The Impossible Art of Falling (Impossible Art #1) (18 page)

“Yes,” she replied and without hesitation, let herself fall.

chapter 18

L
UKE WOKE JUST AS THE sky was beginning to lighten. He was all tangled up in Jena and didn’t want to move. She nestled farther into his chest and he pulled her close. He couldn’t help but think, once again, how lucky he was to have her. Ever since he lost his sister, every day had been one more day to keep moving forward until he could figure out his life. Then Jena came, and he couldn’t imagine not being here with her. She had given him everything last night. She had given him more than he ever could have dreamed. They had made love slowly, yet desperately, each one sensing the need in the other.

He lay there, content for the first time in months and watched as the light began to stream through the open window. She had given him so much, told him of her life, and he had told her so little. He needed to tell her about his sister. About his parents tossing him out. She needed to know everything about him. He was worried, of course, wondering if she would feel the same, once she knew the truth. He glanced at the picture of him and his twin sister on the dresser. It hurt to look. It hurt to think about her. Jena was hurting too, and it was she who was giving him the courage to face his own demons.

The sun was now ascending from the tips of the mountains, and they needed to get up.

“Baby?” Luke whispered, nuzzling the space behind her ear. “We need to get up and get dressed. Meg will be expecting you to help with breakfast, and Rob will need me to feed horses. And we have to work the trail rides today.” He could feel the softness of her naked skin underneath the sheets as she moved next to him. Jena moaned, not wanting to wake up.

“Why do we have to get up so early?” she murmured.

“Well, if you don’t care about your aunt and uncle finding you naked in my bed, then we wouldn’t have to,” he responded playfully.

“I know,” she groaned and sat up, letting the sheet fall. Without a word, she got dressed and then leaned back over and kissed him. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”

MEG WAS STANDING AT the kitchen window, starting breakfast, when she saw the barn door slide open. Jena looked around, slid out, and then quietly shut the door.  She was putting her long blonde locks up in a hair tie when she stepped onto the porch. Meg smiled to herself, knowing exactly where Jena was coming from. They were both adults, so she didn’t know why they were hiding it. And if they helped each other heal, then she and Rob would support them.

“Good morning, Sweetie,” Meg said when she heard the door to the house close. The footsteps froze outside the kitchen.

“Good morning, Aunt Meg,” Jena replied.

“Were you out for another walk this morning?” Meg offered, giving Jena the excuse she needed. “You’ve been doing a lot of that lately.”

“What? Oh, yes. I went for an early walk.”

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind, could you help me with breakfast?”

“Sure, just let me go get cleaned up a bit. I just threw some old clothes on before I left.”

Meg watched her walk upstairs and smiled to herself. She couldn’t be happier for the two of them.

THE PHONE RANG JUST as they were about to start getting the horses ready. Meg rushed to get it. The other three stood expectantly, as not many people called the house so early in the morning.

“That was Kyle,” she said when she hung the phone up. “He isn’t coming in today.” Jena felt a rush of relief burst through. Kyle still complicated things between her and Luke. There was clearly something between the two men, but she had been too afraid to ask Luke what. Regardless, things were better without him here to complicate things.

“Alright,” Rob said. “Well, Jena, as long as you will still help get the horses ready to go out, we will be fine. Luke and I can do everything else.”

“No problem, Uncle Rob,” she answered.

All morning long, Jena helped get the horses ready to go out on the trail, and Rob and Luke would take the clients out. She missed having Luke there to help her. It was lonely when they were out riding, and she was left behind. Still, Luke would go out of his way to walk by her or brush her arm, whenever he could. Every time he handed her the reins of a horse, he would make sure he grazed her fingertips. Then, there were the looks. He was constantly looking in her direction and smiling. After a few hours of this, Jena was sure that Rob and Meg must know by now, what was happening between the two of them.

It happened during the last trail ride, right before lunch. Rob was leading the pack and Luke was bringing up the rear. Luke had decided to take one of the younger, newer horses out, to give it some experience. As they came back, Jena helped to take the horses and began to put them away. Suddenly, when they neared the end of the pack, she noticed that Luke was missing.

“Where’s Luke?” she asked her uncle, trying to sound casual.

Rob looked up and realized that he hadn’t returned with the rest of the group.

“I don’t know. He was with me at the last bend.” Suddenly, a horse crashed through the trees, calling out wildly. The blood drained from Jena’s face. That was Luke’s horse. The one he had been riding. Meg came rushing out of the office to help catch the loose horse.

Jena stood there, pale as a ghost, and Meg rushed to her side after the horse was taken care of, sensing her concern. Rob hopped on the nearest horse and started to ride back out on the trail.  Jena’s eyes followed him, and then saw the tall, muscular figure of Luke coming down the trail. He was limping and holding his side but okay, nonetheless. Rob stopped his horse, relieved that Luke was okay. Before Jena could think about what she was doing, she left Meg’s side and began running toward Luke. When she reached him, she leaped up and embraced him.

“You’re okay! I thought… I thought… ”

“Whoa, easy! I’m okay. I just got bucked off when the horse saw a bear. A bear way off in the distance, I might add. I think I may have bruised my ribs.” He wrapped his arm around her and tucked her into his side, before bending down and giving her a kiss.

Rob and Meg looked at each other as they watched Luke and Jena embrace. Meg smiled and reached for Rob’s hand. It appeared that Jena and Luke’s relationship was now out in the open.

Jena and Luke walked back toward the crowd that was now expectantly waiting for them. Suddenly, Jena realized that Luke still had his arm around her, and that they had kissed in front of everyone. Her cheeks flushed as she looked from her aunt to her uncle.

