7 comments/  48498 views/  17 favorites

The Home & Family Pt. 01

By: JewelTran



Chapter One

The sun beat down upon the heads of the large crowd gathered out by the stables for the afternoon auction. Although many of the people hanging around were wearing typical comfortable, auction clothing, this wasn't going to be a typical comfortable auction. No, instead of the normal cattle and horses being auctioned off, this time it was men themselves who were going up for bids.

This auction, called a bachelor auction, had been the brainchild of Eleanor Weatherspoon, one of the prominent ladies in the town of Sterling, North Carolina.  Eleanor, a wealthy, elderly lady, was an avid reader of romance books. She had stumbled across the idea, in one of her multitude of beloved books, of having an auction where bachelors were "sold" to the highest bidder. The women got to choose their week-end "date" and the money that was raised could benefit a local charity.

And there was one local charity that certainly needed the help - the Smokey Mountain Home for Children. Threatened with the possibility of having to close the Home, due to dwindling federal funds, the Ms. Lily Covington, who ran the Home, had asked the town for ideas to raise funds. The well read Eleanor had come forward, offered to coordinate the auction and the race was on!

The word had gotten out in the nearby towns and cities and the bachelors had responded in abundance. Not only were there prominent business owners and leaders among the bachelors, but, as an added bonus, a few of the men had even grown up in the Home. In all, there were twenty five men wandering around in the crowd who were signed up to be placed on the auction block in less than an hour.

Luke Rydell was one of the marked men. He was also one of the original "Home" boys.  Luke looked around the group and noticed a few familiar faces scattered through the group. Some were from his years growing up at the Home, and some he knew from his years as a social worker in the area. Finally, Luke saw his best friend, James Hytree, talking to a group of the men nearby.

James Hytree had been one of the few constants in Luke's life. Luke had lived at the Children's Home for 14 years and James had been the first boy he had met there. James had been eight when Luke was left at the Home. Luke, only four years old, was the littlest boy James had ever seen and James had immediately taken it upon himself to watch out for the little guy. And it seemed like that aspect of the relationship had never ended. Now, 34 years later, James was still looking out for Luke.

And today, looking out for Luke meant being at this bachelor auction. James was happily married with three little ones of his own - Nikki, little Luke, and Rainy, so he was out of the running to be asked to be one of the bachelors. However, he did understand the dangers and fears of being asked - James had come with Luke today to make sure that Luke didn't back out of the auction at the last minute. Luke knew that he would never do that, but he was glad James had come with him anyway. It was tough enough to know that he was about to be auctioned off like a side of beef, but to do so at a place that held so many memories was almost more than Luke could stomach.

Luke made his way over to the group of men that James was talking to and immediately recognized Wiley Stone standing amongst the men, talking louder than any of them. Wiley had been a thorn in Luke's side for longer than Luke liked to think about. Wiley had always felt like he was better than the "Home boys" and had taken every opportunity to throw his own pedigree around. Wiley's family was old money and he thought that entitled him to being treated as local royalty. Luke had never taken well to that assumption and had spent a fair amount of time literally putting Wiley's face in the dirt to remind him what it felt like to have something rubbed in your face.

Luke wasn't sure he wanted to see Wiley right now and from the strained expressions of pleasantry on the faces of the men gathered around Wiley, he figured he wasn't alone in that feeling. So, instead of joining the group, Luke tapped James on the shoulder and loudly announced that the fried chicken was ready and if the bachelors wanted to get a plate before the auction, they were going to have to hustle. The entire group dispersed so rapidly that Wiley was left standing alone with his mouth open in mid-sentence.

As Luke and James made a bee-line across the field toward the line of hungry participants, at least two of the men from the group clapped Luke on the shoulder and thanked him for giving them an excuse to get away from Wiley. Luke and James just traded knowing looks and kept walking.

Breaking into their comfortable silence, a loud, booming voice from behind them said, "Some people ain't changed one bit." Luke turned his head to see Saul O'Connor smiling at him with one eyebrow raised, "You still can get the better of that old pain without even breaking a sweat!"

Saul had been the principal at the combined middle/high school in town. Saul had dated Ms. Lily, the owner and founder of the Children's Home, since before anyone in town could remember. Although theirs was always a proper courtship, Saul was at the Home as often as he wasn't. Because of that, he was as much a part of the Home family as the boys themselves.

Luke and James both turned and grabbed Saul at the same time, ending up in a group bear hug. "Saul! It's good to see you!" they both exclaimed.

"Well, I reckon one of you two is here to be put up for auction. I can see from your waistline James, that you ain't a single man no more! So, Luke, that leaves you!" Sam's voice dropped a notch, "And I sure do appreciate what you are doin'. I don't know what Ms. Lily will do if we don't get enough money to get the Home back on it's feet."

Luke and James looked at each other, each knowing what the other was thinking. They hadn't realized the Home was in such danger financially. They both had sent back money every year and had come every Easter to the "family" reunion. They had talked about trying to do more, but they just hadn't gotten around to it. If they hadn't heard about the auction, they still wouldn't have had any idea. They both slowly shook their heads. "Saul, don't you worry none," James said. "Luke here will single handedly get the Home back on track with what he brings in up there on the auction block!"

Saul laughed out loud as Luke good naturedly punched James in the arm. "Thanks a lot - no pressure there!" Luke huffed, in mock exasperation.

Just then the auctioneer announced the need for the bachelors to assemble inside the barn to let the auction begin. James gave Luke the thumbs up and then went to find a spot in the bleachers in order to watch his friend sweat this one out!

Luke was the fourteenth bachelor auctioned off. After having watched his companions endure the torture of being sold to the highest bidder, Luke was questioning his sanity. Just as he was considering making a break for it, the auctioneer called his name. Cursing under his breath, he walked to the foreground.

As the auctioneer read off his name and vital stats, Luke scanned the crowd. In addition to hearing what the auctioneer was saying about him, Luke could see the women straining to see what he had to offer them visually. He wasn't too worried in that department. He wasn't too tall, just under 6 foot and a bit over 230 pounds. Luke might spend his days behind a desk, but he often volunteered his week-ends on the various family farms around the area. It kept him from being lonely and he usually got a good home cooked meal out of the deal. It also kept his body looking like he spent hours at the gym. Any woman who liked a solid, handsome man would find Luke appealing.

Broad shoulders and biceps that could definitely turn heads might be the first thing that a woman would notice, but Luke's ice blue eyes and soft brown curls were the very next thing. Yeah, Luke wasn't too worried about some woman finding his packaging easy on the eyes. But was that all the women were looking for?

As he stood on the stage, Luke wondered just what a woman would want with a man she bought at an auction. He had heard a few comments out in the field before the auction and realized that it wasn't necessarily the obvious. One woman was telling a friend that she hoped to get a man to do all the fix-up chores around her house. Another woman explained that she wanted a bachelor to spend the week-end helping her two teen-aged sons unload the inventory for her new store. And Luke had just thought all these women would want a week-end of wild, passionate sex with no strings attached. At least he hoped he would be able to do whatever his purchaser had in mind - he wasn't all that creative with home improvement projects!

The auctioneer had just announced that Luke worked as a social worker. Luke frowned to himself - that description opened him up for anything or anybody! Oh, well, it was all for a good cause.

The bids started at $500 and quickly rose to $5000. Luke watched with amusement as the bidders dwindled down to a bleached blond woman with mile long legs and a skirt that hid none of her assets and a faceless bidder, hidden behind a group of taller spectators. Finally, after competing with one another up to $7000, the faceless bidder threw her arms up and said, "$25,000 and that is my final bid!"

The blond's mouth fell open as she slumped back down onto the seat beneath her. But she was certainly no more stunned than Luke, who stood speechless on the impromptu stage. Even the auctioneer failed to immediately follow up. Finally with a rapid shake of his head, the auctioneer yelled, "Sold!" without even asking for any higher bids. The man turned to shake Luke's hand and said, "Way to go stud! Hope YOUR week-end is good!"

Still bewildered, Luke made his way off the stage and over to the "clearing house" register. The volunteer manning the table beamed up at him as she handed him the paperwork, "Sit down and fill these out. Then you can get started on that $25,000 week-end!"

Luke signed off on the form and stood up, looking around over the people standing nearby. He looked back at the lady sitting at the table, "Any idea who I'm spending the week-end with?"

She uttered a short, knowing laugh, "Oh, sure. You were sold to Dakota Matthews. I'm sure she's found someone in need on the way over here. The girl spends her life trying to help others.  She'll be here shortly. And then she'll take you off to help others!" With that, the woman turned away, as though worried Luke might ask her another question and distract her from all her necessary work.

Luke shook his head and looked back over the crowd, wondering what his little do-gooder would be having him do over his week-end. Although most everybody was still focused on the auction, a few people mingled around. Luke saw James headed his way and waved to his buddy. James broke into a run and barreled into him, hugging him to him, "Damn, boy. I know I kidded you about it, but I didn't really expect you to single handedly save the Home! You made the other boys look downright worthless!" James and Luke laughed as Luke shook his head.

"I didn't see who won the bid and she hasn't come over yet."

"Well, she'll be here soon. You don't pay that much for a man and then let him go!"

"Well, she hasn't paid for me yet - maybe she's come to her senses and hightailed it out of here!"

"I haven't taken leave of my senses, and I have no intention of leaving here without my bachelor," a silky voice said from behind the two men.

Chapter Two

Luke pasted on his best smile and spun on his heel. The first thing he noticed about his date was that she was short. He had to bend his head down to look her in the eye. He guessed that she didn't stand more than 5 foot tall. She was about his age and dressed in a big, comfortable shirt that looked like a man's. Her short legs were covered in some sort of leggings. For some reason, she reminded Luke of a doll - not a Barbie doll, but some soft kind of doll that you could hug and hold onto. One you wanted to sleep with at night - not for sex, but to cuddle up with under the covers. Great - he had been purchased by a cuddly doll with a sexy voice and a do-gooder reputation!

His cuddly doll smiled up at him and stuck out her hand, "I'm Dakota Matthews and I believe you are mine!"

James stifled a laugh and Luke sent him a murderous glare. "I guess I am. I'm Luke Rydell and this here is my friend, James Hytree."

Dakota nodded at James and said, "Hytree? Are you any kin to Sarah Hytree from the reservation?"

James' smile faded and his eyes narrowed. He answered slowly, "You know a 'Hytree'?"

"I sure do! In fact, Sarah is one of my connections to the reservation. She is actually Cherokee from the West, but has been living here for the last few years. Are you Cherokee or Navaho?" Dakota asked. James' face was frozen. He hadn't moved a muscle as Dakota spoke. She waited for him to answer. As the silence lengthened, she looked at him questioningly. Finally she said, "Do you know which tribe you belong to?"

Luke watched his friend. He knew James' history as well as he knew his own. James had survived a car crash that had killed his parents. James had been thrown clear of the car, but his parents had been pinned in the car. The car had exploded and all evidence of James' life prior to that moment had gone up in flames. James had been four years old and was able to tell the authorities his name, but nothing else. After three years in the foster system, a judge had declared James a destitute orphan and he had come to live at the Home. For as long as Luke could remember, James had searched for his relatives. As far as Luke knew, James had never even come across another 'Hytree'. And yet, here was a woman, who had just waltzed into their lives, plopped down $25,000 for a week-end with Luke and offered James the gift of a lifetime.

Luke cleared his throat, "Um, James doesn't know his family. He was raised here at the Home."

Dakota's eyes widened, "You don't know your family? Oh, my God! You have to meet Sarah - you look so much like her! She's about your age - How old are you?"

James opened his mouth to answer Dakota, but no sound came out. He shut his eyes and tried again. Finally, he managed to get out, "I'm 41."

Dakota's excitement was evident, "You're kidding! Sarah is 41! She might know your family! This is so cool! Let me give you her number - she grew up with an aunt and uncle on the Western reservation after her parents abandoned her when she was four."

Dakota was bent over writing Sarah's phone number on a piece of paper, so she didn't see the look of shock that crossed James' face. Luke reached out and grabbed his friend's arm to support him as James' legs threatened to give way beneath him. Dakota continued her story, without seeming to notice the effect her words were having on James.

"She said her parents went East and never returned. No one ever knew what happened to them. The family tried to follow their trail, but they never were able to find a lead after they reached the reservation here. They just seemed to evaporate into thin - " Dakota stopped abruptly as she finally looked up and noticed the pallor of James' face. "Are you OK?" she asked, concern showing in her voice.

James finally gave up trying to stand and sank down to sit on the ground. Dakota's gaze flew between James and Luke. "You don't think that maybe . . . " Dakota trailed off. The silence grew between the three of them. In the background, the auction continued, but for the three of them, time seemed to stand still.

Finally, James shook his head, as if to clear it of cobwebs. "I don't know what to think. But I know that I've never even been able to find a trace of my family. And if this woman might know anything about them, I would give my eye teeth to know what it is. But other than that, I really don't know what to think right now."

Dakota smiled warmly at James, "Here, take her number. Call her. She's a wonderful woman who will do all she can to help you."

James stared at the paper for several minutes as if trying to gain the courage to accept what it offered him. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and his breath quickened in excitement. "I'll do it! I don't know how to thank you, but I sure hope my buddy gives you all you want out of this week-end. And I'll personally take it out of his hide if I find out that he doesn't live up to your expectations! Now, Luke, if you will excuse me, I want to get home to share this with Joy. I'm going to go ask River Johnson to take me home right now. I can't believe this - what if she really is a part of my family?" James wondered aloud.

Luke offered his friend his hand and helped him stand up.  He and Dakota watched as James made his way across the field toward River's truck. River had been a friend when the boys were growing up and now he was just the ticket that James needed to get home. Luke watched as River and James spoke to one another and then jumped into River's truck and headed down toward the main road.

Luke turned to look at the woman who had only entered his life a few minutes before, but who had already left her mark on his world. "Well, you certainly have done some good deeds today! First, you helped save the Home and now you have given my friend the first hope he has ever found for finding his family. You must be a guardian angel who spends her life making other people's lives better. So why did you buy me? What is it I'll be helping you with? Will we be saving someone in need? Building homes for the homeless? Feeding the hungry? Huh? Huh?" Luke did his best impersonation of an impatient kid, trying to lighten the mood.

When Dakota turned to face him, he realized that he needn't have bothered. Dakota's eyes were sparkling. She smiled a rather sultry smile and said, "All I want from you is a week-end of wild, passionate sex!"

Chapter Three

Certain that he had heard wrong, Luke stared at Dakota in wide eyed confusion, "What?!?"

"Sex. You do know what it is, don't you? If not, perhaps I need to consider asking for a refund," Dakota teased.

Luke simply stood there looking at her with a totally bewildered look on his face, "Yeah, I know what it is. That's what you want me for?"

It was obvious that Luke hadn't expected that one. The lady at the clearing table had said that everyone around town expected Dakota to use her bachelor for purely altruistic reasons. But here she was asking for Luke to do something more personal for her - far more personal!

Luke furrowed his brow as he looked at Dakota. She was short and plus sized with a fair sprinkling of gray hair at the front of her curls. She wasn't the type that Luke usually chose to date, but she was cute. The thought of her blatantly wanting him to spend the week-end in bed with her piqued his interest. He had never been in this situation before. Sure he had had women pursue him with sex in mind, but never had he been bought and paid for with the expectation being sex.

Luke realized that he hadn't said anything to Dakota in the last several minutes and that she was beginning to look at him with the "deer in the headlights" look. Finally he found his voice and asked incredulously, "You want to have sex with me? You bought me for sex?" Dakota nodded her head, her red checks suggesting that she was too embarrassed to answer him verbally.

Luke took a deep breathe and realized that he had wished that he would get a woman who just wanted him for sex. Now that he had one, he wasn't sure what to do.

While he pondered the situation, Luke decided to at least have Dakota explain her plan to him. "What exactly were you planning for us to do? I mean, where are we going?"

Dakota's face relaxed into a grin. "I have rented us a bed and breakfast room up near the reservation. It is a beautiful place - quiet and relaxing and secluded."


The Home & Family Pt. 01



Luke realized that he had to make a decision. This woman had spent a tremendous amount of money on him and had planned a romantic get away and all she was asking for was sex. Surely he could provide her with that.

With clear determination, Luke made his decision. He would do what it took to make this fantasy of her's come true. After all, she wasn't asking for any kind of emotional commitment. Luke had long ago stopped sharing his heart with others - and this woman was clear enough to admit that all she wanted was his body. Sure, he could do that. He said, "If you are you positive that this is what you want, then I'm your man. But, you don't even know me and you are inviting me into your bed for the week-end. Is that really what you want?"

Dakota smiled back at him, her face reflecting her relief that he was going to agree. "Yes, I'm sure. Anyway, the bed and breakfast is owned by a couple of my friends - if you turn out to be dangerous or threatening or even just boring, they have promised to save me from you!" she added with a wicked gleam of amusement in her eyes.

Luke laughed out loud. "Well, let's get going."

Dakota turned toward her car and then turned back toward Luke, "Do you mind if we take your vehicle? Mine is acting up and I want to have it checked out. A friend is coming by to look it over this week-end while we are gone."

"No problem. That way I don't have to unload my stuff!" Luke replied.

"I'll go get my things, then," Dakota said, turning toward her car.

Luke answered her, "I'll go make sure we have filled out all the paperwork and that we're free to leave."

As Luke started across the parking lot, a young man, looking to be about 18, stepped out in front of him. "So what did the fat chick want for her money?" he asked loudly. Luke looked at him and recognized his face - he was the spitting image of Wiley Stone.

Without the benefit of a formal introduction, though, Luke felt required to voice the unnecessary question, "Boy, who are you?"

The young man got a smug look on his face, "I'm Wiley Stone, Jr. and I asked you what the fat chick wanted for all that money?"

Luke turned around to look behind him to where he had left Dakota. He could tell from the way that her shoulders had squared up that, although her back was to them, she still had heard what the boy had asked. Luke turned back to the boy and gave him a scathing look as he raked his eyes over the boy's body. "I reckon she wanted a REAL man and that's why she didn't come looking for you!"

With that, Luke pushed past the boy and made to go on. However, the boy didn't drop the matter and yelled after Luke, "Yeah, well, you better hope she don't want no sex - one look at that lard-ass body and you might just freeze up!"

In less time than it took for the boy to take his next breath, Luke had him by the shirt collar and lifted him several inches off the ground. "Boy, where I come from, the women are treated like ladies and scum like you are taught lessons in manners. Now, if you don't want a taste of the same dirt that your daddy used to eat, you better make damn sure I don't ever see your face again. And don't you EVER insult my lady again - got that?" Luke dropped the boy uncerimoniously to the ground.

