WATER RIGHTS, CHAPTER 23, HANNAH AND LUKE AGREE

 

          Luke had decided he’d make another trip to the ranch. If the gate was still closed and locked, he’d park his poor beat-up truck and climb over the fence. One way or another, he was going to talk to Hannah today. He timed his visit so Stevie would be down for his nap. He pumped himself up all the way out there, only to be surprised when the gate was wide open with the hook to keep it so over the top fence rail. Well, this is much better he thought.

It was as though Hannah were expecting him. She came out of the barn just as he parked and stood waiting for him to get out of the truck.

“Hey Hannah, I’m glad to see you. We need….”

“What the heck happened to your truck?"

"Long story, nevermind. We need….”

"To talk. Yes, Luke, we do. Come over to my office in the dining hall. With the door shut, no one will interrupt.”

She started off toward that building and Luke fell in beside her and began to speak, but before he could get much out, she said, “Save it until we get in the office. Then, we can sit and talk for as long as you want. I’ve things I want to say as well.”

Hannah offered Luke lunch which hadn’t yet been cleared from the buffet. Luke got himself a cup of coffee while Hannah chose an herbal tea. In the office, Hannah sat behind her desk and Luke sat in the visitor’s chair. Before Luke could open his mouth, Hannah began.

“Before we really get into this, I need to know if you plan to stick around or are here to tell Stevie goodbye?”

          “I’m going to stay. Stevie is my son and I want to be part of his life. As for….”

“As for the bun in the oven, you aren’t sure how you feel, or you have no intention of taking on another kid, especially one that isn’t yours.”

“Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought….”

Once again Hannah interrupted Luke. “Here’s how it’s going to be as far as I’m concerned. After I’ve had my say, you can tell me what you think of my plan. If you don’t like it, then you can keep on living in town and visiting Stevie on a limited basis.”

It was Luke’s turn to interrupt. “Now, wait a minute. We need to talk….”

“We are talking and this is my plan. This is how I want it to be.” Luke tried to interrupt again, but Hannah just kept talking over him. “First, if we can come to an agreement, we’ll tell Stevie you are actually his very own daddy. Then, you can give up your place in town and move out here. There’s one more room in the house and you can move in there. Since Joe, Dave and Emily all occupy rooms, it won’t be difficult for them to tell staff and town folk that I’m not sleeping with you any more than I am with them.

“If you live in the house, you’ll have 24/7 access to Stevie. You can learn what it’s like when he throws a tantrum because he’s terribly tired, or how wonderful it is to have his sleep-warmed body jump into your bed first thing in the morning. We usually have breakfast, just the two of us and you can be part of that, but you’ll also have to do some of the cooking so Stevie can see that we are partners when it comes to him and his welfare.”

“That sounds great,” Luke said, “but where does that leave you and me and….”

“The child I’m carrying,” Hannah finished for him. “I’ve thought about that too and here are my thoughts. You can participate as you would have if you’d been here for Stevie. You can watch my body change and grow. You can feel the baby move while it’s in my tummy. You can go to the doctor appointments with me. You can be at the birth, or not. Jo was my birth coach with Stevie and I’m sure he’d be happy to do it again.”

“What about after the birth?”

“You’ll have to make up your mind then about what you want to do. If you aren’t interested in being a daddy to this child, then you’ll move off the ranch and we’ll set up a visitation schedule for you and Stevie.”

“What about us physically. You already mentioned your other housemates would testify we aren’t sleeping together. I gather from that, there’ll be no sex even though you’re already pregnant.”

“That’s right. When I made you leave the last time, I was heart-broken. You were my first and I loved you. I don’t want to become accustomed to having you in my bed and then have you leave again, even if it’s my choice to send you away from the ranch. We can be friendly for Stevie’s sake, but no physical intimacies beyond feeling the baby move.”

Luke sat there and looked at Hannah. He so wanted to grab her and kiss her to submission, but he could tell by her face, that she was adamant about how things were going to have to be.

“Okay, that’s what you want is it?” When Hannah nodded, Luke continued, “Okay, that’s all fine with me, but I don’t want to be absolutely useless except for being Stevie’s dad. I want you to assign me chores and other work as it was the first time. I’ll make time for you and Stevie, but I want to help you however I can with running WFR Treks. You’ve done an amazing job since your Gramps died. I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished and I’d like to be part of all this. Is that agreeable to you?”

“Sure, we can always use another hand, especially since I had eleven people resign when they learned I was pregnant. With Stevie, since they knew both of us, knew we were in love, everyone was willing to overlook the fact we didn’t marry and that you were gone. This time, I’ve become a slut and a whore who shouldn’t….”

“You can’t be serious,” Luke interrupted her this time. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows. “Okay, my reaction to your news wasn’t very good, but I didn’t call you names and I don’t understand how people who actually know you and work for you could be so small-minded, so, so, so unsupportive.”

“That’s a small town for you. Parents don’t want their teen-age children, or even their college-aged children working here. One resignation letter called WFR a den of iniquity.”

Luke laughed at that. “Hardly, in all the time I’ve been back, I haven’t seen you do anything that could make people think that.”

“So, are we good then, Luke? Do you want to move out here and live pretty much as I’ve outlined?”

