Chapter 58

Around late morning, the Monday before Thanksgiving, Luke got a phone call while he was in the back, taking inventory. One of his employees answered the phone, coming back there to let him know, stating it was Rebecca.

"This is Luke," he said when Luke held the phone to his ear.

"Luke, it's Rebecca. How are you?"

"Uh, I'm good. How are you?" Luke was a little confused and surprised from the phone call. Though he was glad she was keeping in touch. Rebecca had called before while Shelby was home, to check in and see how she was doing. Not being used to her aunt yet, the conversation was one-sided. However, Rebecca knew the school hours, having siblings who had gone to that school, and her kids briefly went to Stars Hollow Elementary before they moved to Rhode Island to be closer to her parents.

Rebecca let out a tired sigh. "Busy. Lots to do, you know?"

"Uh, yeah. Plenty busy." He wasn't great at small talk, so this was stressing him out. "So, uh, Shelby's at school if you're wanting to talk to her."

"Oh, no. I wasn't calling for Shelby this time. At least, not yet. First, I wanted to swing something passed you."

"Shoot," he gave her the okay.

"It's regarding Thanksgiving," she started. Before he could say anything about her taking Shelby for Thanksgiving, especially regarding being around Rebecca's father, she continued. "Now, I know Shelby's not comfortable around my father. I know all about that. But since last year, we all met for Thanksgiving, this year it's gonna be swapped for Christmas. So, my parents are spending it with my father's brother and his wife, and it'll just be our small family. Nobody else. Now, I know you had us have lunch there at the diner when we visited, but we were hoping if Shelby can come spend the holiday with us. If that's okay. And if you don't feel comfortable sending her on her own, you and your nephew are welcome. As long as we can spend time with Shelby, we'll take the whole package. Besides, we tend to make a lot of food on Thanksgiving anyway, so the more, the merrier. So, what do you think?"

"I appreciate the offer, but we actually have plans for Thanksgiving," he told her. "I keep the diner open, serving Thanksgiving dinner all day to friends and people passing through town. My cook and most of my crew have already requested time off, so we'll be short staffed as it is. Sorry."

"So, I take it, I can't come pick Shelby up the day before or the morning of?" Rebecca took a guess. "I mean, that doesn't exactly sound like that affects her."

"Look, Thanksgiving is about family and I'd really like to have Shelby there to spend it with, especially since last year, Shelby wasn't exactly talking to me," Luke explained. It was hard remembering what had happened last year around this time and having snapped at and terrified Shelby. It still haunted him and never wanted something like that to ever happen again.

"That's understandable, I guess. Just thought I'd ask, anyway." Even though Rebecca wasn't fighting him on it, she sounded disappointed.

Being the nice guy he was, Luke took a deep breath before he said, "I mean, you're welcome to come by. I usually make a ton of food, too."

"I'll have to talk it over with Mike, but yeah. That sounds reasonable. Thanks, Luke."

"No problem," he shrugged off, modestly.

"You going Black Friday shopping?" Of course, that was a big mistake bringing up Black Friday, producing one of Luke's rants about people going shopping during the late hours of the evening or early morning, after eating a big meal just to buy things that could risk one's life they really did not need. Finally, Rebecca was able to interrupt, apologizing for even bringing it up. "You know, I distinctly remember a fourteen-year-old kid coming into the store I worked at during college and purchasing a Star Trek shirt on Black Friday," she said, chuckling.

Luke quickly protested, keeping his voice down so the customers couldn't hear, a few of which knew him. "Hey, hey. Not so loud. People think my aunt gave me the shirt as a gift. I'd like to keep it that way."

"I'm pretty sure nobody believes that story, Luke, especially when your sister blabbed the truth."

"Wait, what?" Luke stared at nothing in particular.

"Yeah, Liz told somebody at the high school, who then told someone, starting a chain until eventually it got to my sister. I laughed when I heard and confirmed it was you who bought it, not your aunt."

Luke groaned, now turning red in the face. Liz would blab the truth to someone, most likely one of her friends.

"Oh, come on, I thought it was cute," she teased him. "I was just waiting to see if you got the Vulcan ears to go along with the shirt."

"Moving along now," Luke said, ending the topic in a serious tone.

Rebecca continued to laugh but agreed to change the topic.