Wiley Jr.'s feet didn't catch his weight and he fell rather ungracefully at Luke's feet. Luke looked down at him with one eyebrow raised and stared him down until the boy jumped up and, cursing loudly, took off in the other direction.  Luke shook his head and went on to check the paperwork. It struck him odd that he had just referred to Dakota as his lady, but he decided not to think too hard about it.

Chapter Four

When Luke got back to his truck, Dakota was already buckled into her seat. She had a smile pasted on her face, but he could see that her eyes were red rimmed from tears. From her body language, it was obvious that she didn't want him to comment on what had just happened, so he figured he would let it all go, at least for the moment. "Got the papers signed, so we're ready to go! You going to give me directions?"

Dakota's voice was just a little too bright as she told him to head out of the valley, toward the reservation. Luke knew he wanted to talk to her about Wiley Jr.'s comments, but he wasn't sure just what he wanted to say. He was lost in his thoughts when he noticed the silence in the truck. He figured he better do something quick or his little samaritan was going to lose her nerve and have him let her out of the truck. "So tell me a little more about this fantasy. What possessed you to buy a man for sex?"

Dakota laughed. Luke liked her laugh. Her voice was sweet like mountain honey and her face lit up when she smiled. He decided that he would have to keep her happy this week-end just so he could see that smile often.  Luke realized that she had begun talking while he was thinking about her smile, and he focused on her words so he wouldn't miss anything.

"Well, my life in a nutshell is that I'm a 36 year old widow with no plans or intentions of remarrying. I figured that, since I don't date and don't plan to start, that this might be my last opportunity to have sex in my lifetime. I thought I would make it worthwhile and go all out. I would find the sexiest man I had ever seen, assure that he couldn't say no to me and have my way with him for a whole week-end!"

Luke was amused and somewhat startled by her frankness. But something bothered him about her speech. "Why don't you date?" he asked.

A shadow darkened Dakota's eyes and her jaw tightened. When her voice came out this time, it was not the honey smooth texture that Luke had come to expect, but it was brittle and angry. "Luke, you just witnessed for yourself, not 15 minutes ago, what I would have to put up with if I tried to start dating. I'm not willing to go through that just to find a man. Even without the threat of trying to date, I still have to hear that trash from jerks like Wiley Stone. His son just takes after his father. The man has made comments about my size since the day he met me. It's like he doesn't even realize that there is a real person in here - all I am is a fat body to that jerk!"

Luke shook his head in disgust. He had hoped all those lessons that he had taught Wiley as a boy had stuck, but obviously, they hadn't. Wiley was still picking on people. "Dakota, I've known Wiley since I was a kid, don't think that you are the first he had taunted. But you can't let people like that get to you - there are plenty of guys out there who aren't like Wiley."

"Well I haven't met any other kind - at least not available ones, who I would consider dating material. I've never had men flirt with me - I've never been asked out on a date, except by my husband, and even then he didn't ask, we just went. I'm just not the kind of woman that men ask out. Men see me as someone to help them when they need counselling or guidance, but not as someone who might be a potential mate - and certainly not as someone who might be a potential play mate."

Luke swallowed hard, realizing that he himself had first thought of Dakota only as a do-gooder, not as a woman. "Well, Dakota, maybe you just don't realize when men flirt with you. We men aren't the smartest creatures around and sometimes we don't do a real good job of expressing ourselves. You have to give us time and lead us in the right direction, and even then, you have to use your imagination and give us lots of breaks!" Luke said, trying to lighten the conversation. From the snort of disgust that Dakota sent in his direction, he didn't think he had succeeded.

The next few miles were spent in silence. Finally, nearing the lodge, Dakota began giving Luke specific directions, until they came to the parking lot of the bed and breakfast.

Before Dakota could open her door, Luke reached out and captured her hand. "Look, I don't want to spend this week-end defending the male sex. In fact, I don't want to think about anything this week-end but you. Can we make a truce that you won't hold me accountable for the failings of the masses of men in the world? I'm not saying I'm not one of the scumbags, but for this week-end, can we just pretend that I'm not?"

Dakota looked at his handsome face and his sincere smile and her own features softened. "OK," she sighed.

"Good! Now give me a little more information about this fantasy week-end. What is it that you want out of it - other than sex?"

Dakota smiled at him and blushed slightly, "I want you to be everything I'll never have. I want you to flirt with me, admire me, adore me and make me feel beautiful. Actually, what I want is to feel special. I don't care if we have sex or not - well, that's not completely true. I wouldn't mind having sex, but that's not really the primary focus of this week-end. I want you to spend every waking moment basking in me. I want to be the center of your universe. Do you think you can do that? Are you that good of an actor?"

Luke gave her a wiry grin, "Lady, you ain't seen nothing yet!" In his heart, he wondered just how much acting it was going to take on his part.

But his response got a genuine laugh out of Dakota. Luke continued, "Alright, now, after we step out of this truck, I'm going to be your week-end lover. No more thoughts of all the scoundrels who aren't here with us - just think about you and me. Everything that happens here this week-end is meant to fulfill your fantasies. If anything is happening that you don't like, tell me and I'll change it. You are mine for this week-end. Ready?" 



The Home & Family Pt. 02



Chapter Seven

Andrea and Hank had invited Dakota and Luke to join them for supper since they were the only guests. After they had cleaned up, Luke and Dakota dressed in jeans and sweatshirts and headed downstairs.

Dinner was a lively event. Luke enjoyed listening to Hank and Andrea tell stories about Dakota. They had known her since she had moved to the mountains. In fact, they had met her the very first week-end after her move.

"You remember, don't you, Dakota?" Hank asked. "That old Wiley Stone was hitting on you and trying to get your attention."

Luke raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. She hadn't mentioned Wiley flirting with her. Dakota's face turned cold at the mention of Wiley's name. "Yeah, I remember. I had just gotten into Sterling, and was looking for a place to stay. Wiley offered to let me bed down with him in exchange for a few favors."

Luke almost choked on his drink. "He offered to have sex with you? And he had just met you?" he asked incredulously.

Dakota raised her eyebrow at Luke and gave him a smirk. "Isn't that what I'm doing to you?" she asked.

Luke blushed then rolled his eyes, "Ok, Ok, get back to the story!"

Dakota gave a short, humorless laugh. "Ok. Yeah, well, Wiley offered. Of course, he forgot to mention that he was already married and had no intentions of offering me an honorable proposition."

Andrea asked, "Did he ever offer again after his wife died last year?"

Dakota shook her head, "No, I think the answer I gave him the first time made him a little leery of trying again."

Hank and Andrea laughed, but Luke didn't get the joke. "You mind telling me exactly what you did to him?" he asked.

Dakota actually blushed a little before she said, "Well, he wouldn't take no for an answer. He followed me out to my truck, then he crowded up on me, pushing me into the door, trying to touch me. He told me that I ought to be grateful for a man to want to bed me given that I was so fat. I guess he thought I was kidding when I pulled out my pistol and told him to back off. But I wasn't. And he was asking for it! I aimed high and popped his cowboy hat off with one shot. He thought I missed, but he sure did hightail it away from me."

Dakota continued, "Wiley threatened to have me arrested. But Hank here is one of our deputies. He was the one who came out to bring me in. Lucky for me, Andrea had witnessed the whole thing from inside the cafe. Even though we had never met, she vouched that I had reasonable cause to fear for my safety. Hank was kind enough to go to bat for me, and the charges were never filed. Of course, that hasn't stopped the little piece of low life from continuing to bother me. Only now, it isn't sexual in nature - it's just hateful."

Luke could hardly believe his ears. His sweet little cuddly doll had actually shot Wiley Stone's hat right off his head. Man, she was more than he had expected!

Hank and Andrea were laughing so hard at the story that they couldn't catch their breath. Luke found himself laughing along with them, wishing he could have seen the look on Wiley's face.

When Hank was finally calm enough, he changed the subject, asked, "So, what plans do ya'll have for tomorrow? Going over into Asheville to see the art show?"

Dakota shook her head and answered, "No, we want to go on a picnic. Marshall has promised to have us two horses ready in the morning. We are going to go over to his house for supper tomorrow night. Andrea, I was wondering if I could raid your kitchen tomorrow morning in order to get some stuff for a picnic?"

Andrea said, "No, no. I'll make you up a basket. Don't worry about that. This is supposed to be your fantasy week-end, Dakota. It's not the time for you to be cooking and worrying about mundane things! Let Luke pamper you and let us help him."

Dakota blushed again. Luke thought she looked really sweet when she blushed. And he saw the perfect opening to get her alone again, so he could find out what else she looked sweet doing. As he rose to his feet, he placed his hand on Dakota's shoulder and said, "Folks, thank you for dinner, but I think it is about time for me to get started on a little bit more of that pampering - in private! If you will excuse us, we will see you in the morning."

Dakota's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't argue. Instead, she pushed away from the table and took Luke's hand. Luke caught sight of Andrea and Hank, as they shared knowing grins. He just chuckled to himself and pulled Dakota close. "Good night," Dakota murmured to her friends, before she and Luke headed up the stairs.

When they got to their rooms, Luke followed Dakota in, then turned and locked the door. Dakota had moved over to the couch and sat down, seemingly unsure what to do next. Luke walked over to her, but didn't sit down. Instead, he held out both of his hands to her. She took them and he pulled her up to him. With their bodies touching, Dakota was forced to tilt her head back in order to see Luke's face. Her blue eyes, which had been the color of the sky this afternoon, were almost as dark as the night now. But, Luke was focused on her lips and he could almost taste her kiss.

Luke had no idea how long they stood there, just holding one another. But, when he noticed Dakota shifting her weight on her feet, he whispered, "Dakota, I really want to move to the bed. Are you ready for that? Or am I really pushing you too fast?"

With a quiet laugh, Dakota shook her head. She said, "No, Luke. I'm ready." Then, to prove her point, she took his hand and led him into the master bedroom.

Luke pulled her to a stop beside the bed. He put his hands on her shoulders and bent to kiss her lips. At his first light touch of his tongue, Dakota opened to Luke. When Luke moaned in response, he felt a shiver course through Dakota's body.

Maneuvering across the room, Luke managed to turn their bodies so that he was sitting on the bed, which put them eye to eye. Luke broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Dakota's forehead. With his hands still caressing her shoulders, he rubbed his thumbs over her collarbones. He was surprised to find that his breath was shaky and his hands were far from steady. This woman had far more effect on his sense of balance than he cared to admit. How could he feel this way about someone he had only known for a few hours?

Breaking the silence, Dakota was the first one to speak. "Luke?" she whispered. "Luke? Are you alright?" When he only nodded his head in response, Dakota pursed her lips.

In a quiet voice, Dakota said, "Luke? I know that this is going really fast. I know that you promised to play the part of my lover, but would it be alright if we didn't have sex tonight? Could you just hold me and let us get to know each other better? I'm really enjoying my time with you but I am feeling a little uncomfortable - like maybe you are only doing this because I have forced you into this."

When Luke moved to protest, Dakota put her finger over his lips and said, "Listen to me. If we don't have sex all week-end, this has already been worth every penny that I spent. You are a very special man and you have made me feel alive again. I had forgotten what it was like to play and laugh. I'm not sure that I ever really knew in the first place. But today, I have laughed and played - I've felt like a new person. If we do make love during out time together, it will just be that much better. But I don't need sex to feel like you have made my dreams come true. I thought I did, but you have shown me that my heart can be full without that. So, will you just hold me for tonight?"

Luke wasn't sure what to say. If fact, he wasn't sure he could say anything at all. His throat had a lump in it that he couldn't seem to swallow away. Sure, he wanted to hold Dakota. Hell, he wanted to have sex with Dakota. But the thought of having made her happy by being himself touched that same deep place inside that he had felt that afternoon. He couldn't remember anyone ever telling him that he was good enough just because he was who he was.

Luke had only been four years old when he had been left at the Home. Although Luke couldn't remember much of his life before the Home, he had long ago gained access to the file that the Home kept about him. It seemed that, in the first four short years of his life, Luke had lived with no less than seven different families. Most of them were relatives of his mother, but a few appeared to be just unlucky friends.

After Luke became an adult, he looked up a couple of the families, just to say thanks. It was from them that he learned about his mother and father. After having known each other since childhood, Luke's father had married his mother while they were still in high school.

Luke's father had signed up to fight in Vietnam and never came home. When Luke's mom had been told that her husband was MIA, she was devastated. Although barely more than a child herself, she packed up her bags, left Luke with her mother, and headed to Washington, D.C. to try to stir up efforts to find the soldiers who were MIA. But, like Luke's father, she never came home.  She was involved in a car accident in D.C. and pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Even though Luke's grandmother had agreed to take care of him until her daughter returned from D.C., she had no intentions of raising him. Faced with the prospect of having to be his mother, she immediately sent him to live with her sister. After that, whenever a crisis arose within the families Luke was left with, Luke was the first thing to go.

Finally, Luke's father's mother put her foot down and said that enough was enough. Since no one wanted to raise the child, she contacted the Home and arranged to leave him there. Her logic had been that, at least at the Home, Luke would be in a stable environment. She died when Luke was only six, so he never had the chance to show her how well he turned out to be.

As a child, Luke had often wondered about his family. Like all the kids in the Home, he fantasized that his parents would come one day to get him and take him to his real home. Luke hadn't known that both his parents were dead - he had only known that he was alone. Except for James Hytree, Luke couldn't remember ever having felt a deep connection with anyone. But he had longed for that connection. He had dreamed about that connection.

Since there was no family that ever came to rescue him though, Luke decided to find other ways to try to connect with people. For awhile, every man in Sterling who had a daughter had tried to keep her away from Luke. Of course, Luke managed to get around such constrictions and had dated almost every single girl in the county. But even that hadn't helped him feel like he belonged.

Luke settled down in college and got himself a degree in Social Work. He decided, somewhere along the way, that the way to feel connected was to reach out to people in need. But, although Luke's work was the most fulfilling aspect of his life, he still felt like an outsider. No matter what he did, he never felt like he had found his place in life - his place connected to another human being. He had long ago given up the hope of finding someone to connect with.

But, tonight, sitting on a bed in a room overlooking a view of the mountains in summertime, with a woman he had only met a few hours earlier, Luke felt a stirring in his heart. He felt that connection forming. Dakota had just told him, clearly and without hesitation, that he, Luke Rydell, was the reason that she was happy. That it was him who made her feel special and that it was him who she wanted to be with. Luke couldn't even begin to grasp what her confession was doing to his heart, but he knew that he would never be the same again. He almost felt like a little boy wrapped in his mother's arms, receiving her blessings. And he wasn't sure he had ever felt better.

As Dakota nudged his forehead with her own, waiting for a response, Luke breathed out a heavy sigh. "Oh, Dakota . . . if that's what you want, that's what you get, sweetheart." Then he reached over and pulled the covers back toward himself. Looking back at Dakota, he wiggled his eyebrows playfully and asked, "So what does a cuddly doll wear to bed?"

Dakota looked at him with a confused expression. "A cuddly doll? What are you talking about?"

Luke looked a little sheepish. Dakota asked again, "Luke? What are you talking about?"

Without meeting her eyes, Luke mumbled, "You."

Dakota put her hands on her hips and snorted in frustration. "Luke, what are you talking about? I'm not a doll."

Luke rolled his eyes and faced Dakota, looking her directly in the eye. With more than a hint of red rising in his face, he said, "When I first saw you today, all I could think about was how cuddly you looked. Before I even knew what you wanted for the week-end, I was thinking about how much I would love to snuggle up to you at night. You just make me think of a doll that could make it all better, no matter what was wrong. And I wanted to cuddle with you."

Dakota appeared to be so shocked that she was speechless. With her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open, she stared at Luke like he was an alien. Finally, she shook her head as if to clear it and said, "A doll? And you wanted to go to bed with me?"

Luke dropped his eyes before saying, "Yeah. Only at first, it was just to cuddle. Just to hold you and let you make me feel good." Then Luke looked Dakota in the eyes and continued his confession, "But, I gotta tell you, Dakota, after this afternoon, I won't be happy if all we do all week-end is cuddle. I want to know you in every way possible, and unless you tell me differently, I plan on making one of those ways very physically intimate."

Dakota blushed at Luke's words. She placed her hands on both sides of Luke's face and held it, so he couldn't look away, "Luke Rydell, you are about the most perfect man I've ever met!" And with that, she kissed him.

Chapter Eight

A few minutes and several kisses later, Dakota slipped out of Luke's arms and went into the bathroom. When she returned, Luke was bent over his suitcase, looking for something. Luke had stripped out of his jeans and tee-shirt and had donned a pair of pajama bottoms. Luke looked up to see Dakota stopped in the doorway of the room, staring at his body. He heard her breath catch in her throat and saw that her eyes were again as wide as possible. He looked down at his body, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. Why was she staring at him so intensely?

Finally Dakota seemed to find her voice. She whispered, "Luke, you are beautiful. Every inch of your body is incredible . . . "

While Dakota was admiring Luke's body, Luke took the opportunity to let his eyes roam over her body.  When Dakota started backing up, Luke was puzzled. He quickly crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders. When she wouldn't meet his eyes, Luke quietly said, "Dakota? What are you thinking? Please tell me."

At first, Luke thought that Dakota wouldn't tell him. Even when she did start talking, her voice was so quiet that Luke had to strain to hear her. She said, "I wanted you to like what you saw . . . but you are so sexy and handsome . . . " She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying.

Dakota had put on a mid thigh length robe before she had left the bathroom. Looking down at it, she laughed derisively then said, "For a split second, while I was in the bathroom, I looked in the mirror and thought that I looked sexy. But, now . . . I'm sorry, I should just go back and put on my tee-shirt. I didn't want you to . . . "

Luke watched the emotions fleeting across Dakota's face and marvelled that she could be so expressive without words. He wouldn't let her go, even as she tugged against his hands. "Dakota," he said sternly, "Let me be the judge of how I think you look. At this moment, I'm really more interested in getting you out of this robe than in spending too much time thinking up possible reasons to argue with you about your body." He moved his hand to the belt of her robe and tugged at it. The knot slipped loose and the robe parted. Luke raised his hands and pushed the material off of Dakota's shoulders. It pooled around her feet.

