We were on the highway, headed toward my house when Luke spoke, breaking me from my thoughts.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, babe.” I turned in my seat to look at him. His face had softened somewhat, but he still looked mad as hell.
“You didn’t scare me,” I said, lying.
“Stop lying. You suck at it.” Luke was now smiling, his anger forgotten. He grabbed my hand and tugged on it, gently pulling me into him.
“I didn’t like the way he talked to you. I didn’t like the way he looked at you. I will not tolerate any shit like that in my presence. He is lucky.”
“Lucky?” I gasped, looking at him like he was crazy. “You call that lucky? Luke, you practically smashed his face in.” My voice was now rising as I stared at Luke who didn’t seem to care about my outburst.
“I didn’t smash his face in. Stop being so dramatic, babe. He deserved a lot worse. I tried to warn him, but he is the one who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.” Our argument had taken a turn and I could feel the air in the cab of the truck thicken. I was taking up for this guy and Luke was taking note. I was such a bitch. I had not even thanked him for putting himself on the line for me. He was standing in front of his business for crying out loud! I knew that was the one place he didn’t want act a fool in front of.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I decided to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. I should be thanking Luke for being such a man and looking out for me; not giving him shit about defending my honor.
“Thank you. I hate that it happened in front of your office, but I’m glad you were there and I’m glad he got the hell beat out of him, and you are right-he did deserve worse.” As I said the words, I realized how much truth they held. My intentions were only to tell him this to smooth things over, but now I knew that Luke had done exactly what I expected him to do. His grip around my waist tightened and he tucked me further into him.
“I love you, babe. I’ll do anything it takes to protect you. I figure, now is just as good of a time as any to tell you what the next few weeks of your life are gonna be like.” I stilled at his words; this couldn’t be good.
“When I leave, I want you to stay at my house. Red will be there too, along with Maddie and all the other ol’ ladies. You have met most of them. There won’t be anyone there who doesn’t wear a patch or belong to the club. No women you don’t know or men that I don’t trust. I want you to work from home until I get back. If you have to go to town, take someone with you, but it better be important. I know it sounds extreme, but if you are there then I know you are safe, and that’s one less thing for me to worry about.”
I stared out the windshield, trying to concentrate on the love bugs that had taken over and were crashing into the glass. There were millions out this time of year. It was pointless to wash your car until after the first frost.
“Babe,” Luke said, giving me a little shake. I nodded my head in agreement. There was no point in arguing. Luke needed to be focused, not worrying about me and what I was doing, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I let out a big sigh, and looked up at his face. His eyes darted between me and the road. He was trying to keep from killing us while reading the expression on my face.
“I don’t like it. I want to scream and kick, but I don’t want to piss you off and I don’t want you worried about me. I would rather be stuck inside your house with a bunch of women for a few days than have you getting shot because you were too busy worrying about me and not looking after your own ass.”
Luke smirked at me, “You, Miss Dallas Knox, are amazing. Here I was thinking I was fixing to have to put you in your place. You are always full of surprises.” He kissed my head and held me against him. I sure was gonna miss these arms while he was gone, which was the only reason I let him slide on the ‘put you in your place’ comment. I was gonna suck at being an ol’ lady.
As we pulled into my driveway, I noticed that Luke had followed through on his word. The ugly, smoldering pile of barn was now nothing more than a thin layer of dirt. The yard looked empty without the barn and I felt a twinge of guilt for burning it. I would have someone to construct a new one this week. It would be something to keep me busy while Luke was gone.