“Well,” said Luke, looking down at her. “I guess if they didn’t figure it out before, they have now.”

AFTER LUNCH, ROB, MEG, Luke, and Jena sat out on the porch, relaxing until the afternoon round of trail rides. Luke was relieved that his relationship with Jena was out in the open. He didn’t have to pretend he didn’t want to touch her every chance he got. He didn’t have to separate himself from her as they walked through the door, or look for reasons to accidentally brush up against her. Even now, he sat with his arm around her on the big porch swing. He had been right, his ribs had been bruised. Meg had given him some painkillers and a towel full of ice.

“I’m okay,” he insisted, as she examined the deep purple bruise forming. Sure, they hurt, but he had endured worse.

“Well, I still think it would be a good idea for you to stay off of the horses and the trails this afternoon. I’ll go out and the two of you can run things back at the farm,” Meg had said. And so they spent the afternoon checking people in and rearranging horses. He may have been in pain, but he also got to stay with Jena, and that made it all worth it.

That night, when Jena snuck down to be with Luke, Meg was waiting for her.

“Oh, Aunt Meg! You startled me,” Jena said, nervously. “I was just going out to …ah…. say good night to Gatsby.”

“Have a seat a minute, Honey,” Meg coaxed. Jena did as she was told. “It’s okay. I know you are going out to be with Luke.” A look of horror crossed Jena’s face. How long had Meg known? Surely, she hadn’t figured it all out because of what had happened today, had she?

“Don’t worry, your uncle and I are not upset.” Meg pursed her lips together. “Sweetie, all we have ever wanted was for you to be happy. Losing…losing your father was horrible. And then your mother left, and we suggested that you come here. We worried, for a while, whether it was the right thing to do. Especially, since you are old enough to take care of yourself and move off on your own.” She stopped and glanced at Jena, who was sitting stock still at the end of the chair. “Do you love him? Do you love Luke?”

Jena’s body softened and relaxed, any tension gone.

“Yes. With all my heart.” Jena felt a tear caress her cheek. “He makes me feel like me again.”

“I’ve seen a change in him, too. I think you bring out the best in him. You know, I’ve had my suspicions about you two for quite some time now.” She crossed the room to kneel in front of where Jena sat in the tired, chintz chair. “Don’t be afraid. You don’t need to hide around us anymore. We just want you to be happy. Both of you. You father wanted you to be happy. Even your mother, in her own way, wants you to be happy.” Jena swiped at the tears pooling around her eyes.

“Do you really think so, Aunt Meg? I have just felt so lost this last year. I’ve felt like I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Then I met Luke. I thought he hated me, but then he didn’t. We started talking and suddenly, I felt more like myself again. I fell in love, but I didn’t know if you and Uncle Rob would be okay with it, so we kept it hidden. I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Jena. Don’t ever apologize for falling in love. You two are adults and know what you are doing.” She squeezed both of Jena’s hands. “You have to do what makes your heart happy.”

The two embraced, and Meg reminded Jena that she still had family that loved her. She hugged her aunt, grateful for being brought to the farm. For having someplace to go, when she thought she had lost everything.

“Thank you, Aunt Meg,” Jena said, smiling through her tears.

“You’re welcome. Now go out there and see Luke. You don’t want to keep your knight in shining armor waiting.” Jena tried to stifle a laugh, as she dried off her cheeks. “And if you want, I’ll pretend I don’t notice that you don’t come in later tonight.”

Jena tucked her head in embarrassment and went out into the night.

Luke noticed Jena’s tear streaked face when she came to him.

“Are you okay?” he said, his voice full of concern as he pulled her to him.

Jena started laughing and then covered her face with her hands.

“It was just my aunt,” she said. “She sort of busted me coming down the stairs to come out here. She said she has known for a while.” “Okay,” Luke said, wondering if he would still have his job in the morning.

“Don’t worry, she said it’s fine.”

“Then why were you crying?”

“We were just talking about my parents. I miss my dad so much that sometimes, I forget that my uncle lost a brother and my aunt her brother-in-law. I forget that other people are mourning him, too,” Jena said, walking over to sit on the bed.

“Yes, grief is a strange thing.” Luke looked off into the distance at some invisible place in his mind. He was somewhere else, in a different time.

“It makes you selfish, I think,” Jena added. “You can become so distraught, you can’t see past your own problems, your own sorrows.”

Luke’s brow tightened and his lips pursed. Jena reached out to touch his arm, trying to bring him back, when his expression changed, and he turned back toward her.

“Were you and your parents close?” Luke asked, changing the subject and taking a seat next to her. Jena pulled up her knees and hugged them tightly to her chest.

“My dad and I were. My mom and I have been drifting apart for years. I guess that’s why it hurts so much. I feel like I’ve lost both parents in the last year.” The words were bitter on her tongue. She had never voiced that to anyone. Never let on that she felt as if she had lost both parents. And now, here she was, candidly talking about it with Luke, her feelings coming out as honestly as her words now. “Sometimes, I wonder if I should call my mother and talk to her. If I should be the one to try to reach out.”

“I think it’s understandable that you’re angry with her. You lost your dad, because he died. Your mom, because she left. You shouldn’t be the one to have to reach out. It’s a tough call, but you have to do what’s best for you.” He draped his arm around her and pulled her in tightly.

“What about your parents? Where are they?” Jena asked.

Luke paused for a second, debating about how much to say. She had told him so much, and he knew that he owed it to her to tell her. Besides, she trusted him and he trusted her, so he should tell her the truth.