Later that night, Luke laid down after coming out of the bathroom, fresh out of the shower and in his pajamas. With it being the start of the holiday season, the diner was extra busy with people coming through. Luke was exhausted and couldn't wait to fall asleep.

As he laid there, rubbing the palms of his hands against his eyes, Luke felt the bed move. He removed them to see the cause of the movement, catching Shelby crawling over to where he laid.

Sitting back on her legs, Shelby hovered over him, leaning her hands on his side. "Are you okay, Dad?" she asked.

A yawn escaped. Once it passed, he told her, "Yeah, just tired. Ready to hit the hay, like you should be doing."

Shelby sat back, moving her hands to her knees. She too had her pajamas on already, kind of similar to his, only her shirt was more a camouflage color. It was funny because when Jess first saw it, he mistook it for his and got upset that it had shrunk in the dryer until Luke pointed out he had gotten one Shelby's size for her. It wasn't because she was copying him. For some reason, Shelby was really into green camouflage, her favorite color for some odd reason. Luke wasn't even sure if camouflage counted as a color. Regardless if it was or not, Shelby counted it as a color.

"I jus' came over to make sure you go' tucked in," she said.

Luke couldn't help a smile. "Oh, did ya, now?" He chuckled before reaching up to peck her on the cheek. It made her giggle actually and laid down next to him, reaching over to peck him right back. Luke smiled as he stared back at his little buddy. "What would I do without ya?"

Shelby innocently shrugged. "I don' know."

He nudged his forehead towards hers. "I love you so much, kiddo."

"Love you too, Dad," she replied.

Even though they were getting ready to go to bed, somehow the topic of the previous baseball season, including the World Series, came up, discussing their thoughts and opinions on the matter for the next thirty minutes. Shelby was not happy the Red Sox did not make it to the World Series but happily rooted for the Giants since they were closest to home, though the Angels ended up winning the World Series instead.

When a TH word was said a few times, Luke tried helping her pronounce it correctly, reminding her to use her tongue. After a few tries, it finally came out.

"Ta. Ta T-t-ta. Th-ah. The."

"You got it!" Luke suddenly praised when he heard Shelby say it.

Shelby lit up in excitement. "I did i'," she said. With some more struggle, Shelby managed to say it again. "The. The. The. The." Now able to get the word out, she couldn't help repeat it repeatedly. Bolting to her feet, Shelby dashed across the room where he heard her tell Jess.

At first, Jess sounded really excited. "Alright," he exclaimed, which Luke couldn't help detect a hint of proudness for his cousin. Then he mellowed out and returned to his usual relaxed and laid-back manner as if it wasn't a big deal. But the guy wasn't exactly fooling anyone. At least not his uncle.

Jess had Shelby say a few other TH words they practiced together, also reminding her to use her tongue. After a few tries, Shelby was listing off words.

"Th-ey. They. Th-ere. There. Th-a'. Tha'. Th-ick. Thick. Th-ose. Those. I did i'! I go' the sound righ'."

"And we'll keep working on the ending T sound, but great job," he praised.

Luke couldn't help feel just as proud if not more, as he continued to lay there, listening to the cousins. It had surely been one heck of a rocky road for the kid since trying to get her speech sounds down, and now they could check off one more from the list.

Rebecca got back to Luke Wednesday morning and told him, her and Mike decided they'll come have Thanksgiving in Stars Hollow so they could see Shelby. So when he picked Shelby up from school that afternoon, Luke gave her the news.

"Bu' Lor-lai and Rory are coming too, and I wan' to ea' with them," she reminded him.

"Well, maybe you can have seconds with one of them, or dessert," he shrugged as they walked back to the diner.

Shelby shrugged up at him as she said, "Sure."

However, when Lorelai and Rory stopped by the diner that afternoon, they had to tell them they wouldn't be able to make it this year since Lorelai and Rory already had three Thanksgivings to go to. Not only was Shelby disappointed, but Luke was, too. But Lorelai shortly changed her mind and made arrangements where they could stop by. Luke tried to assure her it wasn't a big deal and didn't want things to be overwhelming for them, but Lorelai assured him it was alright. It brightened Shelby up at least, who also double-checked to make sure it was okay.

Thursday morning, Luke got up at his usual time, getting dressed first before heading downstairs to start the first batch of coffee and to start cooking the first couple of turkeys. Shelby was the next one to wake up, coming downstairs shortly after he finished with the coffee. She was wearing her Boston Celtics jersey over a long-sleeved shirt, still going through her basketball phase.

