“You sound excited to break me out of here.” She said half teasing, half wondering if it was true.
“I’ll tell you who’s excited to see you… Ava.” He said and then eyed the puppy who no longer chewed on his shoe. Luke cringed imagining the possibilities of all the damage the wild thing could be causing.
“Is she really?” She smiled, thinking of the little girl who almost was her niece.
“Did you tell her where I was all this time?” She asked sheepishly and was almost afraid to hear the answer.
“She thinks you were on vacation.” He said lightly.
“Some vacation…” She murmured. “I’m horrible. Who goes on vacation and doesn’t even send a postcard?” She joked.
“Don’t sweat it. She’s a good kid, she’ll understand.” The puppy found his way back into Luke’s bedroom this time the little devil was tugging on the roll of toilet paper, dragging it into his bedroom. Luke sighed, tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.
“You know I remember the night you and I watched Jake race. You were going through a tough time with Ava’s mom not being around. I’m sorry I never asked until now, but, did that wind up getting better for the two of you?”
He took a deep breath and thought about his answer for a moment. “I guess so. I try not to think about what I can’t give her and just focus on what I can. It’s hard sometimes, but I’m lucky. She’s really a great kid and even when things are hard for her to understand because she’s just a child she makes the best of it.”
Cara smiled as she listened to Luke talk about Ava. “You know one thing I always thought about you, was that you’re a great father. Not a lot of men could do what you’ve done and do it as well as you have.”
“Thank you.” He said hoarsely. He wasn’t good at accepting a compliment yet, listening to her talk about the kind of father he was, made him proud for some reason unknown to him.
“You know it’s not fair.” She said softly. “I feel like you know much more about me than I do you. You should fix that.”
“Excuse me?”
“Tell me something, Luke. If you really want to get buck wild, then make it something no one else knows.” She basically dared him.
“Are you always this spunky?” He asked amused.
“Did you really just call me spunky?” She laughed. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to pretend you didn’t call me that and that you’re not trying to stall.” She said pointedly and waited for him to laugh because it was beginning to be one of her favorite sounds.
“I sleep naked.” He confessed.
Her eyes widened and then she quickly recovered. “That doesn’t count! Anyone you’ve ever slept with would know that.”
“You didn’t.”
“No comment.”
He laughed and then so did she. “Alright, Spunky, if I’m going to get up at the crack of dawn to bring your ass back home. I better get some shut eye.” He didn’t want to cut their conversation short but the damn dog disappeared again.
“Okay and Luke? You should know that I’ll be thinking about a nickname for you. I’ll make sure it’s just as horrid as Spunky, if not worse. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Spunky.” He crooned into her ear before he ended the call and went in search for the little beagle that was bulldozing his house.
Cara’s Journal: October 20
Dear Jake,
I can’t sleep tomorrow I am going home. I did it. I completed my stint in rehab. I packed my bags. I double checked all the drawers and now I’m just laying here. Every time I close my eyes, I feel as if I can’t breathe. I’m pretty sure it’s an anxiety attack. I’m rambling aren’t I?
The truth is I am a nervous wreck! What am I going to do when I get home? I mean this is kind of like my second chance at life. I can’t screw it up. I should probably rethink some of my life choices. Like for instance, do I really want to be a bartender forever? My counselor thinks it might be too much of a temptation for me, even though alcohol wasn’t really my problem. She thinks it goes hand in hand, that it will start off as just one drink and escalate from there. One drink will turn into two, which will turn into me having the urge to get high.
Maybe she’s right. All I know is that I’m going to do everything I can to take this chance and make it worth it. Not everyone is given a second chance right? I’ll make it worth it for the both of us.
Love always and forever,
Cara
Chapter Nine