The next morning Reid woke to the smell of eggs, sausage, bacon, and a delicious medley of other breakfast foods. He rolled over to find that Luke wasn't there, looking up with tired eyes to see the blond pulling on a t-shirt across the room.
"Now that smells amazing," Reid sighed into Luke's pillow. Luke laughed.
"I told you, Grandma Emma is the best. She promised to make French toast, too," Luke winked, coming over to sit on the bed. Reid moved closer, wrapping his arms around Luke's hips and resting his head on his knee. Luke laughed, rubbing Reid's back soothingly. Five minutes later Reid finally dragged himself out of bed, only to stare at the clock declaring that it was not even half past eight, and grudgingly went back to his room and got dressed. They wandered downstairs together and Reid thought he might start drooling at the smell.
"This looks amazing," he said with awe, staring at the various plates on the island counter. Holden was drinking coffee at the table and looked up at them with a smile.
"No one does breakfast like my mother," he smiled. Emma turned around and blushed.
"Oh, hush, it's no big thing. I love cooking for my boys," she said cheerfully. Reid couldn't help but feel a sense of pride when Emma looked at him as though she were including him in that group. He tried to convince himself that he was imagining things as he sat at the table, but the happy smile from Luke, as well as the way that Emma patted him on the shoulder when she brought him his plate, told him he'd been right.
After breakfast Luke decided to start the day by taking Reid for a tour of the Snyder farm. They started with the basics of the house and Reid asked if they could take another tour of Luke's bedroom. After a little playful nudging and teasing kisses in the hallway they headed out back and toward the stables. It was a peaceful walk and Reid had no trouble seeing why Luke loved it here so much. Luke introduced him to some of the horses, including his own named Pepper. They met a few of the stable hands before heading toward the pond, which Reid knew Luke was excited about. He couldn't count how many times Luke had laid on the couch with his head in Reid's lap, talking about the pond and how relaxing and beautiful it was. As they came through a clearing in the trees, a large pond and simple wooden dock coming into view, Reid instantly understood.
It truly was a magnificent place and Reid felt himself almost gasp in awe. The trees were mostly barren still but that didn't take away from the serenity of the landscape. Luke walked ahead and onto the dock. Reid followed a few paces behind, watching as Luke stopped and let his head fall back. When he came up to him he saw that his eyes were closed, and Reid smiled, just standing close. They remained like that for a while, just standing in silence, drinking in the calm.
"Once it gets warmer it won't be quite as peaceful," Luke said quietly with a smile. Reid raised a brow. "There's always people swimming here during the summer. All the cousins come over and we'll have picnics and barbeques and just spend the entire day out here."
Listening to Luke talk, Reid tried to imagine himself at one of these events, just enjoying the company of others and having no cares, even if only for a day. It was a nice thought.
They managed to kill a couple of hours, much to Reid's surprise seeing as they hardly did anything, but at the same time he realized it was nice to not rush for once. After a little more time at the pond, Luke led Reid back toward the house. They walked hand in hand and took their time, talking mildly as they did so. They didn't noticed that up at the house, Holden and Emma were watching from the great window in the living room that overlooked most of the grounds before exchanging simple smiles and returning to their chores.
"Now what?" asked Reid as they came up to the house.
"Actually, Katie texted me earlier and wanted to know if we would stop by, say hello. She seems to really like you, she wants you to meet Jacob," Luke laughed. Reid smiled. He could tell that yet another Snyder was quickly getting under his skin. "Is that okay with you? We don't have to say long," he added.
"Sounds fine to me. As long as she feeds us."