Dakota was no longer looking Luke in the face. When he realized what was in her current line of vision, he chuckled. By dropping her eyes, Dakota was getting a close up view of his crotch. And, along with that, she was getting a real personal introduction to his very prominent erection.

"Dakota? Do you see what I think of your body? That's one indicator that doesn't lie." Dakota raised her eyes to look tentatively at Luke. Luke's eyes roved over her body. Luke was particularly fascinated with the way the silk lay across her ample breasts. But, when he dropped his eyes and noticed the soft, silky panties, he was equally fascinated with them. He wondered what it would feel like to rub his heated flesh against the cool material, especially knowing what lay immediately beneath it.

Without a word, Luke took her hand and pulled her arm over her head, indicating that he wanted her to turn around for him. With surprise written all over her face, she obliged. Luke stopped her when she had her back to him. He ran his hand across her bottom, feeling both the silk and the soft skin under it. When he dropped down to sit on the bed, Dakota gasped in surprise, as he pulled her backwards into the vee of his legs. He positioned her to be sitting on his lap, then he turned her so he could look into her face. Luke knew that Dakota could feel his erection under her and wondered what she thought of it.

Luke began kissing Dakota's neck and moved to cover her mouth. Luke heard a passionate moan and wasn't sure if it had come from Dakota or himself. When he lowered her down on the bed, she shivered as he covered her body with his own. The feel of her breasts against his chest was overwhelming. Without a moment's hesitation, Dakota opened her legs and cradled him into her.

But Luke hadn't forgotten his promise to just hold Dakota. In fact, he was cursing that decision in his mind at that very moment. But he had promised. He pulled himself up and away from Dakota. Then he moved beside her and cradled her to him. He whispered, "Well, you know, Dakota, if you had really wanted to just sleep, you should have kept your sexy little body in that nasty tee-shirt from this afternoon!"

Dakota chuckled at his humor. She seemed amazed that he found her sexy. But there was no denying the evidence of his attraction, especially with her head laying on his chest and her eyes pointed toward his feet!  Luke really liked her and he wasn't having any problems being attracted to her body!

Luke sighed and said, "So, my darling, what did you have in mind to learn about one another tonight?"

Dakota pulled her head up slightly and gave him a look that caused him to wonder if she was going to tell him not to call her 'darling'. But then she smiled slowly and laid her head back down on his chest.

Snuggling into his arms, Dakota said, "Tell me about living at the Home."

Luke gave the top of her head an exasperated look. He said, "Boy, you don't waste any time, do you? Let's just cut to the juggler."

Dakota glanced up to his face to make sure he wasn't really angry. Although he was frowning at her, he knew his eyes assured her that he was just playing. She laid her head back down and said, "Well, I'm waiting."

Luke laughed, then taking a deep breath, he said, "I was sent to the Home when I was four years old. My parents were both dead, but I didn't know that until I turned 18 and got access to my records. In fact, I really didn't know anything about myself. I had a name, but that was all that was my own. The first day at the Home, James met up with me and took me under his wing. It was customary for the newest kids to get roughed up a little bit, but James didn't let anybody get close to me. He was my protector. He always said that I was the little brother that he never had. Anyway, we stuck together over the years. Lots of kids came and went, but not me or James. We were like permanent fixtures."




The Home & Family Pt. 02



Luke sighed at the memories, then continued, "Being there wasn't so bad. At least not most days. Of course, just when you thought you had all your hopes and dreams under control, there would be some damn holiday or birthday come up. Then it was impossible to miss the fact that you were an unwanted reject. Oh, we got presents, but the only thing we really wanted was a family. And we never got that."

Dakota didn't immediately comment on Luke's story. She continued to lay on his chest for a few more minutes. Then, instead of the sympathetic pity that he so often got when others found out about his childhood, Dakota simply said, "Did you all go to school at the Home?"

This time, Luke's laugh held no humor. He answered, "No, we went to school in town. With all the normal kids with normal families. Well, at least with all the kids with families - I'm not sure they were all that normal. No, school is how I managed to meet up with Wiley Stone. Wiley was two years older than me, but he was always a bit on the small side. Why he chose me, when I was already bigger than him in first grade, I'll never know. But he seemed to find me particularly easy to bait. He would call me a "Home" boy - back before being a home boy was cool - and then he'd taunt me with any failings he could come up with."

"By the time we were in high school, Wiley had eaten dirt in every playground we ever frequented together. But he still hadn't had enough. When he found out who I invited to the senior prom, he sent the girl a dozen roses and professed his undying love, along with a diamond tennis bracelet. The flake went to the prom with him. And he gloated for weeks. When he found out that I was looking to go to college, he went so far as to try to buy off a few of the members of the scholarship committee at the Home. My grades and sports activities precluded them being able to have any legitimate grounds to refuse me, but I have often wondered just how close he came to winning that round. Guys like Wiley made life really hard."

"Anyway, the jest of this whole story is that when you were living at the Home, you never got to forget for long that you didn't belong. If you managed to delude yourself and forget just where you called home, somebody like Wiley was there to remind you. The Home helped make me who I am, but I sure wouldn't wish that kind of lonely childhood on my worst enemy - even Wiley Stone."

Dakota hadn't interrupted Luke during the rest of his story. Still laying on his chest with her eyes focused on his feet, Dakota said, "Sounds like Wiley hasn't changed much over the years. Maybe I should try making him eat dirt and see how he likes it. Maybe he has developed a taste for it over the years."

Luke laughed quietly, "I'm sure he doesn't like it any more than the taste of gunpowder. I can't believe you shot at him!'

Dakota laughed along with him. He was surprised to realize how much he enjoyed sharing an intimate, personal joke with another person. It was something he hadn't done often in his life and it felt really good.

"Do you ever think about adopting any of the kids from the Home?" Dakota asked.

Luke sighed, "Yeah, I think about it. I wish I could . . . I'd love to save them all from that soul deep loneliness. But Ms. Lily is wonderful. She keeps the kids busy and tries to make it as family-like as possible. I guess I was just an overly sensitive kid."

After a few moments of silence, Luke figured it was his turn to get to ask a question. He brushed his fingers through Dakota's hair and raised her face toward his, so he could look into her eyes. "So tell me about Dakota Matthew's childhood."

Luke saw Dakota's grimace before she could hide it. Luke raised a questioning eyebrow at her and waited for her to start her story. Apparently realizing that she wasn't going to get out of it, Dakota mimicked Luke's reaction when she had asked him - she took a deep breath and started.

Dakota said, "Well, I was born out west, in Wyoming. My mom is from here in the mountains. When she was a teenager she had gone to a rodeo over in Asheville and one of the riders swept her off her feet. She packed up her bags and went home with him. Of course, he forgot to mention that he already had a wife and child in his home - his wife and child. So, here mom tells everyone here that she is going out West to marry this rodeo champ and he turns out to be a real chump. He even married my mom along the road toward Wyoming. But, when they got to Wyoming and mom found out that he was planning on just keeping them both as wives, she once again packed her bags and left. She was too embarrassed to come home, though. Even when I returned a few years ago, people around here thought she stayed married to my dad. No one here knew what had really happened."

"Mom stayed out west and found a job. I grew up on a ranch where my mom worked as the cook. The owner of the ranch fell in love with my mom. When I was about seven, he managed to convince her to marry him. Just days before the wedding, my dad showed up and tried to take mom back home with him, by force. The owner protested and things got ugly. In the end, the owner filled my dad full of lead. Even though my father didn't die, the owner ended up spending the next 10 years in prison for attempted murder. But my mom waited for him. She ran the ranch and made ends meet during all that time."

"Mom didn't have a lot of time to pay me attention. So, I ended up hanging out with the other kids on the ranch. We kind of raised ourselves, while our parents did what they had to do to keep the ranch going. I ended up marrying Robert, who was one of the other ranch hand's son. We had known each other our whole lives. It wasn't love at first sight, it was just the next logical step for us. We had just gotten married when my stepdad finally got out of prison and married my mom. The four of us lived on the ranch together for a few years. In fact, my folks are still living on the ranch and loving every minute of it. But that wasn't the way my marriage worked out. Robert and I were married for 14 years before we found out that he had cancer. He didn't live very long after that."

When Dakota paused, Luke hesitated before asking a question that he was sure she had heard a lot. But, finally, he said, "Dakota, fourteen years is a long time. Why didn't ya'll have children?"

Dakota smiled at Luke, but he noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. She lowered her eyes and began, "We had married so young. I miscarried during our second year of marriage, then Robert decided we needed to wait. Robert said that between 30 and 35 would be a good time to have kids. After he turned 30, he had a few more things he wanted to do before we settled down. So we travelled to countries he had always wanted to visit, bought our home in the suburbs and started a retirement account. Then, on his 33rd birthday, he announced that it was time to start our family. I threw away my birth control pills and two days later we found out that he had stage three cancer."

"We focused all of our energy on trying to find a way to fight his cancer. We both agreed that we would wait until he had beat the cancer before we started our family. We wanted to be able to focus solely on our baby and not be torn between fighting the cancer and enjoying our child.  In the end, Robert lived less than a year after we first found out about his cancer. So, I was left without a husband, without a child and without a direction in my life. When I found out that I had actually inherited a piece of land here, from some distant uncle, I was thrilled. It was the opportunity I needed to break away from a lot of painful memories and start over."

"Of course, I hadn't realized that I had never been on my own before. I had married Robert right out of high school and we had lived on the ranch with my mom for the first few years of our marriage. Then we had moved out, but not far away. And Robert was always there. When he died and I moved here, it was like having all the growing pains hit me at once. I had thought that I might start dating and remarry, but after dealing with men like Wiley, I just couldn't bring myself to even try. Anyway, the truth is, I'm a lot more comfortable around guys like Hank and Marshall, who are happily married and would never even notice that I was a woman, much less an available woman. I don't have to worry about being evaluated and found lacking when the men are just friends."

While she had been talking, Dakota had been snuggled up to Luke's side, playing with the hair on his chest and not looking him in the eye. Luke was glad that she wasn't looking at his face, because he wasn't sure what emotions were showing on it. Dakota's story touched him deeply. It was filled with lots of living - and both good and bad memories.

Luke admired the fact that Dakota had been strong enough to leave Wyoming and come to a place she had never been before, in order to take control of her life. In face, the more Luke knew about Dakota, he found that he admired her for a lot of things. He just wished he knew what to say to convince her that she really should consider dating again. She had a lot to offer and Luke knew that there must be some man out there who would be a perfect fit for her. He resolved to make a point of convincing her of that this week-end.

But for right now, Dakota was in bed, beside him and he wanted to play the part of the man who was a perfect fit for her. He tilted her face up to his and said, "I think that's about all the personal sharing that I can handle for one night. I hate to admit it, but I'm exhausted. I think the strain of the auction was more than I had bargained for. And I really hadn't intended to get bought by a woman who was into mud wrestling!"

Dakota laughed and reached up to kiss him on the tip of his nose, once more. Luke was shocked, again, at the sensations that her simple act caused him to experience. He couldn't remember a time in his whole life where he had felt more like a loved little boy than he had today. He grudgingly admitted to himself that there was something about Dakota that filled an empty space deep in his heart. He sincerely hoped that, by the end of the week-end, he had gotten that spot filled so he would be able to walk away from Dakota like he was supposed to do.  He might want to continue being her friend, but that was all he was willing to allow Dakota to be to him. Luke had always prided himself on not needing anyone else to make him happy and he wasn't about to start needing someone now - especially not someone who made his world shake with a simple kiss on the nose.

Dakota rolled over onto her other side and Luke spooned up to her back. Luke mentally pushed his worries away. With his arms around her, he reached around to kiss her on the cheek and whisper good night in her ear. Within minutes, her rhythmic breathing told him that she had been as tired as he was. With the sweet sound of her soft snores filling up his mind, he drifted off into dreams of a future filled with peace - something Luke had never felt before.

Chapter Nine

Before Luke opened his eyes the next morning, his senses were assaulted by the woman in bed with him. Her scent surrounded him, her flesh caressed him and her breathing calmed him. But, most of all, presence excited him. Without really waking up, Dakota snuggled closer to his body and he felt how well she fit against him. He sighed in contentment. Luke knew that it wouldn't take many mornings to get used to waking up with this woman.

A few minutes later, Dakota did wake up fully. With a growl, Luke pulled Dakota as close as possible to his body. Then he nuzzled her hair and whispered, "Good morning, beautiful."

She murmured, "Good morning to you, too, handsome."

Luke asked, "Do we really have to get out of bed this morning? Couldn't we just spend the day here? I have something I'd love to show you." With that comment, Luke lightly ground his erection into her backside. Dakota giggled, then jumped out of the bed and ran for the bathroom. Luke sighed when, a moment later, he heard the shower. He knew that he would have the opportunity to make love to Dakota today, he just wished it would be sooner than later.

After breakfast with Hank and Andrea, Luke and Dakota headed to the stables. As promised, Andrea had packed a picnic basket for them. Luke carried it and Dakota carried their water bottles and bathing suits. She had assured Luke that they would find a lake to swim in later in the day. Marshall had the horses ready and, within minutes, Dakota was leading Luke off the property of the bed and breakfast.

Luke had assumed that they would be sticking to trails around the general area, but Dakota pointed her horse west and motioned for Luke to follow. When the trail widened, Luke rode up beside her to question where they were going. Dakota just laughed and promised to surprise him. The trail narrowed and Luke was, once again, forced to fall behind.

They rode for over an hour before Dakota pulled her horse to a halt. Again, Luke guided his horse beside her's. She had stopped on a grassy overlook. The view of the valley before them was spectacular. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Then Dakota pointed to a small cabin in the corner of the clearing. "That's where we are headed." Then she spurred her horse into a trot, headed in the direction she had pointed.

When they came up to the cabin, Luke wondered who owned it. When Dakota pulled a key out of her pocket and opened the door, he figured that it must belong to Hank and Andrea. He got off of his horse and tied the reins to the hitching post out front and followed Dakota inside.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Dakota said.

Luke looked at her in surprise. "This is yours?" he asked.

Dakota smiled happily and said, "This is the property that I was telling you about inheriting. It seems that it is so far up here in the mountains that no one wanted the responsibility to take care of it. So I have spent my week-ends up here for about a year now, fixing it up and doing basic repairs. I'm pretty pleased with it."

Luke looked around at the little house. It was a one room log cabin, with no electricity or running water. He had noticed a hand pump out front. There was a old fashioned pot bellied stove sitting over in one corner. Near it was a tall pantry for food, a table with chairs, and a basin for a sink. But the most impressive thing in the cabin was the huge, hand carved bed. Dakota had covered it with a colorful quilt and added bunches of pillows, making it look like a floating cloud of comfort. In fact, the whole room exuded a feeling of comfort.

"You've got a really nice place here," Luke said. He asked, "Are you finished working on it, or is there more to do?"

Dakota looked around the room before she answered. "I have a few things left. I want to bring new windows up, but that's going to take some work. You can get here by jeep, but the road is really rough. My next goal is actually to work on the road. I have contacted a few contractors in the area to find out about filling in the potholes and smoothing out the bumps. I don't want to make it too easy, though, because I really don't want people coming up here without my permission. But it would be nice to be able to get supplies up here without having to use a horse and sleigh or risk losing my transmission."

Luke nodded as he thought about the work that she had already done. It was evident that she was multi-talented from the variety of new items he could see in the room. There were artistic things, like the quilt and a few wall hangings, but there was also evidence of someone recently caulking the existing windows, patching the mud in between the logs of the walls and even replacing the pantry doors. All without electricity or power tools. Luke was impressed.

Dakota stepped outside and grabbed the picnic basket. She brought it back in and began unpacking it on the table. As she worked, she said, "Andrea and Hank have been up here for a few week-ends, by themselves. When they don't have guests at the bed and breakfast, they like to get away. This place is rustic enough to be a challenge, but it is also comfortable enough to enjoy."

Pointing to one of the wall hangings, Dakota continued, "That is one of Marshall's masterpieces. I made the one to the right and the quilt on the bed. Sarah Hytree did the hope chest over in the corner."

Luke wandered around the room looking at each piece. When he got to the hope chest, he stopped in shock. He was so excited by the piece that he tried to talk while he was trying to swallow and the result was an unexpected coughing fit. Dakota stared at him like he was crazy as he coughed and pointed, trying to talk, but only managing to cough worse. Finally, Dakota took him one of the water bottles and offered him a sip. When he got his cough under control, he put his hands on her shoulders and shook her lightly. "The chest! The chest! Did you say that Sarah did it?"

Dakota nodded her head and slowly said, "Yes, Sarah Hytree did it. She made the whole chest and added the top design with wood burning."

Luke was practically jumping up and down. "I know - wood burning using the old fashioned stone tipped tool - not the new fangled metal ones."

With her brow knitted in confusion, Dakota again said, "Yes."

By now, Luke had given up all semblance of hiding his excitement. He was beside himself. He said, "James has a trunk. He made it for Joy before they were married. It is the exact same design - I'd swear to it. When I asked him where it came from, he said that it had come out of his heart. Sarah has got to be James' twin. I just know it!"

Dakota finally understood and together they examined the design and talked about how great it would be for both Sarah and James to find one another if it were true. It had been years since Luke had thought seriously about how nice it would be to have a family. But as he and Dakota discussed the possibility for James and Sarah, he realized how much he still longed for that connection. He didn't voice his heartache, but he wasn't very surprised when Dakota seemed to sense it and quietly sat, holding his hand.

After a while, they sat down at the dining table and began eating their lunch. Their discussion lightened considerably. Luke told Dakota stories about some of the kids and families that he worked with. He was careful to choose ones with happy or funny endings, rather than the ones where he went home at night and stared mindlessly at his TV, wishing he could change the world. Dakota, for her part, told him about growing up on a ranch, learning how to rope a steer and winning the blue ribbon with the very first bull that she ever raised and took to show. Before they realized it, lunch was gone and they were both yawning.

"That's what we get for eating turkey!" Luke said.

Dakota looked at him questioningly. Luke sighed contentedly then said, "Turkey has some kind of chemical in it that triggers sleep in humans. That's why we all end up sleeping Thanksgiving afternoon away!"

"Well, I have a great idea and an even better bed!" Dakota said. With a playful leer, she added, "Race you to it!"

The room wasn't that large and before Dakota managed to reach the bed, Luke had lifted her up from behind and thrown her gently onto it. Then he jumped up on the bed with her. Dakota raised up on her elbow to look at Luke. She said, "First one to sleep wins!"

Luke reached down and pulled the extra quilt up over them and snuggled Dakota to his side. The next few hours were spent in quiet sleep.