"Hungry, kiddo?"

"Yeah," she replied. "But can I jus' have cer-re-o? I wan' to save room for today."

"Sure. Just give me a few minutes to toss the turkeys in the oven."

"Can I help?"

"Maybe later when I start making the potatoes and everything. How's that?" he suggested.

Shelby agreed.

Luke put the chairs down to let Shelby put out the napkin dispensers and condiments while he worked on the turkeys, making sure they were all fully stocked, filling a few salt shakers and napkin dispensers that weren't.

When he finally emerged from the kitchen, Shelby was on her last table. "Looking great, kiddo," Luke praised.

The kid looked up at him to smile. "Tank... Th-ank you, Dad."

It made Luke smile to hear his little buddy catching herself and trying so hard to get the words down. "You are very welcome," he told her, proudly. It was extremely hinted in his voice, too. "Ready to go eat?" Luke motioned towards upstairs. The kid answered his question by rushing upstairs.

While the turkeys roasted in the oven, Luke poured each of them a bowl of Cheerios upstairs, letting Shelby pour hers, and caught part of the parade as they sat on the couch. While Shelby ate, she kneeled at the coffee table. So far, their second Thanksgiving together was a lot better than the first one. Shelby pointed out her favorite balloons to him.

Jess woke up around the beginning of the parade, heading straight for the bathroom. When he returned, the Sesame Street float was passing by.

"I used to watch Sesame 'tree," Shelby said once the characters stopped singing.

"You did, huh?" Luke answered, slouched next to her.

She nodded. "Elmo was my favori'e. I watched i' as much as I could."

"You know who else used to watch it a lot?" he asked, glancing over at Jess, who had stopped to watch for no particular reason other than it was on.

Jess must have caught onto what his uncle was implying too. "We don't need to bring that up."

"I remember for the first four or five years, that's always what you wanted to watch," Luke chuckled, teasing the guy once more. It made Jess blush red. "And every time I came up there to visit you and your mom, you would be dragging Big Bird around with ya. I'm pretty sure that was your first word."

However, this time, Jess had something to retaliate with. "Oh, yeah?" The young man made his way over to the end table beside the couch, strolling a finger along the spines of several books and photo albums until pulling out one of the photo albums. He flipped through the pages until stopping on one. "Here, Scout. Check out your dad when he was in his Sesame Street phase.

The smirk Luke was still wearing quickly disappeared when he remembered his own attachment to those colorful puppet characters as a small child. There was one of him laying on the floor in front of an old black-and-white TV, watching Sesame Street. In his arms on either side of him were Glover, Elmo, Bird Bird, Ernie, and Bert. The shade of red that previously lit up Jess' face was now lighting up Luke's.

"Payback," Jess couldn't help snicker.

Meanwhile, Shelby was in awe. This was a different photo album than the one they went through for the book she made him for Christmas, the year before.

"Tha's you, Dad?" she asked, looking up at him while pointing at the photo of a four-year-old Luke.

Letting out a sigh, giving in, he told her, "Yep, that's me, kiddo. I think I was about four in that picture. Sesame Street started a year before that."

The biggest thing to point out was the fact there was no hat. "You didn' wear a ha' when you were four?"

"Not at that age. When I got a little older and your grandparents got me on a team, I started wearing one."

Shelby continued looking as Jess headed for the door, stating he was going to go grab some coffee. This album was mostly of when Luke and his sister were little before their mother passed. Possibly that was why he never thought to show this one to Shelby. In fact, there were a few pages Shelby had to pull apart, apparently it had been a long time since this got looked through. She ended up starting at the beginning where there were four photos of Luke as a baby, at different times. Seeing his mother again, he couldn't help feel a lump form in his throat he tried to swallow.

"Tha' Grandma and Grandpa?" she pointed to a photo of Luke and his parents, taken before Liz was born. Luke was sitting on his mother's lap with William sitting beside them. He seemed like a very happy baby. Lorelai would have made a crack about this being before he turned grumpy, if she were here.

"Yep," Luke put in all he could muster to swallow, "that's your grandma and grandpa." Of course, this had to happen a week before the anniversary of his father's passing. Either it was noticeable or his kid was that good, because she closed the album to lift onto her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I's okay, Dad." Shelby comforted her dad as she held her arms around him.

