A Mama For Anna … Part 4 The Conclusion

In case you missed yesterday’s post here is the link for A Mama for Anna … Part 3

 

Julia was sitting down by the babbling creek, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Annie was taking a nap and Luke was reading on the couch, but Julia was pretty sure he would soon be taking a nap as well. She had seen his eyes grow heavy as they had been having a nice chat. As the weeks passed, he was opening up to her more and she was becoming more comfortable around him. His eyes were shining brighter and she was enjoying hearing him laugh more.

The cool water splashed up onto her feet, as she dangled them from the log she was sitting on. She hadn’t asked him about the little white cross, but it was still on her mind. What was buried there? Obviously it was special to him, for there was a heart on the cross. What did she really know about this man? He said his wife had just up and left them, but was that really the true story, or was there more?

Julia shook her head as a shiver ran through her. She needed to get hold of herself. Luke had been nothing but a true gentleman to her since she had been there, and she was growing more fond of him over time. Her Mama had always said that she had a wild imagination and right now Julia was letting it run away with her!

There was a tap on her shoulder and she jumped. Had she been that deep in thought that she didn’t notice anyone coming? She turned around and jumped again when she saw Luke standing there holding an ax in his hand!

“Are you okay? You are looking a little pale. Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you” Luke said, with a little smile as he sat down beside her.

“You are fine,  I was just lost in thought and didn’t hear you coming.”

“Lost in thought, care to share what you were thinking about?” Luke asked, as he pulled up a dandelion and plucked off its head.

Julia’s cheeks started to flush.

“The color red looks nice on you.” Luke said with a smirk.

Now Julia was definitely blushing! She quickly changed the subject “Where is Annie? Is she still napping?”

“Here I am!” Annie popped out from behind the big Weeping Willow tree, running to Julia with her arms outstretched.

Julia gave her a big hug, as her heart tried to go back to its normal rhythm.

“Well Annie, you stay by Julia now as I cut some dead branches off of the tree, okay!”

“Oh you are going to cut some branches off the tree, of course, that’s why you have the ax, silly me!” Julia said, and then covered her mouth when she realized she had voiced her thoughts out loud.

“That’s the plan, don’t know why else I would have carried the ax down here with me.” Luke looked at her a little quizzically, and then turned to go to the tree. Women could be so perplexing at times, he thought. Then he smiled , recalling her blush. He was going to have to see if he could cause her to blush again, that would be fun. The color red did look good on her, and he chuckled.

Life had a way of throwing you curve balls, and he had been through the dark times when he didn’t think he would make it, but with each passing day he was reminded of how the light can shine again after the dark. He looked towards the happy giggles coming a short distance away. He watched as Julia swung Annie around in her arms, and he caught the glow of the sun shining on Julia’s blonde hair. His heart was warmed, as he turned back towards the tree and hummed a happy tune.