Luke was awaken by the feel of Dakota rubbing his chest with her hands. She was lightly touching his nipples, then pinching them softly. As she stroked him, Dakota had her legs wrapped around Luke's leg and was grinding her hips into him. Luke could only handle her ministrations for a few minutes before he had to respond. He rubbed his hands up and down her sides and felt her shiver at his touch. Then he slid one hand between them to cup her breast. Dakota responded by grinding her hips into his even harder. Luke chuckled at her eager love making. She was a passionate woman - his little cuddly doll.




The Home & Family Pt. 02



Dakota sat back and began working on Luke's shirt. It was the kind that buttoned down the front and Luke was worried that he might burst into flames before she could get the darn thing unbuttoned. But finally, together, they managed to slide it from his shoulders. Dakota slipped her own tee-shrit over her head and quickly tossed it onto the floor.

When Dakota noticed that Luke's eyes were glued to her breasts, she looked momentarily confused. But, then, she gave him a sexy little smile, and unhooked her bra from behind. Shrugging the straps off of her shoulders, she slowly eased them down her arms, revealing her creamy flesh, one ample inch at a time. When the top of her bra was barely covering her nipples, she dropped it quickly. Luke's widened eyes at the welcome sight.

Dakota took one of Luke's hand and raised it to cover her breast. His other hand touched her other breast. Luke looked up into Dakota's eyes. In her eyes, he saw his own desire reflected. Dakota brought his fingers to her lips and kissed the tips. Then she sucked lightly on each one. As Luke continued to stare, wide eyed, at Dakota, his barely controlled desire burst into flame.

With no warning other than a primal growl, Luke flipped Dakota over and reversed their positions. Suddenly, he was on top and Dakota was under him. With a haste fueled by his passion, he quickly unsnapped his own jeans and kicked them off along with his briefs, then turned to open Dakota's jeans. He tugged them over her hips and threw them on the growing pile of clothes on the floor.  His actions left Dakota in only her silky red panties. Luke dropped a quick kiss on them and then pulled them off, as well.

For the first time, Luke and Dakota faced one another naked. For Luke, Dakota's eyes said it all. He could see her apprehension about their immanent coupling, but he could also see her consuming lust. Luke didn't know what Dakota's husband had looked like, but she was looking at him like he was the first male she had ever seen. When she reached out a tentative hand to touch his erection, Luke knew that she was on unfamiliar ground.

"Dakota, you were a married woman. Why are you looking at me like that?" Luke whispered.

Dakota's wide eyes looked into his and she said, "Luke, I've never seen anything like you. Robert and I . . . we never even made love with the lights on, let alone in the middle of the day. I never saw him . . . you know . . . like you are now."

Luke chuckled. "You mean that you never saw him this hard? Or you never saw him excited at all?"

Dakota blushed and admitted, "I can't ever remember actually seeing him at all. He wasn't very comfortable with sex and we certainly didn't do anything like this." As she spoke, Dakota slowly stroked Luke.

Shutting his eyes, Luke allowed her to take a few moments to acquaint herself with his body. But, when he couldn't take her gentle touches anymore, he stopped her. Slipping on one of her store of condoms, Luke moaned out loud and pushed himself between her legs.

Although Luke had questioned Dakota's surprise at his body, he was equally surprised by her body. Or maybe it was more accurate to say that he was surprised by his reaction to her body. He had known the day before that her skin was soft and her flesh was warm and welcoming. What he hadn't known was how much the sight of her would appeal to him. When he touched her stomach, she quivered in delight. When he stroked her sides, she moaned out loud. When he cupped her breasts, her nipples puckered to his touch. And when he held her hips to position himself to enter her, she thrust up in delighted expectation. Hell, even her ankles turned him on, as she locked them behind his back.

Using her hand to guide Luke, Dakota pulled Luke into her. Although her hips were moving beneath him, Luke had to stop her for a moment to catch his breath. Luke was struggling to hold out as long as possible, in order to make sure that Dakota experienced the same level of pleasure from their love making as he was experiencing. But when he felt her start to contract around him, he lost sight of that worthy goal. Suddenly, everything that mattered in the world was right there in his arms and Luke could no more hold back the fulfillment of their intimacy than he could hold back his heart. With a loud shout of pure feeling, Luke poured himself into Dakota, both body and soul.

Afterwards, when Luke could focus his eyes again, he looked down at Dakota, still laying under him. He slipped off of her and pulled her into his side. He whispered, "I'm sorry Dakota. I really meant for that to last longer. I just got so carried away when I saw you and you were so responsive. I'll try to do better next time."

Dakota raised up on her elbow and shook her head. She said, "You do any better and you'll be on your own, cause I will have died and gone to heaven. I came as close as a mortal can to the gates of glory that time - I don't think I can stand it if you get any better!"

Never before experienced pleasure coursed through Luke's body. He had pleased Dakota again. He had to acknowledge, though, that this time it had cost him to make her happy. This time he had lost his heart to bring pleasure to her.

With sudden clarity, Luke knew that he had to change Dakota's mind about their relationship ending. When they got back to the Home on Sunday, he had to convince Dakota to see him again. He had wanted to help her understand how important it was for her to start dating. But now he knew that all he truly wanted was for her to understand how important it was for her to start dating him. 



The Home & Family Pt. 03



Chapter Ten

Dakota and Luke stayed in the bed for a little longer before getting up to make their return trip back to the bed and breakfast. Dakota dressed first, as Luke laid in bed and watched her every move. Then she threw his clothes at him and laughed as she crossed the room. While packing up their stuff from the kitchen area, Dakota said, "We need to head back. We still have to go to supper with Marshall and Linda Jane."

By the time Dakota finished packing up their various things, Luke had managed to get dressed. Together, they left the cabin. The ride back was completed in silence, both of them lost in their thoughts. Luke was hyperfocused on trying to figure out what his next step was going to be in order to keep Dakota with him. It wasn't until he saw the stable in the distance that he realized that he was letting Dakota down. He had agreed to be her lover and he doubted that she had fantasized about having an emotional, silent basketcase filling that position.

Luke trotted his horse up beside Dakota to ride for the rest of the way. They were in wide open pasture now and the sun was fairly low in the sky. Dakota nodded toward the barn and said, "Marshall will be waiting for us. We can leave the horses with him. He'll brush them down for us. Although I normally would insist that we do it, if we go ahead and shower and get ready, we can return the favor by watching his kids while he showers at his own house." Cutting playful eyes at Luke, she continued, "Between rubbing down these two horses and keeping Marshall's three banchees, I think he's getting the better end of the deal!"

When they got to the stable, Marshall was, indeed, waiting for them. He helped them get their saddles off and then shooed them out of the barn to go get ready. Although they walked in silence, Luke reached out and took Dakota's hand as they went up the hill to the bed and breakfast. He still wasn't feeling 100% back on solid ground, physically or emotionally and he wanted to know that she was there beside him for support. Damn - what was he going to do when the week-end was over?

Dakota dropped the picnic basket off by the kitchen then followed Luke up the stairs. He opened the door and ushered Dakota into the room first. He sensed that the time was right for him to say something, but, damn if he knew what. Luke dropped onto the couch and held out his hands to Dakota. She frowned slightly, but she went to him. He pulled her down into his lap. She put her arms around his neck and Luke buried his face in her breast. With his voice muffled by her shirt, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so . . . so distant. Sometimes, when I'm thinking about something, I'm not the best company.

I didn't mean to tune you out. If you want to go alone tonight, I will understand."

Dakota laughed softly, then tilted his face up toward her own. "Luke, I don't want to go without you. I would feel kinda silly without you. It's just that you are already a very special person to me. I was afraid that you hadn't enjoyed our afternoon activities."

Once again, Luke dropped his face to her chest. Dakota stroked his hair as he sat and held her quietly for a few minutes. When he looked back up at her, his eyes were clear and happy. With a genuine smile on his face, Luke said, "Let me show you how much I enjoyed those "activities"! You never did find me that lake to swim in today. Want to join me in the shower and pretend it's a waterfall?"

Dakota laughed at Luke and then, much to his surprise, nodded her head. Luke gave her a lusty leer and picked her up in his arms. He carried

her into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Like he was opening a delicate present, Luke took his time removing each article of Dakota's clothing. When he was finished, he slowly took his own clothes off, enjoying watching the heat growing in Dakota's eyes. As his body was revealed to her, she seemed to consume him with those eyes. Dakota's moan of appreciation as the final barrier between them was removed gratified Luke tremendously. He liked the fact that she really wanted his body.

Their shower took a little longer than normal due to having to soap one another, rinse one another and touch one another. Luke used the shower head to show Dakota a whole new aspect of pleasure. Her response was so powerfully arousing to Luke that, with a few deft strokes of Dakota's hand, he too reached a knee shaking release. Then they had to soap and rinse all over again. All in all, the shower was an adventure they both relished!

When they finally managed to make it back downstairs, Marshall was sitting in the dining room, talking to Andrea and Hank. The three of them all looked up when Luke and Dakota walked into the room, then they looked back at one another and shook their heads, laughing.

"What?" Luke demanded in a playfully indignant voice.

Marshall was the first to answer, "Oh, nothing. It's just that I finished brushing down both horses, feed the whole barn full of animals, walked up here to the house and have had two cups of coffee. All in the time that it took the two of you to shower. Now, tell me, why would we be laughing?"

Luke and Dakota both had the decency to look sheepish, but neither one offered any explanation. Dakota just smiled and said, "Well, look who is holding us up now! Aren't you ready to go, Marshall?"

The three left Andrea and Hank, wishing the couple a good evening. Hank just gave them a big wink and assured them that he had a good evening planned if they would all just go on and get out the door!

Luke and Dakota followed Marshall in Luke's truck. As soon as they were parked, three barefooted children came running toward them. Luke figured that the oldest one couldn't be more than five. And they were expecting another one? Luke couldn't even imagine having a family that large.

Two of the kids seemed to grow wings as they flew toward Dakota, because they landed in her arms without her even having to bend over. Luke chuckled to himself as he considered whether it was really that they had grown wings, or was it more likely that they were just part monkey? They certainly seemed monkey-like as they climbed all over Dakota, trying to get her attention.

Dakota kissed them both and headed for the back door, still carrying them. Luke followed behind her, watching her with the children. Even the one that Marshall was carrying kept leaning over to hug Dakota. And Dakota was loving every minute of it. It was obvious to Luke that she was a born mother.

When they got inside, Dakota introduced Luke to Linda Jane. Marshall had been telling the truth about the two women looking alike. Luke was amazed how much they resembled each other. Linda Jane offered him a cold drink, while Marshall went to take a shower.

Dakota and Luke sat in the living room, surrounded by the children and listening to them all trying to talk at once. It had taken about three minutes flat for them to get over being shy around Luke. Dakota held two of the kids on her lap, and Luke held the other. Every few minutes, the kids switched places. In the end, they all managed to sit soberly in "Uncle" Luke's lap and get Aunt Dakota's kisses while sitting with her. It not only amused the kids, but Dakota seemed extraordinarily happy as well.

When Marshall returned, he grabbed the steaks and hotdogs out of the fridge and invited Luke to join him on the patio. They slid open the glass door and out shot three little bullets, right between them. Marshall laughed, "Living up here, one of the advantages is that the kids can run around in a fair amount of safety."

Luke looked around him. The house was nestled in the side of a mountain, surrounded by trees. It was as though it had grown there and was a part of the forest around it. Luke nodded in approval. In typical male bonding patterns, Marshall just grunted out his appreciation as he threw the steaks on the grill.

Luke wanted to ask Marshall about Dakota, but he wasn't sure how to begin. Fortunately for him, Marshall began talking about her all on his own. "Dakota's cabin is something else, ain't it?"

At first, it surprised Luke that Marshall knew where he and Dakota had gone that afternoon, but then he realized that it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out! "Yeah, she's put a lot of work into it."

"It'll be nice when she gets the road smoothed out a little bit. A buddy of mine is supposed to start on that next week for her. She takes a lot of pride in the work she does," Marshall said.

Luke looked over at the man, then said, "I saw your work, as well. That wall hanging is extraordinary. What other forms of art do you do?"

Marshall laughed, "Whatever inspiration the Spirit sends. I work from my heart, and that takes many forms. Right now, with Dakota's help, I am managing to pass some of that art on to the world."

Luke was glad that Marshall had steered the conversation back to Dakota. He asked, "Dakota seems to really enjoy her work here. Do you think Dakota is interested in getting married and staying here forever, or is she just passing through?"

The look that Marshall shot Luke seemed to see right through his soul. Marshall answered, "Dakota will stay here. Her heart is here. But, when she finds the right man, it will be hard for her to accept. She has been alone for so long, she doesn't know why she needs anyone else.

She also doesn't believe any man will love her for who she is. Linda Jane and I try to make her see sense - sometimes she hears and sometimes she doesn't. She can be a stubborn woman."

With his grill fork, Marshall pointed across the deck to a small shed. "Go, look for yourself. See if you can find the one that is Dakota."

Confused, Luke headed to the shed. When he opened the door, he was shocked to find the little room full of carved wooden statues. Most were animals, but a few were human. As Luke looked around, he was struck by the simply beauty that Marshall had captured by allowing the viewer's mind to fill in the details.

As he walked around, Luke came to Marshall's work table. On it sat a statue of a wolf with one of her pups. As soon as Luke saw it, he knew that the mother wolf was Dakota. It was there in the way that she protected and cared for her baby. It was there in the depths of her eyes. It was there in the love that she exuded. He spun on his heel to call to Marshall, but Marshall was standing in the doorway.

"This is Dakota. I can see her," Luke said confidently, pointing to the wolf.

Marshall merely nodded his head in agreement. Luke asked, "But why did you make her with a pup? She doesn't have a child."

Marshall again seemed to look through Luke's soul. He answered, "She is a mother. She needs a child. One day, Dakota will have a child. I carved her as I saw her."

At that moment, Luke and Marshall both heard Dakota calling for them. Luke thought she sounded a little breathless and wondered if she had been running. However, as soon as the two men followed her into the house, Luke saw the reason for Dakota's reaction. Linda Jane was standing on a towel in the middle of the living room. Her pants were wet down the front and she had an apprehensive look on her face.

Marshall didn't look at all perplexed as he took in the situation. "So, the water has broken," he said, stating the obvious. Then he started gathering up the things that they would need. Turning to Dakota, he said, "Dakota, I need you and Luke to take care of the kids until my mama can get here. I'll call her, but it will take about five hours for her to drive down. Are you ok with that? I need to get Linda Jane to the hospital, now!"

Luke realized that his plans for a romantic evening later with Dakota had just turned into a babysitting gig. He was surprised to find that he was really looking forward to the idea of 'playing house' with Dakota!

Luke took the steaks and hotdogs off the grill as Dakota helped Linda Jane into the truck. Marshall brought down the prepacked suitcase. After leaving the food in the kitchen, Luke followed Marshall back outside. Luke heard Linda Jane whisper, "Wish me luck," as he saw a contraction pull across her abdomen.

Luke saw Dakota smile in encouragement. He heard her answer Linda Jane, "I wish you more than luck cousin. May God go with you and deliver this child safely into your hands." Then she kissed Linda Jane on the forehead and closed her door. Marshall kicked up a trail of dust as he sped down their driveway toward the main road.

Dropping his arm around Dakota's shoulders, Luke said, "Well, Ms. Matthews, we have three kids that need to know everything is alright."

Dakota nodded in agreement. "Let's go get them. I'll sit them down now, before supper and tell them what is going on. I doubt that they will be able to eat much, but at least they will feel like they are 'in the know'."

Luke agreed and helped her round up the three grubby little wild ones. As Dakota explained that their mom had gone to the hospital to have their baby, Luke circled the group with a wet washcloth, cleaning up their hands and faces. Then they took the kids to the table and sat them down with their hotdogs and macaroni.

Luke went around the group and cut up their hotdogs, according to their personal request. Dakota followed, adding ketchup and mustard. Luke filled up the sippy cups with milk, while Dakota got out the chocolate pudding for dessert. The meal went smoothly, even though it was the loudest event Luke could remember being a part of since he had left the Home.

When the kids were all in the bathtub, happily splashing and laughing, Dakota cornered Luke. "Just where did you learn to handle kids like that? I have never seen such a pro."

Luke shrugged, then said, "I lived at the Home for a long time, Dakota. Lots of little kids needed help adjusting. I did what I could to make

the transition as easy as possible. Cutting up hotdogs was one of the easier things."

Dakota helped get the kids out of the tub, dried off and dressed for bed. Luke noticed that he was feeling really happy as he sat all of the kids in his lap in order for Dakota to tell them their bedtime story. When the youngest fell asleep, Dakota lifted her out of his lap and took her to her bed. By the time she returned, Luke was finishing the story and both of the other two were struggling to keep their eyes open. When they gave up the fight, Dakota took one and Luke lifted the other. They walked them to their room and tucked them under their covers. Luke sighed in contentment.

Luke and Dakota chose to leave the doors to the children's rooms open, in case the children woke up frightened. Luke felt his chest swell with pride when Dakota told him that she really doubted that they would wake up, though, because he had managed to keep things far too calm for them to get upset.

Luke sat down on the couch and opened his arms to Dakota. She sank into his embrace. "Tired?" he asked.

Dakota nodded and rested her head on his chest. "I'm glad we took that nap this afternoon! I'd be really wasted if we hadn't."

Even with their afternoon nap, they both fell asleep before Marshall's mom arrived. It was almost midnight when she knocked softly on the door. Luke was the first to hear her and he headed to the door to open it. Right as he turned the handle, the phone rang. While he was welcoming Marshall's mother, Dakota grabbed the phone.

Dakota had barely managed to say hello before Marshall started yelling in her ear. As she held it away from her ear, they all three clearly heard Marshall announce, "I've got great news! We have twins! A boy and a girl! We have twins! Can you believe it?"

Dakota, Luke and Marshall's mother all stood staring at the phone with wide open mouths. Dakota was the first to recover. With a look on her face that reminded Luke of sucking lemons, she said, "Marshall, it couldn't have happened to a better couple! How is Linda Jane?"

Marshall gave Dakota all the vital stats for the twins, as well as for Linda Jane, then he said good-bye. As she hung up the phone, Dakota started to laugh. Luke and Marshall's mom joined in. They managed to stay quiet enough to not wake the children, but they just couldn't contain their amusement.

"Well, Grandmother," Luke said through his chuckles, "You are going to have your hands full! Wait till those little ones hear that mom is going to bring home two more babies!"