Luke couldn't help smile at the gesture, holding an arm around her. "Thanks, kiddo," he told her.

"You're welcome," she replied before pulling away.

"Hey, how about, not this weekend, but next weekend, we go camping. You and me. How that sound to you?"

Shelby lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yeah, can we?"

Luke chuckled. "You bet, kiddo." Stealing a look over at the photo album, knowing there was even more that he hadn't touched since both of his parents' passings, it might be a good idea to share them with his daughter. Luke turned back to her. "And maybe while we're at our spot, maybe we can look at more pictures I haven't gotten around to showing ya. How's that?"

"Okay," she shrugged and then declared, "I can' wai' till next Saturday."

It made Luke laugh. "Neither can I, kiddo." Scooting towards the edge of the couch, he told her, "Come on, let's get Thanksgiving started."

Downstairs, Luke fixed a tiny corner of the kitchen where Shelby peeled potatoes while Luke and John took care of the rest, and Jess took orders and refilled customers' coffee and drinks. Eventually, the first round of food was ready. Jess asked if he could eat, but Luke told him to wait until Lorelai and Rory got there. Since they were stopping by late in the afternoon, Rebecca and her family arrived first.

Shelby hugged both her aunt and uncle. When the boys hugged her, Luke couldn't help notice Jess was watching like a hawk, close by, tensing up when one of the boys held her head and rubbed the top of it with their knuckles repeatedly while Shelby tried to squirm away. It was Rebecca who told him to let go.

Luke offered them a table and had Jess bring them their drinks.

"Hey, Jess, how about later, you join us for a football game at the park?" Keith asked.

"No, thanks," he declined politely as he poured coffee for Rebecca and Mike, and walking away before they could start begging.

Before Luke headed back to the kitchen, Shelby gently tugged on his flannel shirt. Lowering his ear for her, he asked, "What, kiddo?"

"I don' wan' to ea' until Lor-lai and Rory ge' here," she whispered softly for only him to hear.

"We said you can have seconds or dessert with them, remember?" he reminded her, but Shelby shook her head, looking up at him, pitifully.

"I was hoping tey...th-ey would ge' here before they did."

"Okay, well..." Luke paused for a moment. "Can you visit with them until they get here, at least?"

Shelby nodded.

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked when Luke stood up straight once more.

"Shelby wants to wait until our friends get here to eat," he explained.

"Oh, well, we can wait too," she shrugged.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. There's no point in eating in front of her." Rebecca checked with her husband and boys, also agreeing they could wait. Luke at least offered to bring them some rolls to tide them over while they wait. In the meantime, they asked Shelby how things have been since they were last there, not receiving any verbal responses.

Jess wasn't the only one who kept an eye on them. Luke too kept coming by and glancing over there, making sure Shelby was alright. She did get up to go greet those who walked in, whom she knew, such as Babette and Morey. However, she couldn't hug Kirk when he came by since the poor guy was covered in scratches over sixty percent of his body. When Shelby learned Kirk had gotten a cat, she dashed right over to Luke, to protest the fact Kirk was allowed to have a pet but not her, even though Luke hadn't given her an answer yet. He caved and assured her they'd talk about it later, adding they weren't getting a cat. Shelby tried to object until he said he'd take back letting her have a pet.

Shelby went back over to Kirk to make sure he was alright.

Eventually, Lorelai and Rory stopped by, bringing flowers, thus starting Lorelai and Luke's tradition of arguing about the flowers, ending with Rory reminding them to put the flowers on the counter and forget it ever happened.

When Lorelai noticed Rebecca, she mistook her for Rachel at first.

"That's Rachel's sister, Rebecca," Luke explained.

"Wow, they look almost identical," Rory pointed out.

"Rebecca is the oldest with three boys between them."

"That sounds like a big family," Lorelai said.

Rebecca came over. "If you think that's big, you should see my mother's side of the family," she laughed. "She has nine brothers and sisters. Six brothers and three sisters."

Lorelai gave a quick whistle. "Wow, that's quite a family you have there."

"Two of my uncles already passed, along with our grandparents. The rest are scattered throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island." She then held out her hand, introducing herself.

"I'm Lorelai, and this is my daughter, Rory," Lorelai replied, which Rory said hi.

