That night as the Duke family sat around the dinner table relaxing and reflecting on the day's events, Luke's silence didn't go unnoticed by his family. While not one to chatter non-stop, Luke was not prone to complete silence either; unless he was trying to work out a problem.
"Luke, you've been awful quiet today, somethin' on yer mind?" Uncle Jesse asked noticing how Luke was brooding over his coffee.
"I guess I was just thinking about the baby, Uncle Jesse." Luke said.
"I know you feel bad for her. But it's not like you to worry this much." Bo said from across the table. He had subtly watched Luke all day, and had noticed just how tense Luke had been.
"But this time I think I've got a right to be." Reaching up, Luke takes the note out of his pocket and hands it to Uncle Jesse. "I found this in the baby's blanket. Just read it and you'll find out what I'm talkin' about."
Uncle Jesse opens the note and reads the neat, even handwriting.
"Dear Luke, this is our baby. Her name isJaclyn Elizabeth
I can't handle this right now, and I don't know where to turn.
Someday I hope you can both forgive me.
Love Ellen Sue Parker."
Whatever his family's reaction was Luke missed. As Luke sat at the table, his mind was twenty years in the past...
5 year old Luke sat in one of the chairs outside the social worker's office, playing with his small toy car.
His Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha were inside the office talking to the social worker, the door was slightly open so Luke could hear everything that was being said.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Duke. I realize that it is a difficult time for your family, but I'm asking for you to take Luke in. He's only 5 and needs a home. He hasn't spoken a word since he was told about the accident. So far we haven't been able to find any family members that are able to take in Luke. If you don't, he'll be placed in an orphanage."
Luke could hear the guff voice of his uncle, "of course we'll take Luke in; I know James and Caroline wouldn't want Luke to grow up in an orphanage!"
Blocking out everything, Luke plays with a silver ring that hangs on a silver chain around his neck. It was his mother's ring; he had taken it from her jewelry box after the accident.
Suddenly Uncle Jesse is kneeling beside him. "It's time to go home, Luke. Yer gonna come live with me and yer Aunt Martha." …
"Luke… Luke?" Luke was drawn back to the present by his Uncle calling his name.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse; what was ya sayin'?"
"I was just asking ya: what do you plan to do about this?"
"I'm not sure exactly, Uncle Jesse." Luke took a sip of his rapidly cooling coffee. "What I do know is that you took all three of us in when ya didn't have to. The least I can do is to try to take care of my own daughter. You've always taught us to take responsibility for our actions, and right now that's what I need to do."
Uncle Jesse had always wondered if this would ever happen to one of his nephews as they would go crazy over a girl before moving on so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up. He was glad to see that at least Luke was seemingly accepting the responsibilities and consequences of his actions, instead of running from them.
"Well, we'll figure things out in the morning. Right now, I suggest that we go to bed, it's getting late and the chores won't do themselves in the morning."
"Luke?" the quiet whisper came from the other bed in the room as Luke tried to sleep.
Turning towards the source, Luke managed to mumble a response "Yeah?"
"Do you really think the baby is yours?" Bo's question didn't hold any accusation; it was more curiosity than anything else.
"Yeah, I do. You saw the baby's dark hair, Ellen Sue is a blonde. Plus, I think she has my eyes as well; when I picked her up, she opened her eyes slightly they were the same color blue as mine."
"Why do you think Ellen Sue left the baby in the barn?"
"I don't know, Bo. But I do know that it nearly cost Jaclyn her life; and I'm gonna make sure it doesn't happen again."
With that Luke turned back to his normal sleep position, and tried to go back to sleep.
TBC