Marshall's mom was up to the challenge, though. Without beating around the bush, she thanked Luke and Dakota for their help and insisted that they head home. She had things under control and they needed to go rest.

It was after one o'clock before Dakota and Luke stumbled into the bed and breakfast. Trying to be quiet in order to not disturb Hank and Andrea, they tiptoed over to the staircase. They had barely put their feet on the first step when Hank bellowed, "What the hell took you all so long? Where have you been?"

Luke rolled his eyes at Dakota and whispered, "Did we miss curfew?"

Dakota giggled quietly then turned to tell Hank about the babies. Right as she came to the part about Marshall's mom, Hank yawned in her face. "Never mind, Hank! Go to bed!" she said teasingly.

Hank shrugged apologetically and mumbled that he thought that was a good idea. Luke and Dakota watched him go back into his bedroom and shut the door. Then they climbed the stairs and practically fell into their bed. They barely managed to get out of the clothes they had on before their heads hit the pillows and sleep overcame them.

Chapter Eleven

When the sunlight streaming into the room woke Luke up the next morning, he was shocked to see that the clock already read 10:30. This was his last day with Dakota and they had slept half of it away! Of course, that wasn't all bad, seeing as how he had no plans for the day.

He just wanted to bask in every last second he had left with Dakota, and maybe the bed was a good place to start!

Quietly Dakota rolled over and began rubbing Luke's chest. He realized that she must have been awake for some time. Although he was barely awake himself, he moaned in pleasure at her touch. Dakota stroked down his arms and caressed his hands. Luke was enjoying the massage, but he had other things on his mind as well.

Luke leaned in to kiss Dakota, slowly and softly. When he pulled back, he held her face in between his hands as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Good morning," he whispered. Then he silenced her response with his lips. As they touched and teased one another, their passion grew. Neither Dakota nor Luke were in a hurry this time. They made love slowly and sweetly. However, in the end, passion drove them into a mating climax that was neither sweet nor slow - it was hot and dangerous in its intensity.

As they lay together in the aftermath of the storm that had raged between them, Luke held Dakota close to his heart. Although his body was relaxed from the powerful experience he had just participated in, he could feel the tension growing in the back of his neck. Today was the day. Today his week-end would officially be over. Could it really have been only two days ago that he had thought Sunday was a long way away? Now, he wished that he knew how to stop time, so he and Dakota never had to go back to their regular lives.

But Luke didn't know how to hold back time. By the time that the two of them had showered, dressed and packed, it was after noon. They shared a light lunch with Hank and Andrea, then loaded up Luke's truck.

Luke was surprised when Hank and Andrea both hugged him good-bye, just as they did Dakota.

As if he had been their friend forever, both Hank and Andrea managed to whisper messages into Luke's ear as they said their farewells. Hank told him to hold onto Dakota. Andrea was more explicit and said that he was a fool if he let Dakota go. Luke couldn't figure out how to tell them that he didn't want to let her go. So, in the end, he just nodded his head and climbed into his truck.




The Home & Family Pt. 03



The first part of their ride back to town was completed in amicable silence. Then Luke took a deep breath and said, "Dakota? What are you going to do when we get back to the Home?"

Dakota looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean? I'm going to get in my car and head home. Is there something else that I need to do? I thought we filled out all the paperwork the other day."

Luke said, "We did. We did. That's not what I meant. I meant . . . well . . . do you have any plans for tonight?"

Dakota looked at Luke blankly. Luke's lips tightened in frustration. Dakota was not making this any easier for him. He tried again, "What I meant was, will you go to dinner with me?"

Dakota looked at him in confusion. "Dinner? Why?"

Luke whipped the truck to the side of the road and turned off the engine. He turned in his seat to face her. "Why?" he said loudly. "Why? Because I want to see you again. Can you understand that? I am having some difficulty getting this out, but I'm trying to ask you out on a date, woman!"

With eyes as wide as dinner plates, Dakota stared at Luke. Finally, she said, "No, thank you, Luke. You've done your duty. The week-end is over as soon as we get to the Home. You don't owe me anything more."

Luke stared at her in confusion. "Owe you? Is that what you think I'm doing this for? Yeah, maybe the bachelor obligation is finished, but I am asking to see you without that hanging over our heads. I want to go out with you and have a real date - with no auction interference."

Shaking her head, Dakota quietly said, "No, Luke."

Anger was beginning to get the upper hand in Luke's emotions. He put his hands on Dakota's shoulders and turned her to face him fully. "Why not Dakota? Tell me what I did wrong that you won't go out with me again. I thought what happened between us this week-end was special - hell, it was damn near magical. Why won't you go out with me again?"

Dakota pursed her lips and shook her head. With a frown furrowing her brow, she said, "Luke, I ca - I just can't and that is final."

Suddenly Luke realized that Dakota wasn't going to change her mind and she also wasn't going to explain. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and turned back to look out the front windshield of his truck. The beauty of the day was lost on Luke as he tried to figure out what to do next. He ran his hand through his hair. When he looked back over at Dakota, she was sitting, staring out the window, with a far away look of sadness on her face. Luke didn't know what had happened, but she wasn't going to put him out of his misery.

Without a word, Luke started the truck and drove toward the Children's Home. When he pulled into the driveway of the Home, he had a feeling of deja vu. Once before he had come down this driveway and been abandoned. Maybe Dakota didn't perceive that she was leaving him there, just as his grandmother had done, but she wasn't planning on taking him with her either. Luke couldn't remember clearly how it had felt that first day, but it couldn't have been much worse than he was feeling now. With all his heart, Luke wished that he knew what to say or do to change the impending separation. But, just as he hadn't known when he was four, he still didn't know, even now that he was 38.

When Luke pulled the truck to a stop beside Dakota's car, she unlocked her door and stepped out before Luke had a chance to help her. She was pulling her bag out of the back of the truck by the time he walked around to her side. As he was struggling for something to say, they heard someone calling out Luke's name.

Turning to look across the yard, Luke was surprised to see his friend James running toward him and Dakota. When he got close enough, Luke said, "What are you doing here?"

James didn't seem to notice the tension between Dakota and Luke. He was simply too excited! "Luke, Dakota, you aren't going to believe this! I really think Sarah is my sister! I was here, getting Ms. Lily to go through my files with me one more time, looking for dates and anything else that might give us a clue. Look at this." James held up a little boy's blue tee-shirt with an emblem of an eagle on it. "This is what I had on when my parents died in the car wreck. And this," he held up a pink tee-shirt that was an exact replica, "This happens to be the last gift that Sarah's parents gave her."

Luke and Dakota both stared in wonder at the two shirts. It didn't take much imagination to see a mama and a daddy buying their twin babies look alike shirts. But even in the excitement of the moment, the realization of the tragedy that had torn James' family apart was present as well. After a few moments silent, respectful consideration, Luke said, "James, I don't even know what to say."

James' smile had faded as he, too, seemed to sense the seriousness of the evidence. "Luke, she's my sister . . . "

Luke clapped James on the shoulder. The three of them stood quietly for a few more somber moments before James shook his head and said, "So, enough serious stuff. How was your week-end?"

The look that passed between Dakota and Luke finally clued James into the friction between them. "What's going on, you two? What happened?" James asked.

Luke clinched his jaw and scowled at Dakota. After a moment, she dropped her eyes and stared at her toe as she kicked the dirt around. Bewildered, James looked back and forth between the two of them. "Is somebody going to tell me?"

When the silence continued, James threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "You two take the cake. Boy, I've never had any trouble getting you to talk to me before. What in the world has happened? Never mind - never mind. I'm going home. You two work it out and come get me when you figure it all out. I'm too excited about my good news to let you two be kill joys."

With that, James walked away. Luke continued to look at the top of Dakota's head and she continued to refuse to meet his eyes. Finally, Dakota took a deep breath and looked up as far as Luke's chest. Closing her eyes tightly, she put her hands on Luke's shoulders and tiptoed up to kiss his cheek. Before he could grab her, Dakota stepped back, out of his reach. She managed to mumble, "Thanks for the week-end. See you around." Then she spun on her heel and jumped into her car.

Luke didn't move until her car disappeared out of view around the curve. Then he slumped against his truck and, for the first time since the last time he had stood in this same driveway watching his future drive away, Luke felt tears running down his cheeks. He had only felt this alone one other time in his life, and he didn't like the comparison.

Chapter Twelve

Dakota made it a few miles down the road before she had to pull over to the side of the road. It was too dangerous to continue driving when she couldn't keep the road in focus due to the sobs racking her body. She had never felt so miserable, not even when Robert had died. She felt so miserable because she knew the truth. She knew why she had told Luke no.

And it was all because of her own damn insecurity. Reality, for Dakota, was that she felt Luke was out of her league. He was the man she had hoped for all of her life - but hadn't believed he really existed. Luke was all of her dreams come true, complete with the perfect combination of sexual energy and sweet stability that Dakota craved. But it was too much to expect Luke to feel the same way. Dakota loved Luke. If she stayed around him and went out on a few 'harmless' dates with him, she knew that Luke would discover her feelings. She was lousy at lying and the truth seemed to shine out of her eyes. Luke would see and then he would know. And it would break her heart to lose him that way. Because there was just no way she could hope to keep him interested in her when he had so many other options available.

No, it was better to quit now and have the memory of the perfect week-end - even if it was killing her to do so.

Chapter Thirteen

Luke spent the evening agonizing over all of the possible reasons for Dakota walking away. It didn't take him too long to realize that she was afraid of having a relationship with him. But afraid of what? With a little effort, Luke pieced together Dakota's feelings about her body and her decision to never date again. Realizing that she was cutting him off because she wasn't confident of his attraction to her gave Luke the insight to make a plan. Before the auction, Luke could never remember having seen Dakota in town. Over the next few days, though, he planned to see her lots of places.

On Monday, it was at the diner over breakfast. Dakota looked like she almost swallowed her teeth when he walked in wearing his three piece suit and cowboy boots. Luke noticed that every woman in the establishment seemed to turn her head to watch him. But Luke only had eyes for Dakota. He thought that she looked adorable with her unruly curls pulled back into a ponytail, wearing her old jogging pants and a stained white tee-shirt. Luke had been told that he looked good in his suit and he hoped the effect wasn't lost on Dakota. But she didn't look very receptive to him, so Luke had nodded his head at Dakota, paid for his 'to go' order and left. There was plenty of time to talk to her soon.

On Tuesday, Luke went to the bank during lunch. Again, he was dressed for work, with his sports coat hanging open over his button down shirt.

Matched with his khaki colored pants, he figured that he looked decent enough. As he walked in the front door, he noticed that several woman in the bank suddenly straightened up and they all seemed to fluff their hair at the exact same moment. Luke smiled to himself at the subtle flirting and looked around. When he spotted Dakota sitting in the waiting area for the bank officers, his heart jumped a beat. But when he looked into her eyes, he again saw that she wasn't welcoming his attention. Yet, when his eyes locked with hers across the room, Dakota's own hand flew to her hair. Luke tried to stifle his smile at her almost thoughtless action. But Dakota caught herself. Luke saw her roll her eyes at herself, and shake her head, ruefully. Luke smiled and nodded his head in recognition. He, himself, wasn't sure if it was in recognition of who Dakota was, or if it was in recognition of how cute she was when she got caught innocently flirting. Dakota's eyes dropped to her lap. Luke finished his transaction and left, without Dakota ever looking back up at him. At least she wasn't indifferent to him.

On Wednesday, Luke didn't see Dakota until that night at church. Ms. Lily, from the Children's Home had called him and asked if he would meet her for supper. When Luke arrived at Ruby's diner, the owner, a buxom lady who was almost as round as she was tall, showed Luke over to Ms. Lily's table. Luke hoped that Dakota would be there, but he scanned the room in vain. Then Ms. Lily handed him a file that she had brought with her. Inside was the life story of one of the boys at the Home. Luke forgot about looking for Dakota as he read the file. The child was five years old and had been abandoned by his family. He had been in the foster system for about two years. He had only come to the Home within the last few months. Ms. Lily asked Luke if he would make time to get to know the boy. Luke felt a strange reaction in his chest as he stared down at the file. He agreed to meet with the boy, then he and Ms. Lily ate supper together. Afterward, he agreed to join her for her evening worship service. Luke was kneeling down at the end of one of the pews, talking quietly to one of his old high school teachers when he saw Dakota enter the sanctuary. He watched as her eyes widened in recognition and then she slid into one of the pews in the back. When he stood up, his eyes zeroed in directly on Dakota, as she sat watching him. He didn't smile, he just nodded his head, as he had done all week, and took a seat near the front. Luke noticed that she chose to slip out the door before the service ended to avoid any possible confrontation. He was getting frustrated, but he could wait till she was ready.

By Thursday, Luke was beginning to enjoy the game of 'Dakota hide-n-seek'. He knew from the look in her eyes when she saw him that she wasn't unattracted to him. Luke reminded himself to take his time.

He would woo her and win her. She was worth it, weather she seemed to know it or not! When Luke came out of the grocery store that evening he saw Dakota pulling into the parking lot. Trying to hide his grin, Luke nodded his head in her direction, to acknowledge seeing her. He almost laughed out loud when Dakota parked her car and didn't get out until he was finished loading his groceries and driving away. Luke sighed. As much fun as this was, it wasn't what he wanted to be doing with Dakota. And she wasn't making it any easier.

Friday's encounter was even better than Luke could have hoped for. He had just started to go into the post office when someone called his name. He turned to find the blond from the auction running toward him.

She introduced herself and asked if he would be interested in getting together for coffee soon. Luke was trying to find a polite way to refuse, but the lady was becoming insistent. Just as she reached out and wrapped her hand around his arm in an intimate gesture, someone ran into her from behind. Luke grasped her other arm to keep her upright and then looked behind the blond to see Dakota staring at them, open mouthed. The mail that she had been carrying was scattered on the ground around her feet. She obviously hadn't been looking where she was going. Luke watched as Dakota's face first turned white, then rapidly changed into a deep red blush. Finally, Dakota mumbled an apology as she picked up her mail and turned to make her get away. Just before their eyes parted, Luke nodded his head at her. Dakota wasn't quick enough to mask the flare that lit her eyes. Luke wasn't sure if it was anger or desire, but at least it wasn't apathy.

It took Luke a few minutes of polite conversation to be able to extract himself from the blond's grip and to waylay her invitation to coffee. When he finally managed, Dakota was long gone. Luke only hoped that a little jealousy might go a long way.



The Home & Family Pt. 04



On Saturday morning, Luke drove out to see James. Sarah Hytree had been invited to spend a couple of nights at James' house in order to get to know his family. Luke really enjoyed meeting Sarah and watching James around her. Even though they had only been together for a week, it was fun to see Sarah kidding James as though they had never been separated. Luke was really happy for his friend, but at quiet moments, when the kids were playing by themselves and didn't need "Uncle" Luke, Luke felt the emptiness in his own life. Dakota belonged there. By the end of the evening, Luke was more determined than ever to make Dakota see reason.

Before Luke left on Saturday night, Sarah asked Luke to come to her house on Monday. Glad to have the opportunity to get to know her better, Luke accepted her invitation.

Luke wasn't even out of bed yet on Sunday morning when his phone began ringing. Ms. Lily from the Children's Home wanted to remind Luke that they had an appointment in a few hours. He had promised to meet the little boy that she had told him about, and she didn't want Luke to forget. Luke hadn't forgotten, but he had been thinking about begging off of the visit. He didn't feel like dealing with some emotional kid right now. But when Ms. Lily asked for a favor, it wasn't really an option to say no. So Luke assured her that he had not forgotten, then dragged himself out of bed and threw his body into the shower.

Two hours later, Luke was making his way to the Home. When his truck turned into the long driveway, his stomach clinched. Luke thought back over all of the times he had come down this dirt path and realized that every single instance had caused that same reaction in him. He wondered if he would ever not associate that turn off the main road with the ominous feeling of abandonment.

When Luke's truck stopped in front of the main building, Saul O'Connor was just leaving. Luke greeted him, saying, "What are you doing out here? Like I don't know!"

Saul had been Ms. Lily's beau for longer than anyone could remember, and Luke would have been shocked had he not been out visiting Ms. Lily on Sunday afternoon. Saul looked happier than usual, though. Luke said, "You look like the cat that swallowed the canary. What's up with you?"

Saul beamed even brighter. His voice was hushed with excitement, and filled with what sounded somewhat like awe. "Luke," he said, "She finally said yes. Ms. Lily has agreed to marry me!"

Luke's eyes couldn't have gotten any bigger. "Are you kidding me? She's going to marry you?"

It was amazing to watch the older man's cheeks turn pink. "I've been asking her for years, but this Home was always on shaky ground. Now that the auction has set it on the right course, she has agreed to have me."

Luke's ears perked up, "Did you say that the auction made enough money to really make a difference?"

The older man continued smiling broadly, "Sure did, son. Along with your highest bid, a couple of companies heard about the whole deal and donated enough to really turn the corner. Ms. Lily has endowment funds created now to ensure the security of the Home, even after she decides to slow down. Who knows," he added with a meaningful wink, "Maybe hitching up with me is her idea of slowing down!"

Laughing out loud, Luke clapped Saul on the shoulder and said, "Well, congratulations, my man. Now, if I don't get myself in there, Ms. Lily's libel to come out here and skin us both."

With that, Luke turned and went into the Home. The front door opened into a small foyer with three rooms branching off of it. Luke well knew what all three of those rooms were used for.

The first room, on the right, was a large TV room where the kids could hang out and watch TV after supper - provided that they could prove that their homework was finished.

The room straight in front of the door was the dining room. That room held tables to seat the 40 residents along with all of the dorm parents and staff. The rule was that everyone sat down to eat together. Ms. Lily prided herself on the concept that family time still mattered, even if the group involved was a rather strange, motley form of family.

The door to the left of the front door was the entrance to Ms. Lily's personal office. That door was open and Ms. Lily was standing in it, with her hands on her hips.

"Well, I was wondering when you would get in here! The boy's waiting."

Luke shook his head at the woman's retreating backside. So much for thinking she might be emotionally carried away about having just gotten engaged. He sure hoped Saul knew how to handle his new workaholic fiancee. But for right now, Luke needed to catch up with Ms. Lily and make sure that he didn't end up on her bad side.

Ms. Lily led the way into a small conference room at the back of her office. When she reached the entrance, she waited for Luke to open the door for her. She had taught her boys manners, and she always insisted that they practice them at all times. When Luke had satisfactorily shown that he hadn't forgotten his lessons, she entered the room and sat down at the round conference table.

