Winona brushed a tear away and chuckled. “He sure did. Any time the subject of kids came up he was the first one to whip out pictures of the twins. I really miss him. We weren’t together for all that long, but I’ll cherish those memories for the rest of my life.”
It would never feel right that Aaron had been taken away from his family in such a premature way. He should’ve died peacefully in his sleep at 102 years old. He should’ve had so much more time with his loved ones. Luke couldn’t wrap his head around the unfairness of it all. But, all things considered, it was pretty fantastic to be face-to-face with Winona and seeing for himself that she was doing all right.
The sound of high-pitched cries rang out in the distance. Winona made a face. “Let me just grab whoever is making that racket and we’ll come back to wave goodbye.” Winona stood up and vanished from the screen. A few minutes later she was back with a baby cradled in each arm.
“Double trouble,” she said with a chuckle. “This is Matteo and this one here is Quincy. Boys, meet your uncle Luke.”
Luke felt a groundswell of emotion bubbling up inside of him. “T-they’re adorable.” Somehow he managed to get the words out. “They’re both mini-me’s of Aaron.” The resemblance was uncanny. He only wished his buddy was still around to bear witness to the lives he’d created.
An ear-splitting cry drowned out Winona’s reply. She rocked both of her arms. “I’m so sorry. They won’t settle down until I give them something to eat. It was so great to chat with you.”
“No worries. I completely understand. Let’s talk again soon.” Although Winona and the twins vanished from the screen and the call ended, Luke didn’t immediately get up from the table.
He was still grinning from ear to ear when he opened the door to Stella a few minutes later. She was standing on his doorstep with a basket in her hands. Luke sniffed the air as a delectable aroma wafted around the entryway.
“I come bearing gifts,” she said, holding the basket up in the air. He deftly took the basket and held it in his hand as he swooped in for a kiss. He pulled her in so that she rested against his chest. After kissing her, Luke grinned down at her.
“You look like you just won the lottery,” Stella said, her eyes skimming over his face. “Did you get good news or something?”
“I kind of feel like I did win the lottery,” Luke admitted. The heavy sensation that had been sitting on his chest had eased up substantially since speaking with Winona. His greatest fear had been that she would be depressed or unable to function in her daily life. Their conversation had turned out better than he’d ever imagined.
He quickly got Stella up to speed by telling her all about his heartfelt Skype session with Winona. He knew that he was talking a mile a minute, but things had gone so well and he was bursting with excitement. He couldn’t seem to stop grinning for anything in this world. His soul felt so much lighter now.
“Oh, that’s incredible news,” Stella said, appearing just as thrilled as he was. “I know you must feel on top of the world. Aaron would be so happy that the two of you connected.”
“And I got a glimpse of the babies. Stella, they look just like Aaron.” Just hearing Winona refer to him as Uncle Luke made him feel ten feet tall. And it let him know that she wanted him in the boys’ lives, which was huge.
“Oh, I wish that I could’ve been a fly on the wall to see them,” Stella said. Her face was flushed while her eyes were glossy.
He was discovering that Stella loved babies. The way she’d gushed over Brando’s pictures and how she’d been keeping a baby name for her future child all pointed toward one thing. Stella was the type of woman who wanted babies in her future. Her expression was soft and open, and it felt as if he was getting a glimpse into the most intimate part of her. Would he be a good father? Could he handle a crying baby? Just knowing one might be in their future caused goose bumps to pop up on his arm. There were so many exciting moments ahead of them, but he needed to do something first.
“I’ve decided to take a drive to New Hampshire tomorrow to see Kenny’s family. I think the time is right.”
“Tomorrow?” she asked, surprise registering on her face and in her tone. “Did you just decide to do this right now?”
“Yes. I don’t want to keep putting this off. Now that I’ve spoken to Winona I have a really good feeling about seeing the Smiths. She’s in such a good place and she was warm and positive. It’s been seven months since Kenny was laid to rest. It’s time for healing.”
“Don’t you think maybe you should call them first? Surprise visitors aren’t always welcome, especially under these circumstances.”
Luke frowned at the doubt he heard in her voice. “You don’t think they’ll want to see me, do you?”
She reached out and touched his face. Her hand was soothing. “No, babe, that’s not it. I’m just worried that your timetable for healing might not match up with theirs. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I know your heart is in the right place.”
He took her hand and kissed it. “I’ll be fine. This makes sense to me. Talking to Winona made me think about the fact that none of us knows how long we’re going to be around. I’ve been thinking about it ever since the bomb blast. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us, so it’s important for me not to put off doing things that I can do today. Does that make sense?”
“Oh, Luke, it makes all the sense in the world.”
“When things fell apart after the attack, I had a lot of time to think when I was recuperating in the hospital. I thought a lot about life and loss and what I could do moving forward to make a difference. I’ve been exploring job opportunities online, but nothing so far has been a good fit. Until I talked to Nick’s boss in the search and rescue unit.” Luke shrugged. “She wants me to come in for an interview.”
“That’s incredible,” Stella said in an excited voice.
“I haven’t really said anything to Nick yet,” he admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t want to get his hopes up in case it doesn’t work out.”
“Tell him,” Stella encouraged him. “He’s going to love working with you.”
Luke crossed his fingers. “Nothing’s official yet so I’ll keep it under wraps for a bit. I still have to ace the interview, and if they want me, undergo training.”
“Well, you have certification in search and rescue, so it’s a no-brainer. They’d have to be out of their minds to say no to you.”