"You must be very special. Shelby wouldn't eat until you got here," Rebecca told them.

Lorelai smiled down at the little girl. "Oh, sweetheart, you didn't have to wait for us."

Shelby motioned for her ear, whispering into it.

"Okay, then." Lorelai stood up straight again.

Pushing two tables together, the ten of them sat together while they ate. Before sitting down, both Jess and Rory kissed briefly while Luke and John brought out each person's plate. Rebecca's family bowed their heads. Rory got the rest of them's attention, motioning to do the same to be polite as they listened to Mike say grace. It made Shelby happy, at least.

"So where are you guys in your day?" Luke asked Lorelai and Rory once Mike finished.

Rory was the one to answer. "We hit the Kims', we hit Sookie's, and we go to the grandparents from here."

"Full day," Lorelai added.

"Well, you can skip eating this one if you want," Luke assured them. "Just have Cokes or something. It's no big deal." He turned back to his food.

"No. No way," she told him. "You're the main event today, my friend." That made both Luke and Shelby smile.

"So, I guess it's safe to assume you're together?" Mike pointed out from Jess' right, sitting catty-corner from Luke and Lorelai.

Both Lorelai and Luke stared at him, nearly dropping what was on their forks. "W-what?"

"Michael," Rebecca scolded on his right, apologizing to them for her husband.

"What?" he shrugged, innocently. "I saw the way they looked at each other and just assumed. No biggie."

"Uh," Lorelai switched between Luke and Mike, confused. "Looked, how?"

"Like how Becca and I used to look at each other while we were dating. In fact," Mike leaned over, closer to his wife. "Still do." They then kissed each other for a moment, grossing out the kids, including Shelby. Rory, Jess, and Lorelai tried to concentrate on their food.

Luke broke it up before Lorelai assured Mike they were just friends.

The get-to-know-you questions started, turning into a conversation. Lorelai ended up asking about Rachel which Luke quickly changed the conversation, motioning towards Shelby reminding them she was still sitting there. Rory grew interested when the youngest boy, Kevin, was already planning on going to Harvard and was just starting middle school. She gave him a few tips she had learned along the way, including not to choose Hillary Clinton for his essay topic when he applies, as that's what Harvard would expect.

"Oh. That's actually what I was thinking on choosing," he stated.

"Don't worry. Just be yourself, and make sure your credentials reflect you and what you want to major in," she assured him.

"Okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

Kenneth snickered into his food. "Nerd," he teased his younger brother, which Kevin protested about.

Mike got on the boy for picking on his brother.

After a slice of pie, Lorelai and Rory had to head out. Shelby gave them each a hug, good-bye, not liking they had to leave.

"Can I come over this weekend?" she asked Lorelai.

"Um, let me check in at the inn first, tomorrow. We'll probably be busy this weekend."

"I can help," Shelby offered. "I don' mind."

Lorelai smiled at the little girl's willingness to help. "If it's okay with your dad, then maybe we can work something out. Okay?"

"Okay."

Returning the hug, Lorelai then stood up to leave.

With bellies full, Mike suggested a game of football at the park, smacking Luke on the shoulder.

"I have a diner to run," he pointed out, declining the suggestion as Luke rubbed where the guy had smacked him.

Mike turned on Jess. "How about you, Ponyboy? Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"I'm sure," he said, slightly bitter at being called Ponyboy. But when Shelby agreed to go with them, Luke softly suggested Jess go with them. "Way ahead of ya." Jess hurried after, pretending like he had changed his mind.

They headed over to the park where Luke could see from the window. Rebecca went with them as a cheerleader, so Shelby was the only girl playing. It was apparent Jess made sure to have her on his team.

The game went on for two-and-a-half hours. By the time they finally called it quits, Jess was staggering into the diner, collapsing in a chair closest to the door, gasping for air. Even in the chilly November air, sweat beaded down his face, making the front of his hair stick to his forehead.

"W-water...pl-please," he raised a hand.

Luke brought two glasses of water, one for Shelby, as well, setting them on the table. Though the glasses barely touched before Jess grabbed them both and chugged the water down, letting out a relieved sigh afterwards.

"Uh," Luke said, at a loss, "one of those was for your cousin. Remember her? You share a room with her?"