When Luke followed her in, he realized that she had strategically removed all of the extra chairs from the room. He was forced to sit down between Ms. Lily and the small child who was already seated. Although Luke's eyes had taken in the fact that the boy was there, Luke found that he really didn't want to look at the boy. He wondered what was going on - he had never had any problem before dealing with younger kids. When he had lived at the Home, he had often helped them adjust to their new lives and, now, as a social worker, he spent his time finding ways to help kids adjust to life in general. But, for some reason, Luke was having to force himself to greet this child.

As Luke turned his head and first made eye contact with the child, he knew what his heart had been trying to protect him from. The child couldn't have looked anymore like Luke if he had been his own son. Words seemed to fail Luke as he looked into the child's face. The boy's blue eyes were fringed in long brown lashes. His hair was the same chocolate shade of Luke's and it had the same soft curls.

As Luke sat there in complete shock, he simple couldn't think of any words to say to the child - all he had were questions. Luke didn't realize that his face had taken on a colorless pallor until Ms. Lily laid her hand on his arm and said, "Luke, are you alright?"

Luke looked at her with all of his feelings showing in his eyes. Ms. Lily patted his arm reassuringly. She said, "When I saw Lazeras, I thought his name was rather apt. He looks like a little boy I used to know, come back to life. But he's not that little boy, Luke. Lazeras is a that little boy's cousin."

"Luke," Ms. Lily continued, "Lazeras was born to a child that your grandfather had after you were born. He apparently left your grandmother and married again after your mother died. His daughter, by that marriage, was an unwed mother who died during childbirth. There was an on-going custody battle for a few years before the father was put in prison for life over his part in a local murder. Lazeras was put into the foster system until he could be placed with another relative. Now, the rest of the family has either died or has claimed to not have room for Lazeras. He needs you, Luke."

It would have made Luke a lot more comfortable if Lazeras hadn't heard all that Ms. Lily had just told him. Rules had changed since he was a child and had not been allowed to know anything about his own family. Apparently Lazeras was up to date on his own personal history. But Ms. Lily was smarter than people sometimes realized and Luke knew she had rehashed Lazeras' story on purpose. It would be impossible for Luke to turn his back on a child, especially a child who was related to him. Even more so because the child was in practically the same situation he had been in growing up. Luke took several deep breaths, then turned back to face the little boy.

"Lazeras, it looks like we're cousins," Luke said, still trying to figure out what to do. Without warning, the little boy slid out of his chair and climbed up into Luke's lap.

"I knew you would come for me someday," the boy whispered.

Luke's heart twisted in his chest. Lazeras thought that Luke had come to take him home. He thought that Luke was going to be his family. That thought chilled Luke to the bone. Then a quiet voice inside his head asked, "Why not?" Luke began mentally making pros and cons lists.

With his arms wrapped around the child, Luke began automatically rocking him back and forth as he thought. Luke lost track of time as the thoughts swirled through his brain. When he heard quiet snores coming from Lazeras, Luke realized that the boy had fallen asleep. Luke turned to ask Ms. Lily what to do, but discovered that the lady had managed to slip out of the room while Luke had been focused on Lazeras. Luke realized that she wasn't going to make this any easier on him.

It was about 30 minutes before Lazeras stirred. Luke had continued to hold him and rock him the whole time. When Lazeras opened his eyes, he stared solemnly at Luke, then threw his arms around Luke's neck. Luke held him tightly, trying to think of how to say what he needed to say.

"Lazeras? Laz? We need to talk," Luke said finally.

At first, Lazeras wouldn't face Luke, but Luke waited until the boy finally pulled back enough to look Luke in the eye.

"That's better. I need to make sure that you understand what all I am saying. Lazeras, I didn't know that you were here. Ms. Lily apparently only figured out that we were cousins a few days ago. But she didn't tell me then. She wanted me to meet you. I grew up here in the Home, too. So I know what it's like for you. Lazeras, I want to be a part of your life, but I gotta take this slow. Why don't you come home with me today and see if you like my place. Then we can spend the rest of the afternoon together and I'll bring you back here tonight so you can go to school tomorrow. Let's spend a few days getting to know each other, ok?"

Lazeras seemed to weigh Luke's suggestion. A smile finally broke across his little face as he said, "Ok, but can we go get some real ice cream? You know, the kind in a cone?"

Luke laughed out loud. "Sure, we can put that on this afternoon's agenda."

"What's an agin - agin - agindera?" Lazeras asked.

Again Luke found himself laughing. "An agenda. It's our schedule of what we want to do this afternoon - the list of fun stuff we gotta work into today."

Lazeras smiled and snuggled back into Luke's chest. "I like having an agenda with you," Lazeras whispered, carefully forming each word.

Without bothering to pull him away, Luke stood up and carried Lazeras back out into Ms. Lily's office. He wasn't surprised to find the older lady working hard at her desk, even though it was Sunday afternoon.

"Lazeras and I are going out for awhile. Do I need to sign him out or anything?" Luke asked.

Ms. Lily smiled and said, "I have the forms all filled out, you just need to sign them."

Luke wasn't too surprised as he shook his head and shifted Lazeras to his hip. Luke managed to grab the pen and sign his name without sitting Lazeras down. After he finished, Luke nodded at Ms. Lily and headed for the door.

"Don't forget, Luke, he needs to be home by 7:30, for bath and bed time," Ms. Lily called to Luke's retreating back.

Luke settled Lazeras into his truck and the two of them headed out on their adventure. For Lazeras, it was exciting to be out of the Home with an adult who really seemed to want to be with him. For Luke, it was like seeing himself as a boy, only this time, the child had a chance to not always be alone. And Luke was that chance.

After an afternoon filled with ice cream, a visit to the park, a drive out to a hidden lake for a picnic supper and then back home for a quick cartoon, the evening came to an end. Luke carried Lazeras back into the Children's Home with only minutes to spare before Ms. Lily's imposed curfew. Luke checked in with the Dorm Dad, so he would know that Lazeras was home, then he whispered good-bye to the little boy. Lazeras kept his arms wrapped tightly around Luke's neck until the last possible moment, then gave Luke a sloppy kiss on the check before running down the hall to the bedroom he shared with three other boys.

Luke stood on the porch of the dorm house, staring after Lazeras. When he could no longer see the boy, he turned and headed back to the main building. He met Ms. Lily in the foyer.

"How was your afternoon?" the older lady asked innocently.

Luke had known Ms. Lily long enough to know when she was acting and this was definitely one of those times. "Like you don't know," was all he said.

Ms. Lily made a noise that sounded a lot like a snicker. Luke looked at her with what he hoped was a frown of disapproval, but at the look on her face, he laughed out loud. "You scheming little old lady! You knew I wouldn't be able to turn him down, didn't you?"

The look on Ms. Lily's face changed from smug to concerned. She said, "Luke, I was hoping you could see what I see in Lazeras. He needs a family, and unlike your childhood situation, he has one - he has you. I don't want to pressure you into adopting the boy, but he needs to have contact with you. I know that you aren't a married man, but the boy needs to at least know you. Don't forget about Lazeras, Luke."

During the afternoon, it had surprised Luke how many times he had wanted to share Lazeras with Dakota. He had thought of her so often and wished that she was there with him and Lazeras. He wasn't sure how to manage either one of these new relationships, but he knew that there had to be some way to make them work together and to make all three of their lives better.

Chapter Fifteen

On Monday morning, it took Luke almost an hour to drive to the reservation and finally find Sarah. Sarah lived in a small brick home with three smaller buildings scattered throughout her backyard. Each building held a different medium of art. Sarah had told Luke that she would be working out back all day. So when he arrived, he went around back and began looking for her.

When she heard Luke, Sarah came out to greet him. She took him around her craft huts and showed him what she used them for. One held a potter's wheel and small kiln. Another had all of her woodworking materials and machines. The third held all of her beads and fabric crafts. It was in the third building that Sarah was working.

Sarah Hytree was a beautiful woman. Although she was 41 years old, her hair was still black as a raven and hung below her waist. She wore it in long braids. Today, like the last time Luke had seen her, her tall, full figured body was dressed in jeans and a fringed leather top. The feathers and turquoise that would have made most people look like Native American wannabes, only made Sarah look more authentic. She wore her heritage casually, and that caused her presence to be even more overwhelming. Sarah's personality matched her appearance - she was a self-confident and strong woman. Sarah Hytree was an impressive human being.

And at that moment, Sarah's dark eagle eyes were narrowed as she turned to face her new friend. Sarah gave a brief shake of her head, saying, "Luke, when you arrived, you wished me a good morning. Is it a good morning for you? This one has yet to be determined for me. See, I have two friends who have taken leave of their senses. Until I know how it will go for them, my heart will be heavy and my morning will not be good. Do you understand?"

Luke nodded his head. He understood Sarah completely. And that understanding allowed Luke to share with Sarah what Dakota meant to him. He told her all about their week-end, about asking her out when they returned and about seeing her so many times during the week. He finished by saying, "Sarah, I don't know what else to do. She doesn't even seem to want to speak to me. I'm going to keep trying, but I don't know."

Sarah's eyes sparkled. "She may not want to speak to you, but Dakota does want you! I have known her for awhile now. She is afraid to love and trust. She is afraid that she will be weighed on the scales of desire and found wanting. Luke, you have to find a way to ensure that Dakota knows that you have truly seen her body and that you want it as much as you want her soul. She is strong, but she is lonely. Go to her. Wolves are willing to be loners, but when they mate, it is for life. My friend is a wolf. And you are her mate."

Luke wasn't even surprised that another of Dakota's friends saw her as a wolf. And he felt an arrow of hope shoot through his body. Sarah was right. He was Dakota's mate. Luke smiled at Sarah and said, "My lady, it nears the lunch hour. Wouldst thou do this humble nobleman the gracious honor of your presence over a bite to eat?"

Sarah laughed at Luke's antics and laid aside her work. She and Luke shared sandwiches while Sarah explained that she and James had gone into town early that morning to have blood taken to send off for testing. The preliminary report looked promising, and there was no real question in Sarah's or James' mind now. The two new friends chatted for over an hour, then Sarah sent Luke off to find Dakota.

Luke had only gone a few miles down the road when he saw a truck coming toward him. Since the road was fairly narrow, he pulled to the side of the road to let the truck pass. As the driver pulled up beside Luke, he saw that it was James. As he passed, he motioned for Luke to wait a minute. James drove a bit further down the road, then pulled his truck over the side, so anyone coming by would be able to pass between their two vehicles. Then he bounded out of his truck over to Luke's truck.

Luke said, "Hi James. Are you headed out to see Sarah?"

James gave him an annoyed look and said, "Well, Luke, I was going that way, but seeing you has given me a whole other idea. Boy, I've known you for a long time. In all the years we've been together, you ain't never held out on me. But you are doing it now. I tried to talk to you this week-end and you kept slipping away. Right now I figure I've got you cornered, so to speak, so spill the beans."

Luke didn't even try to act like he didn't know what James was talking about. "Maybe you better get in the truck. This might take a few minutes."

After James got settled in Luke's truck, Luke told James the whole story. He told him about how wonderful Dakota had been and how much he had enjoyed the week-end. Then he told him about how she had refused to see him again and how angry he had gotten. He finished up by telling James about not speaking to Dakota, even though he had seen her every day of the past week. James listened with a frown on his face, until Luke ran out of words.

"So, let me get this straight. You are in love with the girl. You want to continue your relationship with her. But you haven't spoken to her in a week because . . . Ok, Luke, that's where you lost me."

Luke wanted to lie. He wanted to tell James that he didn't love Dakota, but he had never been able to lie to James. "Yeah, that's where I lost me, too."

James looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Has it ever occurred to you that Dakota might be afraid that you will not find her attractive now that you are back in civilization? She isn't exactly young and skinny. She might have a few issues of her own. If she does, then all of your carefully planned attempts to catch her attention are way off base. It sounds like you have her attention. Move in for the kill, boy!"

Luke looked at James thoughtfully. "Man, you and Sarah sure think a lot alike - must be a family trait! She just sent me off to find Dakota to tell her how I feel," Luke said. "James, I don't want to hurt Dakota - and I don't want to get hurt. Maybe I'm not being fair. I thought I was doing what was best, acting all cool and all. But maybe I was wrong. What if I've already lost her?"




The Home & Family Pt. 04



James shook his head and opened the door of Luke's truck. "Luke, only Dakota knows the answer to that. Don't forget Luke, we weren't raised knowing what to do with our emotions, so we just ignored them for the most part. It takes a special relationship to teach us how to take that risk. You might not have known Dakota for years, but I do believe you can have that kind of relationship that with her. You need it, Luke. And I believe that she needs it, too. Don't let your pride keep you from knowing what it is like to be loved."

Luke laughed and said, "Thank you, o great wise one! Go see your sister and I'll catch ya later, man."

And with that, James was gone.

James was right. Dakota needed him and he needed her. He would go and make her see reason, then she would go out with him. Of course, that was assuming that he could make her realize how much she needed him. But some assumptions were worth making!

Luke started up his truck and headed back into town again. He figured he would stop at the diner and find out if anyone had seen Dakota, then he'd grab a shower and go to her. He wasn't exactly sure what he would say when he saw her, but he knew that he had to try. Maybe she would be stubborn and he could use that as an opportunity to kiss her. He was pretty sure that if he could get that far, he could change her mind about not seeing him anymore!

Chapter Sixteen

When Luke opened the door to Ruby's diner, he was surprised to see Dakota sitting in a booth directly in front of the door. Luke started toward her, then realized that she wasn't alone. There was a man standing by her booth, talking to her. As Luke watched, the man tipped his cowboy hat at Dakota, then sauntered off to pay his bill. Luke frowned at the man, but the man ignored him. After the man exited the diner, Luke started toward Dakota's booth again.

Dakota didn't see Luke coming because she was looking down at her menu. Luke tried to compose his thoughts. Even though he had come to the diner with the express purpose of finding Dakota, he hadn't expected to run into her so soon and he really hadn't expected her to be with another man. He wasn't sure that he was ready to deal with this. But backing out was no longer an option. Luke had to talk to her.

As Luke entered Dakota's comfort zone, she raised her eyes to his. Luke could have drown in the look she gave him. It was warm and welcoming all at the same time. It took him a few seconds to realize that he still hadn't spoken to her. "Hello, Dakota," he said quietly.

"Hello, Luke. I was hoping you would stop by here," Dakota answered, in an equally quiet voice. "Won't you join me?"

Luke sat down on the opposite side of the booth. He felt like kicking himself. He had wanted to impress her and coax her into his arms, and here he was, not even able to think up a complete sentence. While his brain was still working on an impressive opening statement, his heart snuck in and took over his vocal cords. "Who was that man?" he heard himself ask brusquely. Now he wanted to hit himself upside the head. How could have asked such a tactless question? If he kept up this conversation, he was going to have to beat himself to a pulp.

Dakota giggled and blushed a little. Luke stared at her in amazement. His mature, adult cuddly doll was giggling like a school girl. Dakota raised her eyes to his and said, "That was Clyde. We met at the auction. He was asking if things worked out between us."

Luke frowned at Dakota. He asked, "What did you tell him? Why did he want to know?"

Dakota sighed, "Well, Clyde said that if things didn't work out between us, he would like to take me out to dinner one night."

At the murderous expression that crossed Luke's face, Dakota giggled again. "Luke, I thanked him and told him that I was flattered, but . . . " She bit her lip as she let her sentence trail away.

It finally registered in Luke's brain that Dakota had told the guy that she wouldn't go out with him. That meant Luke still had a chance. Relief flooded through him. The menu was still in Dakota's hands, so Luke reached out and touched her hand. He said, "Hey, I thought you said men didn't ask you out."

Dakota smiled back warmly, "I guess you were right that I just hadn't noticed before. You were right about a lot of things, though. But, I have to admit that having other guys flirt with me is kinda at the bottom of my list of what I want in life right now."

Luke breathed out a deep sigh. He said, "So, is it possible that I'm on that list of what you want?" At her slight nod, Luke continued, "I've missed you, Dakota. I'm sorry that I didn't speak last week. Can we try this again?"

Dakota smiled warmly. "I'd really like that," she said. "I called Sarah a little while ago and she read me the Riot Act for not talking to you. It just was really uncomfortable last week. Look, I have a proposition for you and if you think it's a bad idea, I'll understand. I was wondering if you would be interested in coming with me up to the cabin for a few days. I need to put a new floor down in the place and it's really a two person job. I had the supplies delivered up there, but I can't do all the work myself. Would you be willing to help me?"

Luke couldn't believe his luck. Just like that, Dakota was willing to put the past week behind them and try to get back on track. What an incredible opportunity to get Dakota alone and show her how he felt about her. He said, "When were you planning on going?"

With a frown of concentration on her face, Dakota thought for a moment. "I think I would like to go up on Wednesday and stay until Sunday. It's going to take several days worth of work, even with both of us. Of course, you might not be able to get off of work for that long . . . "

A smile spread across Luke's face. "I have so much vacation time coming, we could stay up there a month and they couldn't say anything! I would love to go. I'll tell them at work tomorrow and then I'll meet you here on Wednesday morning at 7:00. Is that ok?"

Dakota nodded her head. "Would you like to share a piece of cake with me? I have been craving some coconut cake and nobody makes it like Ruby."

It was almost two hours later when Dakota and Luke said good-bye to one another in the parking lot. Luke was feeling on top of the world. He had really enjoyed spending time with Dakota and she seemed to like it as well. And now he was going to get to spend even more time with her!

Work flew by for Luke the next day as he lined up all of his projects and cases in order for him to take a few days off. He spent the evening after work packing up his clothes and some supplies they could use at the cabin. Since he figured they would be riding the horses up to the cabin, he tried to pack light. When he had finished adding the last bit of clothing, Luke carefully added a box of condoms. He was spending the rest of the week with Dakota, and he could barely contain his excitement.

When Luke walked into the diner, he found Dakota sitting at the bar, laughing with Ruby. Luke slipped onto the stool next to her and dropped his arm around her shoulders. Ruby shot him a questioning look, surprised by his action. Luke just smiled back and wiggled his eyebrows at the older lady. Dakota watched the interplay between the two and rolled her eyes to express her opinion of the situation.

Luke laughed and said, "Well, I'm ready to get down and dirty, baby!"

Dakota shot him a murderous glare. Trying to look innocent, Luke said, "What? Aren't we going to lay the flooring? I was just saying that I was looking forward to getting started."

