The Question Luke Asked
Chapter 18 - The Question Luke Asked
One evening, Luke asked Jax a difficult question.
“If my dad was alive, would you still be here?”
Jax thought carefully.
“Yes.”
“Would he be mad?”
“Probably.”
Luke laughed.
“Why?”
“Brothers are like that.”
Then Luke asked:
“Would you and Mom be together?”
Jax nearly choked.
Emily, standing nearby, froze.
“Luke.”
“What?”
Jax looked at Emily.
She looked at him.
Neither wanted to lie.
“We don’t know yet,” Jax said.
Luke shrugged.
“Okay.”
That was it.
Children sometimes accepted uncertainty better than adults.
Later, Emily sat beside Jax outside the diner.
“You handled that well.”
“I almost jumped through the window.”
She laughed.
Jax looked at her.
“I don’t want Luke thinking I’m replacing Caleb.”
“You aren’t.”
“I don’t want you thinking that either.”
Emily’s expression softened.
“I don’t.”
May you like
She took his hand.
For the first time, neither of them pulled away.