"Uh, yeah." The young man glanced inside the glass meant for Shelby. "Sorry about that, Scout."

"I's okay, Jess," she instantly forgave him. Shelby didn't seem that out of breath than her cousin was. She was still technically a little kid with a lot of energy and used to playing sports, or anything involving being active.

Luke left to grab another glass of water for Shelby. "How do you survive at work?" he questioned once he returned, making sure she had it this time.

Jess was still breathing hard, but not as much as before. "I move boxes and crates around while driving a forklift. I don't run laps while trying to protect a deformed ball."

Mike chuckled. "You're just out of shape," he said. "Kev maybe a bookworm, himself. He still puts the book down, now and then, to get out and toss a ball, or run."

Jess ignored the guy. Staggering back onto his feet, he headed upstairs, telling Luke he was going to go shower.

"I didn't mean to imply anything," Mike told Luke.

"I'm sure it's fine," Luke assured him, glancing at Mike. He looked back to where his nephew had gone.

Once the cooldown passed, Luke offered dessert, making sure Shelby knew there was still apple pie for her and not just pumpkin. After pie and coffee, milk for the younger ones, Rebecca and her clan said their good-byes. Each one took their turn, hugging Shelby. Luke reached a breaking point after Mike and the two oldest boys called her, munchkin, seeing the slightly annoyed expression on the little girl's face.

"Can you please stop calling her, munchkin? Shelby doesn't like it."

"We weren't saying it to be mean," Kenneth was the one to point out.

"We know, but Shelby still doesn't like it. So, if you can ease off, that could help a lot." Thankfully, Rebecca backed him up, which Luke thanked her for as he and Shelby walked them outside.

While Mike and the boys interacted with Shelby, Rebecca stood back a few steps with Luke, facing him. "Listen, my sister told me the situation with your nephew and what happened," she said.

Luke wasn't sure what to say. Of course, Rachel would share that with her sister.

"I don't really have a side there, as I don't know the full story. I mean, I'd be worried too if I had been in Rachel's place. But after seeing your nephew today during the game," Rebecca shrugged, holding it for a moment.

He looked at her, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Kevin isn't as athletic as his brothers are. He still tries and enjoys sports, but it's not where he shines. School is where he excels. I guess that's why they put him on Shelby and Jess' team."

"Okay." It was still unclear what she was talking about.

"Not only did your nephew look out for Shelby, because I'm pretty sure that's why he changed his mind about joining us." She smiled when Luke tried to look away, denying he had no idea.

"Sure," Rebecca teased him. "I'm sure you were watching, too. Not sure if you could tell though, but he was helping Kevin too. That kid has never been able to score against his dad or his brothers without them going easy on him. I don't know how Jess did it, but Kevin was extremely happy when he scored that touchdown."

His eyebrows rose. It was a surprise, but impressive. "Really? Jess helped him?" Luke didn't even know Jess knew anything about football, much less, sports in general. Unless one counted wrestling as a sport. Jess and Shelby had gotten into watching wrestling together and then having their own matches, discussing about it the way Luke and Shelby talks about baseball.

"It was really nice what he did for him. For both of them. Tell Jess, thanks for me, would ya?"

"I will," he said.

Rebecca then turned and headed over to Shelby and her boys. "Alright, you guys. We have a long drive ahead of us. So let's move those keisters." Waving good-bye to Shelby, Rebecca and her family piled into Mike's SUV.

As Luke watched them, he couldn't help notice flames shoot through the air near where Sookie lived. His attention snapped to attention when the boys yelled bye to him and Shelby, followed by a thank-you for the food.

"No problem," he assured them modestly, and waved back as Mike pulled away from the curb. "You have fun today, Shell?"

"Um," Shelby hesitated as if to think on it. She then smiled. "Yeah, I had fun."

"Did you know Jess knew how to play football?"

Shelby shook her head. "Jess made up every play. He said we were doing prison rules."

His head immediately dropped at the sound of his nephew coming up with prison rules to play a game of football. Figures. "How was your aunt and uncle okay with that?" he questioned in surprise.

"Uncle Mike said, as long as nobody go' seriously hur', i' was okay."

Luke let out a sigh. "Come on, let's start cleaning up, kiddo." Luke led Shelby inside so they could start cleaning. Since Jess willingly played football with his cousin and her family, Luke didn't make him help clean up as a thank you.