“Sure, in fact, I’m excited about the idea of being here with you and Stevie. And, I know we’re just going to be friends, at least for now, but that’s better than the way it’s been since I came back. I can’t wait for us to tell Stevie I’m his daddy and that I’m going to be in the same house he is.”

Hannah stood up and extended her hand, “Deal!”

Luke took her hand in his, then covered it with his other hand. “Deal, but I want you to know that I’ll never stop loving you or wanting you in my life.” He raised their joined hands and kissed hers.

Hannah felt every cell in her body come alive with need when Luke’s lips touched her hand. He even went so far as to touch his tongue to the back of her hand and she tried not to yank it back or move forward to embrace him.  

“There’ll be no more of that Luke. We’re friends and co-parents. That’s it, and if you try to weasel your way closer to me or into my bed, you’ll be out of here so fast, you’ll think a tornado picked you up and set you down in town.” She pulled her hand free and added, “Now, if you’re ready, we can see if Stevie is awake yet and give him our news.”

Emily was just bringing Stevie into the dining hall. When he saw Luke, he dropped her hand and ran to throw himself on Luke, grabbing his legs with both arms. “Where you been? I missed you so much Luke. Where you been?”

Luke pulled Stevie off his legs and knelt so they were face-to-face. “I had some business I needed to take care of, but it’s all done now. Your mom and I have been talking. How about we go to your house and make you a snack? Your mommy and I have something we want to tell you.”

“You’re getting marred?” Stevie threw his hands around Luke’s neck. “That means you’ll be my daddy?”

Luke looked up at Hannah and responded, “Not quite that, but we do have a secret we want to share. Okay?”

Stevie walked between them and held their hands, talking about how he loved secrets and could he have a peanut and jelly sammich. When they got to the house, removed their outwear and moved into the kitchen, Luke went to the sink and washed his hands. Then, he found the bread where it had always been, peanut butter in the cupboard and milk and jam in the fridge. He wanted to begin this new segment of his life on the right foot.

When he’d made Stevie’s sammich, he poured him a small glass of milk and added a couple of cookies for after the sammich was all gone. Luke asked Hannah if she wanted anything besides the hot water she’d poured for her herbal tea.

They talked amongst themselves about different topics that interested Stevie. Once he was done with his snack, Luke and Hannah moved their chairs closer to Stevie. Hannah looked at Luke and began.

“A long time ago, before you were born, Luke came to the ranch to work for Gramps. He stayed here until after my Gramps died and then he had to leave. But while he was here, Luke and I fell in love and we created you because we loved each other.”

 “And, your mommy didn’t know if I’d ever come back, even though I was determined I’d be back no matter what. It just took me until this past summer to get back, Stevie. I hoped your mom would still be here and still love me because I loved her, but I didn’t know you would be here too.”

Stevie looked from one to the other, his face frowning as he tried to figure out what they were telling him.

“Stevie, because we loved each other, Luke is your daddy.” Hannah said, “You don’t have to call him Luke any more, you can call him daddy if you want.”

Stevie looked from Hannah to Luke and his face showed the biggest smile ever. “You’re really my daddy? I have a daddy? I always wanted a daddy like Liam. Can I tell Liam I have a daddy too? Can I take Luke, I mean daddy to see Liam?

Stevie jumped off his chair and threw himself into Luke’s lap. “Can we go see Liam now? I want Liam to know I have a daddy too.”

Before Luke could respond, Hannah told Stevie, “We didn’t tell you everything. Luke, your daddy, is coming to live here in the house with us. He gets the vacant room upstairs, so you’ll be able to see him all the time. He can put you to bed. You can go to his room instead of mine for hugs and tickles and kisses first thing in the morning, but you better remember to save some for me too.

“So, how about I give Luke the keys to our truck and you can go with him to get his stuff in town and bring it back, that’s if it’s okay with Luke?” Hannah looked at Luke and raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, we can do that right now,” Luke said, picking Stevie up. “If your mommy tells me where Liam lives, we can even go there and you can show him your daddy. What do you think mommy?”

Hannah smiled, delighted at this turn of events. “Sure, I’ll call Celia and tell her you’ll be stopping by. Stevie can tell you how to get there. Besides, I’ve been meaning to send this bag of Stevie’s clothes to Celia for Liam. He’s just enough smaller than Stevie that he can wear them for a couple of months before they get too small for him too.”

Luke carried a smiling Stevie out to the truck and buckled him inside his car seat. Hannah walked along, carrying the bag of clothing, fished the truck fob out of her pocket and handed it to Luke. “Judging by the looks of your truck, I’d sure like it if you were more careful with mine. Also, we usually eat dinner in the dining hall with the permanent staff. After you get back and put your stuff away, that’s probably where you’ll find me.”

Hannah opened the back door as Luke got into the driver’s seat. “Now, give your mommy a big kiss.” Stevie wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a big smacker. “You have fun with your daddy, okay. And mind what he says, okay.”

Stevie assured Hannah he would be good and Hannah watched as Stevie and his daddy drove out the road to the highway. She stood there for a bit wondering if she was out of your mind to allow Luke such close quarters. She also wondered if she’d manage to be strong enough to stay out of Luke’s room and to keep him out of hers. If only she didn’t still love him. If only she wasn’t pregnant. If only, if only, if only, she said to herself and moving toward her office added, it is what it is. Deal.