Dakota growled at him and playfully ribbed him with her elbow. Ruby just laughed and went to get Luke a cup of coffee. When she returned, Luke thanked her, then sat sipping the hot brew. Dakota didn't seem too talkative and Luke was happy to just be with her. He had never felt to comfortable with a woman. Of course, Luke already knew that Dakota was special, so he wasn't really surprised that it was with her that he had this new feeling of peacefulness.

After they finished their coffee, Luke dropped a few dollars on the counter and led Dakota outside. Dakota said, "Ruby said that I could leave my car here, if you don't mind driving your truck up to Hank and Andrea's again."

Luke just nodded and opened the door for Dakota. She threw her backpack into the truck and climbed in. She buckled up and they headed out of town.

As the silence lengthened, Luke began to wonder if Dakota was planning on talking any over the next few days. Of course, he wasn't exactly in the mood to be a chatter box either, but the quiet was beginning to get to him. He decided to tell her about Lazeras.

"I spent Sunday with one of the kids from the Home," Luke said.

Dakota looked at him in surprise, "You did? Is that something you do often?"

"No, in fact, it's the first time I've spent any time with a kid from there since I left. But it seems that this one is a little different. This one is related to me."

Dakota's eyes were huge, "Related to you? What do you mean?"

Luke spent the rest of the drive explaining how Lazeras was related to him. He told her about Ms. Lily coercing him into spending time with the boy and then he told her about their day together. Luke enjoyed seeing Dakota's surprise grow as she listened to him outline his day with Lazeras. She positively glowed by the time he finished the story.

"Luke Rydell! You already love that boy! It's written all over your face! When do you get to see him again?" Dakota asked.

Luke shrugged his shoulders as he pulled into the parking lot of Hank and Andrea's bed and breakfast. He really hadn't thought that far ahead, but suddenly he had and idea. "I was thinking that maybe I would go get him on Sunday, if we're finished, and bring him up to the cabin to see what we've done. Would that be alright?"

Dakota's squeal of delight assured Luke that she would approve of Lazeras visiting. She unbuckled her seatbelt and threw her arms around Luke's neck. "I would love to meet him - what a sweet idea." Then she kissed Luke's cheek and scurried out of the truck.

Luke smiled at Dakota's backside as she walked toward the door of the bed and breakfast. Maybe it wasn't going to be so hard to figure out how to make all three of them happy.

Dakota and Luke went inside to speak to Hank and Andrea before they headed down to the barn for the horses. Andrea had packed them a small cooler full of food and drinks. Luke shouldered it while Dakota grabbed a few tools that they would need. When they had everything ready, they bid Hank and Andrea good-bye and went to find Marshall.

"So how's the world's greatest daddy?" Dakota yelled out as they neared the barn.

Marshall stuck his head out of one of the stalls and grinned from ear to ear. "Dakota! You ought to see the babies! Dove and Eagle are the cutest little ones you could ever imagine."

Dakota laughed as she said, "So Linda Jane finally let you name the babies. It's about time! You've wanted to since you first got her pregnant with Matthew. Of course, I'm glad she waited until you got out of the stage of wanting to name your daughter Bathsheba!"

"Hey," Marshall said, "There is nothing wrong with Bathsheba."

Dakota rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right. I'm afraid that Bathsheba is just not a cool name. Now, Eagle and Dove - those are cool names. How is Linda Jane doing with all of them at home?"

It was Marshall's turn to roll his eyes. "She is in seventh heaven. You would think that she was made to have five babies under the age of five. She just loves it. Of course the house is a mess and I end up cooking dinner every night, but it's worth every bit of it to see how happy her and the kids all are."

While they had been talking, Marshall had brought out two of the horses, saddled and loaded up with a couple of saddlebags. He said, "There's some extra rations in there, if you need them. You both be careful up there and pop a flair if you need anything."

Chapter Seventeen

After thanking Marshall, Luke and Dakota mounted the horses and headed for the cabin. It wasn't a long ride, but in the morning air, it was an invigorating experience. By the time they reached the cabin, Luke was ready to beat his chest and do a Tarzan yell into the mountains, just to hear the echo. It was with great restraint that he managed to hold himself in check.

As Dakota took their supplies inside, Luke unsaddled the horses and gave them a quick brush down. He took them to the back of the cabin and tethered them in a grassy area, making sure the water trough was full for them as well. When they were well taken care of, he wandered back around to the front of the cabin.

There were several piles of flooring supplies covered over by large blue tarps, near the front door. Dakota had told him that she had gotten the road smoothed out enough for the supply truck to deliver the flooring. The men had complained mightily about having to traverse the rugged trail, but they had managed in the end. And now everything they needed was at hand.

Luke went inside to find Dakota just finishing putting up the last of the groceries that they had brought with them.

"I didn't realize that you wanted to replace the floor when we were up here last week," Luke said.

Dakota sighed, "Well, I didn't realize it then, either. I was checking to see about replacing the rotten boards and discovered that it would be more cost effective to redo the whole thing, starting with some treated plywood underneath it all. It will take a little more work now, but it should last for the long haul this way."

Luke dropped his clothes bag over by the bed. Dakota said, "We'll start here in the eating area. We will have to move everything over to the other side of the room in order to have enough room to work."

By the time that it was getting dark outside, Dakota and Luke had torn up the old floor in half of the cabin and began cutting the new boards. Without electricity, the flooring was all having to be cut with good old elbow grease. Luke was shocked at how exhausted he was by the time that the sun went down. He and Dakota made a lite supper out of some canned meat and crackers, then they fell into the bed. Luke had fantasized about seducing Dakota, but the second his head hit the pillow, he was sound asleep.

In the morning, Dakota was out of the bed before Luke even opened his eyes. When he finally did manage to wake up, Dakota was standing by the window, drying her hair. "Where have you been?" Luke asked.

Dakota smiled at him and said, "I didn't realize you were awake yet. I went down to the creek and washed up. It was so tempting that I ended up taking a full bath, complete with shampoo! Help yourself to a towel, if you are interested."

Luke decided to take her up on the offer and went down to the creek himself. He spent a good 15 minutes getting used to the water before diving under and rinsing off in the cool mountain stream. He spent a few more minutes enjoying the feeling before heading back to the cabin. Dakota was already measuring to cut new boards when he got there.

Luke knew that he wanted to spend some of their time together getting Dakota to talk about her feelings, especially the ones that had caused her to think she wouldn't be able to keep him interested. If they really were going to be able to work out their relationship, Dakota had to believe that he truly loved her and wasn't looking for something better to come along.

"Dakota, I know this is kinda personal, but I want to know why you wouldn't go out with me after we got back last week. Can you tell me?" Luke asked.

Grabbing a hammer and a handful of nails, Dakota said, "Yeah, I can tell you. I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about it. You see, when I was growing up, I had this dream. I wanted to find a man who thought I was special. I didn't have a daddy who loved me, so I invented this fantasy lover. This man would drop his teeth when he met me, then proclaim his undying love and wisk me away to his castle in the woods. I guess I read too many fairy tales. In real life, I found that guys only acted like that for the beautiful women, not for girls like me. The end result was that I wanted someone who didn't exist in my world. Robert loved me in his own way, but honestly, we were more like sister and brother than like Romeo and Juliet. We fumbled around in marriage much the way we had fumbled around in our friendship. It certainly wasn't earth shattering and it certainly didn't make me feel especially desirable."

Banging away at the nails in the flooring, Dakota continued, "Then after Robert died, one of his friends offered to help me out, in the same way Wiley Stone offered. They weren't telling me that I was special - their wives were special, but I was good enough to be their mistress - no promises and easily replaced. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I began to equate these men's actions with who I was. If only I were prettier, then they would think I was special. If only I weighed less, they would forsake all others for me. If only I were younger, sexier, smarter, the list goes on and on.

"Then you came along. Suddenly, you were telling me that I was all of those things to you. But I had bought you, and I had asked you to act the part of my lover. I thought that maybe you had gotten a little too much into your character and had forgotten, or maybe didn't realize that I wasn't all of those things.

"But, life has been different for me since our week-end. Even though I told you no, you started something changing inside me. All last week, I could feel myself coming to life. I could feel the changes taking place inside my head and my body. My attitude toward myself has had a major overhaul. Luke, I know that it's really too soon to know if I have completely changed in the way I think about myself, but I can honestly say that I want to have a relationship with you because I choose you, not because I think you are the only man who will ever be interested in me. And I have never felt like that before. I think you may have created a monster!"

Luke smiled in pride. Dakota was beginning to see herself as the woman he knew her to be. She believed in herself more and she was willing to do the work to grow in her self-understanding. Luke was thrilled as he realized what that meant to the two of them. Dakota would be able to hold her own and accept his love when the time came for him to declare it. Things were looking good.

The rest of the day went rapidly. Luke and Dakota spent the time talking more about their lives and sharing stories about their work with one another. Once again, dusk snuck up on them and they barely managed to get in bed before sleep claimed them.

The following two days passed in much the same way. Even though they didn't profess their love to each other in so many words, Luke could feel their connection growing each day. And sex wasn't a part of that connection. Not that Luke didn't want it to be, but he hadn't even managed to make a pass at Dakota because he was just plain too tired. His arm muscles ached and his lower back was stiff from all the bending and kneeling he had done. Luke laughed to himself about having planned on using up his new box of condoms. So much for the best laid plans!

By Saturday night, the floor had been hammered in place and all that was left was the quarter round finishing. Dakota called it a day after they ate supper. Luke was surprised, since there was still a few hours of sunlight.

"Don't you want to finish up?" he asked.

Dakota shook her head, "We haven't even had a chance to do more than cuddle up with each other in bed at night. I'm going down to the creek, then why don't we go outside and watch the evening fade away?"

Luke agreed and grabbed a blanket off the bed. He spread it in the front yard by a huge oak tree and laid down to wait for Dakota. When she came back from the water, she was only wrapped in a towel. She went into the cabin, brought out two paper cups of wine and sat them on the ground beside Luke. He pulled her into his lap and settled her in front of him as he leaned against the tree trunk. Together, they sat and relaxed as the day slipped into night.




The Home & Family Pt. 04



Luke snuggled Dakota into his arms as he breathed in her scent. She smelled sweet and natural, like the mountain air itself. He longed to unwrap her from the towel, but he didn't want to break the mood of the moment. Finally, as the evening began to cool, he felt Dakota shiver. He took the opportunity to wrap Dakota to him. He picked her up and carried her into the cabin.

Once inside, Luke carried Dakota over to the bed. He sat her down on her feet only long enough to pull back the covers. Then he scooped her up again and settled her into the sheets. As she guided her under the blankets, he pulled her towel off and threw it aside. He quickly shed his own clothes, grabbed a handful of condoms and jumped in bed with her.

"I have been waiting for you all week. I just haven't been able to do anything about it! You have worn me out, but now I have my second wind. And you, my dear, are all mine!"

With slow and steady caresses, Luke began exploring Dakota's body. It had been almost two weeks since he had last touched her. He had missed her so much and he didn't want to skip over a single inch of her flesh. Luke held Dakota's face in his hands and kissed her lips gently. Then, while still holding her face, he moved his mouth down her throat. With his fingers, he gently massaged her scalp. The moans coming from Dakota's throat encouraged Luke to continue.

Trailing his hands to Dakota's shoulders, Luke lightly rubbed the muscles there. The work that they had done all week had tightened those muscles and his fingers sought to ease the pressure. While his fingers continued to stroke her shoulders and arms, his lips began to tease her breasts. Luke watched her face as Dakota closed her eyes and gave herself over to the pleasure Luke was giving her. He felt her nipples harden between his teeth as he gently tugged at first one and then the other. His own excitement raced to keep up with her obvious enjoyment.

As Luke's mouth moved lower, his hands took the place of his lips and he began kneading and stroking her ample breasts. Luke's tongue licked down Dakota's stomach and he nipped at her skin with his teeth. Dakota moaned and thrashed about under his attentions. Finally, when he had held out as long as possible, Luke lowered his mouth to Dakota's curl covered mound. He used his fingers to spread her legs apart, so he could see her in detail. Then he used his tongue to taste her and his hands to feel her. Luke moaned out his own pleasure as Dakota filled his senses. As he stroked over her, Dakota thrust her hips up to meet his touch. Luke smiled at her eagerness. Then he pushed two fingers inside her and felt her tense up against his hand. He could feel her warmth and excitement.

Luke moved away from Dakota only long enough to slip on a condom before returning between her legs. Dakota opened to him as he slid his length into her. As soon as he was inside of her, Luke locked his arms and held himself immobile for a moment as he brought his body under control. Being inside Dakota was almost more than he could handle, but he wanted to hold out as long as possible. When he finally could, he began moving slowly inside of her. He willed himself to go slowly, but Dakota had a different idea. She began thrusting wildly beneath him. With a swift movement, she flipped him over and mounted him from above. Within moments, her uninhibited movements had caused them both to hit their climax. It was a blinding moment of intense satisfaction as they felt their bodies come together in their mating ritual.

As Luke drifted off to sleep, he snuggled Dakota as close to him as possible. He wanted to feel her as near to his body on the outside as she was to his soul on the inside. Sweet dreams filled his sleep. 



The Home & Family Pt. 05



On Sunday, Luke woke early and rode back down to the bed and breakfast. Then he took his truck back to the Children's Home and picked up Lazeras. The boy was beside himself with excitement over getting to spend the day with Luke. Luke was pretty excited himself. He was looking forward to the two most important people in his life meeting each other. The two of them picked up a picnic lunch from the store before heading back to the bed and breakfast. Then they mounted up on Luke's horse and rode up to the cabin. Luke enjoyed having Lazeras on the horse with him.

When they got to the cabin, it was early afternoon. Dakota came out to meet them as soon as she heard the horse. Lazeras looked uncertainly up to Luke, but Luke just smiled at him and handed him down to Dakota. She didn't even sit Lazeras on the ground - she just pulled him up on her hip and started talking to the boy. Luke listened as she told Lazeras who she was and how glad she was to meet him. Lazeras played with her curls while she talked to him. When she finally sat him down, she dropped a kiss on his forehead. Luke watched as Lazeras followed Dakota into the cabin. It appeared that she had yet another loyal follower.

Dakota had waited on them for lunch and the three of them picnicked in the yard. Luke showed Lazeras all of the work that he and Dakota had done during the week. Although the little boy had no idea how much labor it had all entailed, he acted suitably impressed and paid attention to all that Luke told him.

Luke had brought Lazeras' swimsuit, so the three of them went down to the creek and played in the water for awhile. They had splash wars and spent awhile lounging in the sun. Then it was time to go back to the bed and breakfast. Dakota had packed everything up during the morning, so now all they had to do was to load up the horses. Lazeras chose to ride the first part of the trail on Luke's horse, then he asked to ride with Dakota.

It was close to suppertime when they finished unloading the horses and rubbing them down. Luke didn't really want the evening to end just yet, so he suggested that they stop by the pizza lodge in town to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the Children's Home. Lazeras practically jumped out of his skin with excitement. First he wanted cheese pizza, then he wanted pepperoni, then he wanted sausage, then he wanted pepperoni with sausage. And that was all before they even got to the restaurant!

Luke ordered two medium pizzas, one with pepperoni and one with sausage. Lazeras beamed his approval, then asked for a quarter to go play one of the video games. Luke gave him two and watched as he chose his first game.

"He looks like he's had a good day," Dakota said.

Luke grinned, "Yeah, I can't remember too many days like this when I lived at the Home. The week-ends were always really long. Saturday wasn't too bad, but by Sunday night, all you could do was pray that Monday came quickly. It was too quiet since a lot of the boys went away on Sunday to visit friends or extended family."

Lazeras turned and waved at them before he moved on to his next game. Dakota smiled back at him. "Luke, he's a beautiful child. He looks just like you. Your grandfather must have had some potent genes to have two grandchildren look so much alike. Are you thinking about getting more involved with Lazeras?"

Pursing his lips, Luke looked from Lazeras to Dakota. He said, "I sure want to. I was just thinking that maybe it would be easier if I wasn't doing it alone. I was hoping that you might be inter - "

Luke was interrupted by the flash of human flesh that landed in his lap, "Luke, Luke! I won an extra turn and then I got to go up this mountain and there was this boulder and out from behind it came this bad guy and I jumped up and hit him in the head with my walking stick, then - "

Laughing at Lazeras' joyous account of his brief video game, Luke hugged the boy to him. When Luke started to finish his earlier sentence to Dakota, the pizza arrived. Resigning himself to having to wait, Luke resolved to continue the conversation later.

The pizza was delicious and Lazeras was one tired little boy by the time that they dropped him off at the Children's Home. Even though he was getting whiny, Luke still had trouble handing him over to the Dorm Dad. Lazeras gave Luke a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek then turned and did the same to Dakota. He then giggled and ran down the hall toward his bedroom.

With a sigh, Luke dropped his arm around Dakota's shoulders. "I guess the week-end's over." The two of them walked quietly back to the truck, just looking up at the stars and thinking about all that had happened over the last few days.

Dakota broke the silence after they were both in the truck. "Luke, thank you so much for helping me this week. I couldn't have done it without you."

Luke looked over at her and wrinkled his brow. "I hope I was more than just a handy man, Dakota. I didn't go with you because you needed a hand laying flooring. I went because I wanted to be with you."

Even in the dark, Luke could tell that Dakota was blushing. He smiled to himself and shook his head. Even after all that they had been through, she still blushed when he tried to tell her how important she was to him.

Luke pulled the truck into the parking lot at the diner, beside Dakota's car. Both of them tensed up when they recognized Wiley Stone, Senior leaning against the wall of the darkened diner. When he recognized them, he pushed off from the wall and sauntered over toward them. Luke braced himself for what he expected.

"Evenin'," Wiley said as he neared Dakota and Luke. "Dakota," Wiley said, "I've been meaning to speak to you and I guess it's only right that Rydell be here to hear me. I owe you an apology and I ain't too proud to say that I'm sorry. I ain't treated you right since you got here to Sterling and I regret that."

If a strong wind had swept down the street at that moment, it would have knocked Luke right over. He couldn't believe his ears. From the look on Dakota's face, she felt about the same. Right then, though, the jingle of the bell over the door of the diner caused them all to look in that direction. Ruby was coming out, locking up for the evening. When she finished securing the door, she walked over toward their group. Wiley reached out his arm and pulled Ruby to his side. Clearly bewildered, Luke and Dakota both stared at the couple.

