Returning to the empty apartment that he no longer shared with Noah, Luke was hit in the face with memories and an unexplainable sense of betrayal. He knew that he and Noah were over but a part of him still felt bad for the weekend he had just spent in Dallas. He finished packing, playing some loud music in the living room to help distract himself as he boxed up all of his things, leaving Noah's belongings just as they were. It was getting dark out by the time he finished. Holden, Jack and Parker had agreed to help him move everything the next day to the farm house, where Luke would be staying until he found a new place of his own. He loved being at the farm, surrounded by family in the one place he always felt secure, but it was also a place filled with memories of the past and smiling faces that were so hopeful for the future, a feeling Luke didn't share at the time. Luke knew he still needed time to grieve for he and Noah's failed relationship, and the farm house as not a place he could do that properly.
Taking just what he needed he headed out and ate dinner with his father and Grandma Emma. Ethan and Natalie were there but they were too restless to sit through a meal, running around in the leaves out back instead.
"It sounds like a lovely place" Emma chimed happily as Luke told them about the horse camp. Luke smiled. Seeing his grandmother's face light up like that always made it impossible to feel down.
"I just hope you didn't sit around in your hotel all weekend doing paperwork," added Holden. "City like Dallas, surely you found something interesting to do."
Luke's mind drifted back to Reid and the two evenings they'd spent together. His face must have changed because Holden was suddenly looking at him with interest.
"Luke?" said Holden to get his son's attention.
"What?" replied Luke, snapping out of it.
"Did you do anything interesting?" Holden repeated.
Luke blinked and clenched his jaw a bit. "I went out, ate at this bar and grille by the hotel the first night, talked to some people. We ate at the steakhouse last night and had dessert out at this diner I found on the way back from the camp," Luke began, rushing through his words. He was about to go on about spending his afternoon at the pool and wandering around downtown when Holden held up a hand, obviously replaying Luke's words and carefully processing them.
"We?" Holden repeated. Luke froze, realizing his blunder. Emma was watching him expectantly.
"Uh, yeah. Me and this guy, Reid. I met him Friday night, we went to the steakhouse last night," explained Luke, trying to blow it off as no big deal. The problem was that Luke was a horrible liar, especially when it came to his father, and everyone knew it.
"Uh-huh," Holden replied slowly, still watching Luke and casually reaching for another roll.
"It's no big deal, dad," Luke insisted, adding butter to his mashed potatoes.
"Yeah, of course. No big deal," shrugged Holden, obviously not believing him but returning to his food nonetheless. Luke frowned and watched his dad before sighing and putting down his fork.
"Alright, fine," he groaned. Holden looked up as though he weren't interested, but Luke knew for a fact that he was.
"Really, dad, it's not a big deal. We talked, hung out a bit, went out to dinner, it's nothing to get bent out of shape over," said Luke decisively.
"I'm not the one acting all 'bent out of shape' here," Holden pointed out with a knowing look. Luke continued to frown.
"Can we not talk about this, dad? I don't even know if I'm ever going to hear from him again," Luke said with a sigh. Holden noticed the disappointment on his son's face easily.
"Why not?" Holden asked. Luke gave him a 'really?' sort of look and Holden raised his hands. "I get it, I get it, you don't want your old man interfering. I can take a hint," he said. They both took another bite of their food. "So are you going to see him when you're back down there in two weeks?"
Luke nearly slammed his fork down again.
"What? It's just a question," Holden grinned. Luke's face burned red.
"Oh, don't tease the poor boy," said Emma, reaching over and rubbing Luke's back.
"Thanks, Grandma," Luke said over his shoulder as Emma stood up, taking her plate to the sink.
"If he doesn't want to talk about this mystery Reid, who are we to push?" she said, but her tone made Holden nearly choke with laughter and Luke looked up with small eyes. Emma was smiling and now humming to herself. It was clear that she, too, was curious for the details.
After a bit more prodding they finally got Luke to open up and they sat around the table talking for nearly an hour. Luke explained that Reid was a doctor and that they'd met at the bar. He told them about the walk and meeting for dinner, how Reid had already picked a place and just expected Luke to pay. This might have hit them both as annoying if Luke hadn't been smiling from ear to ear while he spoke. Luke described Reid's unique personality and while Holden could honestly say that he didn't understand Luke's attraction to someone who sounded so arrogant and rude, he couldn't help but feel happy seeing the glow on Luke's face. He hadn't seen Luke smile like that in months and watching his boy shine with happiness brought pure joy to his heart.
"It's really not that big of a deal," Luke said again, though neither his father nor his grandmother believed him. They just smiled and said okay before allowing the conversation to drift.
Luke went to bed at a decent time, falling into the bed that had been his on and off for years. He slept easily, thoughts of the foundation and the work he had to get done tomorrow filtering through his head. Just as his eyes became too heavy to keep open, a handsome face with blue eyes and curly auburn hair slipped into his thoughts, and he fell asleep with a smile.
