“Woodworking—” I rushed in. As if to cement it.
“Yep, exactly. So he’ll be staying out here in the shed I just built. Working side by side with me, learning the different saws and such. Like my pa showed me.”
Deep into the night, well past midnight, when I was certain everyone else was asleep, I crawled down the ladder from the loft, slipped out across the pasture to Luke’s shed.
Creaked open the door.
He was on a mattress, leaning his upper body against the wall where a headboard should be, reading by lantern light. A crumbling copy of a collection of Rumi’s poetry.
“Thought you’d never come.” He grinned up at me, patting the spot next to him for me to take.
On the floor, a single candle burned in a votive, and a bottle of red wine stood ready, waiting to be uncorked.
After we each had a glass, I slipped under his thin bedspread with him, let him spoon me, keeping my ears pricked for any sounds, any signs that we were being watched.
We kept all our clothes on, just in case, Luke’s voice in my ear, growling, “Happy early birthday, Jane.”
All the next day, he was at Pa’s side at the sawing table, sweat streaming off him, his gorgeous skin glistening.
I noticed that Julia made a lot more trips by Pa’s shed than normal.
He was a sight: Smooth, tanned. Tall, lean, but with muscles rippling. Moppy hair made even sexier by the work, the sweat, the messiness.
Of course, we had to invite her to the Circles with us. And,sigh,ugh, of course she said yes. I swear she somehow knows about us, wants to drive me crazy by not letting me be alone with Luke.
I even let her ride shotgun, mainly because I didn’t want me and Luke to slip up, to somehow forget and hold hands over the console as we always do.
Though we couldn’t act like we were together, pride still crackled through me when I introduced him to everyone. I thought Blair was gonna pass out from flirting with him so much.
And Nellie. Whew.
I still can’t believe he let her inside his Camaro, hung out with her like that. Like I said, we aren’t the jealous types, but it definitely bugged me. Because it wasNellie.
When I snuck into his cabin later that night, I brought it up, carefully choosing my words so I didn’t sound clingy.
“Be careful with that Nellie girl. She’s…weird.”
Luke laughed. “That’s judgy. And not like you at all.”
I socked him in the arm. “No, it’s just”—I shifted in his bed and sat up—“she’s been mean to me. Ever since we moved here.”
Luke’s fingers tickled the top of my hand. “Really? You ever wonder why?”
I shook my head. “No, but Blair said it’s because she’s just jealous.”
“Bingo. I mean, look at you.” His fingers were now in my hair, twisting a strand. “And that girl’s twisted up. I can relate to that. She needs a friend—”
“But does it have to be you?”
“Ha, no. But I mean, yeah, maybe? Like, no, I’m not gonna be her new best friend, but I will be nice to her. You should try it, too. She’s not a bad person—”
“Ha, fat chance.”
“Jane Swift.” His lips brushed against mine. “You’re a devil.”
34
Nellie