Wiley smiled down at Ruby before looking back at Dakota. "Like I said, I'm sorry for the way I acted. Now, Ruby and me has some . . . uh . . . some errands to run, so we need to be going."

As the two of them turned to walk away, Dakota seemed to find her voice. "Thank you, Wiley," she called after them. Wiley just waved his hand over his shoulder and kept going.

"Well, Dakota, if I hadn't heard that with my own ears, I wouldn't believe it," Luke said.

Dakota was still standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking like she had just seen a ghost. "I'm just glad you were here to tell me that I didn't imagine it. I would have thought that I dreamed it all up if I didn't have a witness!"

Luke wanted to ask Dakota when he could see her again, but before he could figure out how, Dakota tiptoed up to kiss him on the cheek. With her hand on his arm, she said, "Luke, I really need to run, too. Thank you so much for your help. I'll see you soon, ok?" Then she was gone.

Luke shook his head in disappointment. How many times was that woman going to drive off and leave him standing alone? How many times was he going to let her?

Chapter Nineteen

On Monday morning, Luke was busy at work, counting the hours until he could leave and try to find Dakota. It was barely 10:00 when his phone rang. "Luke Rydell," he answered.

"Luke, this is Ms. Lily. Son, I hate to do this to you, but I need for you to come out to the Home after work. I'm afraid that I have messed up the paperwork on Lazeras' records and the state is insisting that I have the next of kin's signature to correct it. I'm truly sorry, but this has to be done today. Can you come?"

Luke wanted to scream. He didn't have time to drive out to the Home - he needed to get to Dakota. But he didn't know what she was doing today. Luke reasoned that he could leave work a little early and drop by the Home before looking for Dakota. So Luke agreed to meet Ms. Lily in her office at 4:30 and take care of the paperwork.

It was actually about 4:25 when Luke pulled up in front of the main building. He was anxious to get this over with, so he could get on with the rest of his evening. In his pocket, there was a gold band with a small diamond mounted on it, and Luke wanted to get that ring on the hand of the woman he loved.

Ms. Lily met Luke at the door and said, "Follow me."

Luke thought that her greeting was a little abrupt, but he was in too much of a hurry to want to spend time chit chatting anyway. He followed her through her door and into her office.

When Ms. Lily stepped behind her desk, Luke saw that there were two other people in the room. As his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he realized that it was Dakota and Lazeras. Before Luke could move toward Dakota, though, Ms. Lily said sternly, "Please have a seat, Luke."

"Luke," Ms. Lily began gravely, "Luke, we seem to have a problem. There has been a request to begin adoption procedures on one of our boys." Ms. Lily looked pointedly over toward Lazeras before she continued, "I'm afraid that in a situation like this, the next of kin must be notified and must agree to the terms of the adoption. I have called you here because this directly affects you."

As Luke began to understand that someone wanted to adopt Lazeras, he suddenly felt like a huge weight was crushing his chest. He had just found the child and someone wanted to take him away?

"Luke, are you comfortable with adoption? Do you understand what it entails? If you agree to it, it dissolves all other prior relationships and henceforth creates a new family for the one adopted."

Luke couldn't believe his ears. He figured that Ms. Lily was using slightly stilted language in an attempt to spare Lazeras' feelings, but what about his own feelings? She didn't want the child to know that she was asking Luke to give up his claim on the boy, but couldn't she tell how much it was hurting Luke to be asked to do it?

Struggling to understand, Luke asked, "Would I still be able to see him?"

"Who? Lazeras? Of course, if you agree to the adoption," Ms. Lily said.

Luke was surprised and hurt that Ms. Lily seemed to want him to agree. Just last week she had wanted Luke to take Lazeras. This must be some wonderful opportunity to have changed Ms. Lily's mind so quickly.

In a strained voice, Luke finally managed to whisper harshly, "Do you think this is best, Ms. Lily? You've worked here for a long time and seen a lot of kids come and go. Is this really the best thing for Lazeras?"

Ms. Lily cocked her head to one side and said, "Luke, an opportunity like this doesn't come along often. What we are talking about here is the chance to create a real family. For a lost boy to finally find a home and be surrounded by people who love him and want him forever. Do you really mean to tell me that you have any questions in your heart about this? Surely even you can understand how important this chance is."

Luke's heart was heavy in his chest. He was amazed that he had spent years being emotionally unattached and, suddenly, after only a short time with Dakota, he had not only fallen in love with her, but he had opened his heart up to this little boy as well. The pain he was feeling reminded him of why he had long ago stopped listening to his feelings. It deeply hurt Luke to think about losing the hope of having Lazeras as his son after only a few days together.

Luke met Ms. Lily's eyes, looking at her with distress in his eyes. He said, "I had hoped . . . Well, I haven't had the chance . . . Oh, hell, if you think this is what is best. . . . "

Ms. Lily gave a curt nod of her gray head and picked up the paper in front of her. "Lazeras, I need you to sign here," she said, pointing to a blank spot on the official contract.

It surprised Luke that Lazeras had to sign the document, when he was barely old enough to scribble his name in print. But with a certain amount of self derision, Luke realized that he had no idea how the adoption process went - no one had ever wanted to adopt him.

After Lazeras very solemnly signed his name and returned to his seat, Ms. Lily pushed the paper toward Dakota. "Ms. Matthews, I need you to sign here."

Luke's head jerked around to look at Dakota. He had forgotten that she was even in the room. Yet here she was, and she had moved forward to casually sign her name on the document.

"What are you doing?" Luke practically yelled. "Why are you signing that paper? Are you adopting Laz?" When he realized that Dakota wasn't answering him, he jumped up and turned to Ms. Lily. "Why is she signing that paper? What's going on here?"

Ms. Lily gave Luke a stern look, "Young man, sit down. I will not tolerate such an outburst. Now, you agreed to this procedure, so please, calm down and let us get finished."

Luke was fuming as he sank back into the chair. He wasn't sure at all what was going on, but he wasn't about to let Dakota adopt Lazeras without him. Before he could get those words out, though, Ms. Lily shoved the paper in front of him. She said, "Sign here, Luke!"

Through gritted teeth, Luke grabbed the single sheet of paper. He glanced over it briefly and started to say something, when his mind suddenly registered what his eyes had seen. Looking back down at the paper in his hands, he read the words, "Adoption procedures for Luke Rydell". Confused, Luke looked back up at Ms. Lily and then over to Dakota and finally down to Lazeras. All three were beaming at him.

Again, Luke looked back at the paper. He slowly read the document. It said . . .

"Let it be known from this day forward that Luke Rydell is no longer an orphan, with no family ties or obligations. By the power invested in Lillian Covington (a.k.a. Ms. Lily), Luke Rydell is officially bound to Lazeras Jones and Dakota Matthews by the bonds of love. Although this document has no legally binding power, it has been created and signed with the full intention of helping Luke Rydell realize how much he is wanted. Henceforth, Luke Rydell, according to the freedoms created by love, will be known as a man with a family - a family that loves him very much."

Below the paragraph was Lazeras' and Dakota's signatures. When Luke finished reading, and re-reading, he looked up, first at Ms. Lily who was smiling broadly, then to Dakota who had tears running down her face and finally to Lazeras who was bouncing up and down in his seat. The implications of the "adoption" slowly began to crystallize in his mind. He wasn't here to sign away his rights to Lazeras - he was here to be adopted himself.

When Dakota got up and came to stand before him, Luke realized that he was looking up at her with his mouth still hanging open in shock. Dakota bent over and lifted his chin to close his mouth, causing him to shake off a bit of his surprise. She said, "Luke, when you were left here as a child, you came to believe that no one wanted you. Even as you got older, you didn't believe that anyone would ever think that you were the 'special one'. But Luke, I know that you are the special one for me. You have shown me that I'm special. You are my soulmate and I never want to be away from you again. I know this whole adoption process might seem a little corny, but I want you to never forget what it feels like to be wanted. I want you very much, forever and always."

Luke pulled Dakota down on his lap and kissed her with all of the emotions he was feeling. Never in his life had anyone done anything this extreme for him. It was silly, it was ludicrous and it was powerful. It touched all of the places in his heart that Dakota had been thawing from the long freeze in which he had lived. Dakota had been willing to make a fool out of herself in order to let him see how much he meant to her. Luke had never been so moved in his life.

It wasn't until Luke felt someone patting him on the hand that he broke his kiss with Dakota. He looked up to see Lazeras standing front of them with a questioning look on his face. The little boy said, "Luke, I wanted to adopt you, too. Even if we don't get to go out again, I want you to know that I will always be your cousin, if you ever need to talk - you know, like man to man. I know Dakota is all nice and all, but she is a girl and sometimes us boys need to do boy things together. So, if you get tired of Dakota and want to hang out with a buddy, I'll be here."

Tears filled Luke's eyes as he reached his free arm out to hug the boy to him. Lazeras threw his arms around Luke's neck and held on as tightly as he could. Luke was thankful that Ms. Lily had included Lazeras in his "adoption". It had given Lazeras the chance to choose Luke. And Luke knew that soon, he would be choosing Lazeras. Luke's heart was close to bursting as he looked back and forth between the members of his new "family". When he finally felt like he could talk without crying, he cleared his throat and said, "Why don't we all go and get a bite to eat?"

Chapter Twenty

After supper, Lazeras had to go back to the Home. Then Luke and Dakota headed to his house. Luke had planned on spending some time discussing his feelings with Dakota. He had even rehearsed how he was going to give her the ring and ask her to be his wife.

But Dakota had different plans for the evening! Before they had even managed to get into Luke's house, Dakota had unbuttoned half of Luke's shirt. The second the door closed behind them, she had stripped off her own shirt. Luke had realized that his plans were out the window and that he really liked Dakota's idea better anyway. He grabbed her up and carried her into his bedroom. There they touched one another's souls through their caresses. Their bodies exploded into climax as their hearts joined to beat as one.

In the aftermath of their passion, Luke whispered, "Dakota? Dakota? Are you awake?"

Dakota nodded her head and lifted her eyes to meet his. Luke dropped a kiss on her lips. He had worn his jeans into the bedroom and dropped them near the bed, so he would be able to reach them when the time came. Now, he slipped his hand into the pocket and pulled out the small velvet box.

Opening the box and handing it to Dakota, Luke said, "Dakota, earlier today, you adopted me into your heart. I want you to know that there has never been a moment since I laid eyes on you that you weren't at the center of my heart. Will you marry me?"

Dakota's eyes widened. Her fingers trembled as she took the box and said, "You had this all along?"

Luke just grinned. He pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Dakota's finger. Finally he said, "Yeah, I guess great minds think alike. I was going to ask you to be a part of my life forever tonight, too. You just beat me to the punch!"

Tears began coursing down Dakota's face. "Luke, I'm so sorry that I ran away from you. I was just so scared that I wasn't good enough for you . . . "

Luke brushed away the tears with his thumbs, then whispered, "Dakota, it's ok. I didn't think I had anything to offer you. But I do. I have my heart."

Dakota reached up to press her lips against Luke's lips. Without words, she began telling him how much he meant to her. She brushed her hands over his chest and caressed his shoulders and arms. Luke found himself moaning in pleasure. When her fingers brushed over his sensitive nipples, he shivered in anticipation. He watched as Dakota then lightly stroked her fingers over her own breasts. It was almost more than Luke could take.




The Home & Family Pt. 05



Luke's moans seemed to light a fire inside Dakota as she closed her eyes and licked her lips. Without any more foreplay, she straddled Luke and took him inside her. With every ounce of energy that she had, she rode him to another shattering climax. As she snuggled wearily into Luke's side, he watched as the diamond on her ring caught the light and seemed to wink at him. He smiled in satisfaction. Yeah, family was an awesome thing.

?Epilogue

The sun beat down upon the heads of the crowd gathered out by the stables for the afternoon festivities. About a dozen adults stood around the yard and about twice that many children ran through the adjacent field. Dakota was waiting with the crowd and was beside herself with anticipation and excitement. James had taken Luke off fishing that morning and they were due to arrive back any minute.

"Dakota, where is that boy?" Ms. Lily O'Connor asked as she rounded the corner, carrying yet another tray of food out to the picnic table. Her new husband, Saul, was right behind her with more food. So far, every square inch of the table was filled to overflowing, and Dakota had no idea where Ms. Lily was going to put the plates she and Saul were carrying.

"I don't know! I wish they were here!" Dakota said as she peered once again down the road. Just about that time, Lazeras came running toward her.

"Mama, Mama, look what Aunt Linda Jane gave me!" He was holding out a brand new carving of a baby wolf cub. "Uncle Marshall carved it and he says that it goes with one that he done already gave to you."

"Has already given to me, sweetie," Dakota corrected her son. Lazeras had been officially adopted by Luke and her almost before the ink was dried on their marriage certificate. That had been almost a year ago. The three of them had grown into being a family with relatively few emotional bumps and bruises. Dakota was amazed how much it had changed all three of them to be a part of one another. But Luke had changed the most. He had gone from being a man who prided himself on his need for no one to a man who believed that he couldn't live without his wife and son. She only hoped that Luke could extend that love even more.

Suddenly a trail of dust was seen coming down the road. "He's here! He's here! Daddy's coming!" Lazeras yelled.

Everyone took their places behind the wall of the barn, so Luke wouldn't be able to see them until he walked around the corner of the building. Everyone was quiet as they heard Luke and James climb out of the truck. Dakota could just make out Luke's words. She heard him say, "Yeah, I used to hate coming down that driveway, because I thought I would always be alone, but, you know, now coming here feels like a new chance. Driving down that drive now reminds me that I am a part of a family - one that chose me and wants me."

James said, "Yeah, but don't you ever wish we could have had just one of those 'family' birthday parties like we always dreamed about? One with the cake and all our friends - you know - the ones where our family showed us how much they loved us?"

Luke and James were walking closer and closer with each passing step. Dakota could now clearly hear Luke's answer. He said, "Yeah, that would have been nice, but some things were just wishful kid's dreams."

At that moment, Luke and James turned the corner around the barn and dozens of voices yelled, "Happy Birthday, Luke!"

Luke stopped cold and stood with his mouth hanging open in surprise. He barely managed to put his arms up to catch Lazeras as the boy bounded into his daddy's chest. "Daddy, Daddy, we have a party for you. It's your birthday and this is your party. We have presents and cake and lots and lots to eat. Happy Birthday, Daddy!"

Luke hugged his son to him and looked over the boy's shoulder to see Dakota standing nearby. Luke caught his breath at the sight. Dakota was a beautiful vision to him. She was dressed in a bright yellow halter dress that showed off all of her curves and lots of skin. Luke loved the dress, and he loved knowing that Dakota was wearing it especially for him. She had changed so much over the last year and her self confidence seemed to grow by leaps and bounds. Luke knew how lucky he was to have her, and thank God, she thought she was lucky to have him. He pulled her into his side with his free arm and held her close to him.

Dakota whispered to him, "Luke, I love you so much. I wanted you to have a party like the ones that you always missed. And it seemed like we needed to have it here so it would help you put to rest some of those demons from your past. Happy birthday, sweetheart."

Luke's heart felt like it was close to bursting from love inside his chest. It was then that he noticed that the entire group of people all seemed to be staring at him, waiting for some kind of response. Luke's face burst into a huge smile as he said, "So, this is what 39 feels like! Well, I can't wait to see what you all do for 40!"

With that, the happy noises of a birthday crowd began. Luke ate fried chicken and potato salad with rolls and iced tea. Then, even though he couldn't think of anything that he wanted in life that he didn't already have, he made a wish and blew out his candles. The group cheered and everyone helped him eat his birthday cake. Right after that, Lazeras led him to a table covered with presents of all kinds. Luke was pleased to see that most of the gifts from the adults were checks made out to the Children's Home. Most of the gifts from the kids were handmade quilt squares that Sarah Hytree promised to sew together for him. It was a perfect birthday party and a perfect birthday for Luke.

Except for one thing. It bugged Luke in the back of his mind all through the party and all through the gift giving and all through the clean up. Even though Dakota and Lazeras stayed close by him, they never gave him a gift of their own. He had expected them to give him one early this morning. Then, when he realized that they had planned this party, he thought they would give him one at the gift giving time. Then he thought that maybe they would give it to him after everyone was gone. But now the party was over, they were back home, it was supper time and they still hadn't given him anything. Luke chastised himself and told himself that it was enough that they had thrown him such an awesome party, but in his heart, he wanted a gift.

Luke was getting irritated by the time he sat down to dinner. Lazeras and Dakota were acting like nothing was unusual. But try as he might, Luke just wasn't able to act nonchalant. He was just about to say something about it when Lazeras jumped up from the table and asked to be excused.

"Son, you haven't finished your dinner," Luke said.

But Lazeras looked agitated and asked again to be excused. Luke shrugged his shoulders and let the boy go. He turned to speak to Dakota, but she jumped up right then, as well. "I need to go to the kitchen," she said.

Luke threw his hands up in frustration. What was wrong with these two people? Luke went back to eating his supper, but somehow, it just didn't taste very good at that moment. It wasn't any fun eating alone.

"Luke, could you come help me for a moment?" Dakota called from the front door. Luke wondered what she was doing in there, but he followed the sound of her voice anyway. It wasn't like he was enjoying his supper much anyway.

When Luke found Dakota, she was wrestling a large box through the doorway. Lazeras was outside, trying to help her push it into the house. "What's this?" Luke asked as he moved to help get the box inside.

"This. . . this is your . . . your birthday present," Dakota said, between tugs.

Finally, the three of them managed to get the box through the door. "What is it?" Luke asked excitedly, looking sideways at the picture on the side of the box. It looked a lot a like a cage of some sort. A cage with legs. He frowned at the box and looked along the edges for a description of some sort. When his eyes landed on the words, "Heavy Duty, Deluxe Crib", he wondered why Dakota had bought him a crib. Then he saw the words, "Let your baby sleep in all the comfort and safety of a Bryer's baby bed."

With a questioning look, Luke turned to Dakota. He said, "Dakota? Why did you buy me a baby crib?"

When the slow smile began spreading across her face, Luke suddenly realized why they needed a crib. "Dakota?" Luke said, with his eyes practically popping out of his head.

"You did say you wanted a family for your birthday, didn't you?" Dakota whispered.

Lazeras was less inhibited and started jumping up and down. "Daddy, we're going to have a baby! Happy birthday!"

And standing there with his wife, his son and his future baby, Luke realized that it really was the best birthday he had ever had - he had finally gotten what he always wanted.