face. "Well yes and no. She totally agrees with me as should anyone with a half a damn brain Luke. However, she does think that the approach you are taking is better than being honest."

"Well there you go! I guess I do know a little something every now and then."

"Oh shut up Luke, just shut the hell up!"

He pushed himself away from the door frame and walked further into the bedroom. "No, I've caught hell from you since last night because I won't bash Jason to the press. What is it you call it? My 'guys stick together under the cover of being politically correct' is that it? You yelling at me that I'm on his side and don't see that what he did was wrong is absolutely ridiculous!"

"Well maybe, just damn maybe, if for once you wouldn't jump to his damn defense," Caroline said, "I mean if the fucking shoe fits, wear it Luke!"

"Stop!" Luke raised his voice when he said it, something that he tried so hard to not do. "Just fucking stop it already Caroline! He's a piss poor excuse for a husband for doing what he did okay? That doesn't change the fact that he's my best friend and I will not trash him to the media or in this house or anywhere else. In case you've not noticed, there's plenty of people doing that already. Why the hell should we add to it?" He spun on his heels and headed out of the room.

"Wait! Luke wait," Caroline called. "I'm sorry okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," he said walking out. He let his feet fall as heavy as his soul felt on the stairs as he headed down to the kitchen. At the fridge he grabbed a beer and drank in one long sip before grabbing another and closing the door. He leaned back against the counter and drank this beer slowly. He allowed his mind to drift and wasn't surprised when it landed on Caroline.

"He loved his wife, but lately it was like nothing he did was ever quite good enough for her. He could bring her the moon itself and she'd find something to complain about. She'd find some fault in it, in him. Now with this shit with Jason, God he really couldn't catch a break. If he defended him he was wrong but hell, if he wasn't defending him she would be bitching because he was being a horrible friend. Maybe it's not just the things I do that's not enough, he thought, but maybe these days I'm not enough for her at all. Maybe she was getting tired of this ride that his career took them on.

Luke pulled out his cell phone and text Jason for the first time since the story broke. "Dude do you even have a clue of the shit you've caused? It's about damn time you bring your ass home and start fixing it bro."

He tossed his phone onto the counter and returned to the fridge. This time he pulled out ham, turkey, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce and cheese. He turned and went to the pantry for the bread and returned to the counter. Just as he sat the bread on to the marble counter top his cell vibrated alerting him to a text.

"I was beyond wasted. No one seems to give two cents that I didn't sleep with her. It was a huge ass mistake man. And as for coming home, I just landed."

"A huge ass mistake could very well be the understatement of the whole year. Reporters keep calling."

"I know and I'm seriously sorry that you're being drug into this. Thanks for sticking by me through this shit though. I've seen and heard what you've been telling them."

"Yeah no big," Luke sat the phone down as he hit send. He went back to finish fixing his sandwich.

Just as he was about to take a bite his cell went off again. Stuffing his mouth with the goodness he'd prepared he picked it up and saw Bailey's name.

"Hey you, everything okay up there?"

"Well I guess that all depends Do you want the politically correct, smile for the camera answer, or do you want the truth?"

"Smart. Ass. I want the truth Luke."

He sighed and sat his sandwich down. "Truth is Bailey, shit sucks up here. Nothing I do is right, at all. Caroline and me, we argue constantly. At least it feels that way. Then this shit with Jason isn't helping, especially with the idiot reporters calling."

"Luke in the kitchen the other morning, when I said something about faking a smile and a happy relationship…."

"Yeah that's pretty much me and Caro boo. Hell we do it so damn much I don't even think we realize that we do it these days."

It took her a minute to respond. "Oh, I'm sorry Luke." He didn't respond to the text, just slipped his phone into his jeans pocket. What could he say anyway?

Picking up the last half of the sandwich that had been sitting on the counter he realized that his appetite was gone. "Shit," he muttered as he tossed the sandwich into the trash can.

"Luke! Did you really just waste over half of that sandwich?"

His head dropped. Damn it! Turning he stared at her a second and then he just shook his head. "Can you go one gah damn day without finding fault with every single fucking move I make? One fucking day!" He stormed past her and into the entry way. He grabbed his keys off the table there and reached for the door.

Caroline was right behind him. "Where the hell are you going Luke?"

"Anywhere but here right now!"

"Seriously Luke, you're just gonna climb in your damn truck and take off?"

He turned and stared at her. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. I know Caro – I'm so damn wrong for it, but hell, I'd be wrong for God knows what else here to so what in the fucking hell does it really matter?"

She stood in the open front door and watched as her husband cranked up his truck and speed away. He left a cloud of dust so thick she couldn't even see the brake lights at the curve in the drive. Or maybe he just didn't hit the brakes at all…