Rose Colored Glasses

Astrid looked at the small mirror that was hanging in the dressing room but with her growing bump, she couldn’t really see the full outfit. She had gone out and asked the girl who was also standing out there. “Thanks! Not really, but I’ve already outgrown all my cloths with these babies and I need to get bigger sizes.” She said as she put a hand over her growing bump. “When you’ve got two in there, they tend to grow much faster.” She said with a laugh before looking down at little Stella in her carrier.

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“I tried. If it all sticks we’ll just have to see.” She chuckled but noticed the woman and wanted to change the subject. “Really. That’s pretty fun then! You get to be here all the time.” She chuckled, “the horses are worth it alone.” She smiled walking over to the closest one while the boys kept venturing down further reading the names of each one. “I’m a little scared to do it myself honestly. I’m better in a driver seat than in a saddle I assume.”

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~

Layla smiled as the boys took off for the pasture and she shook her head, “it definitely was not easy, but I like to think I’ve handled it pretty well. I’m not grey yet so that definitely shows they weren’t too troublesome.” She chuckled, “you work here too or just enjoy horses? I can’t say that I blame they are pretty amazing creatures.”

 “It seems like you’ve done a great job.” And in a rare moment of openness, Dani set her hand on her stomach subconsciously. Maybe it was having opened up to Luca about her miscarriage a couple of years back, but watching her boys caused an ache in Dani’s heart. Wondering, if only for a second, what her own child would have been like. Layla’s question shook the young girl from her fantasy and she chuckled, moving her hands to her back pockets. “I’m living here, actually.” She almost added temporarily, but with things progress with Luke, she wasn’t sure if that was the case anymore. “But I’m definitely only staying for the horses.” She teased, laughing. “Though, given my last attempt to ride, Luke might say differently.”

Luke could only watch as obviously painful memories came to her mind and he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go. They hadn’t known each other for long and despite an age difference, he loved her with his entire being. “Well I care about you and he’s not going to hurt you again, not if I can stop it.” He said softly. “Okay…okay no cops but we will figure something out, I promise.” He said as he pressed a kiss to her temple. He slowly pulled her into his lap and rubbed circles into her back, trying his best to be comforting. He let them stay there like that in silence for a little while before he looked at her. 

“I know it’s hard to talk about Dani….but I need to know what happened.” Luke said softly. “At least…tell me what you know about his whereabouts…” He said. “You don’t have to tell me anything, I promise. But… I just worry about you and I need to know how to protect you. And I want you to be free from carrying all of that on your shoulders by yourself. Nobody should have to carry all of that.” He said softly. He reached out and grabbed a picture of his ex wife and a newborn sized baby. “If it helps…I’ll share first. Something I’ve never told you and something I carried on my shoulders on my own before I opened up to someone. This is Erin. She was my ex-wife, the first love of my life. That baby was named  Simon. They were my whole world and then they were taken from me on the way to the hospital. Drunk driver and I never…I never stopped blaming myself. Simon her uh…passed instantly and we thought Erin was okay but a few days passed and she must have been bleeding internally cause she passed a few days after this picture was taken.” He said, a few tears forming behind his eyes.

The promise that fell from Luke’s lips was meant to be comforting, but it felt like the final nail on her coffin. In her gut, she knew this wouldn’t end well. Jason was the kind of man that women purposefully crossed the street to avoid. He was evil to the core, malice circulated in his veins but he was so charming that it was a paradigm to entertain. Jason was going to find her; Danielle knew that. He wouldn’t stop till he was dead, a deadly vow whispered into her ear the first time she ran away. When he found her, Danielle wasn’t the only one that was going to pay. Her eyes shifted to Luke; they were both in danger now. 

Though the looming inevitable pain lingered, Dani was pulled momentarily from her thoughts by the soothing feeling of Luke's hand rubbing her back and the soft subtle perfume of fresh alfalfa hay, ripe apple and a scent that was uniquely Luke's to calm her down.  The ease left as fast as it came and Luke’s prodding had Dani clamping her eyes shut. Luke needed to know; she knew that, but it didn’t make her any less afraid. His story caused Danielle’s heart to shatter as nimble fingers reached out for the photograph. She tried to imagine Luke’s life beforehand. Married. Happy. Him kissing his wife while soothingly running his hand along her pregnant belly. Oh… he must have been so happy. A marriage so different from her own. And suddenly, she answered the question she had yet to voice. Why was he still alone? It made sense now. 

“I’m so sorry, Luke.” Gingerly, Dani reached up with one hand and turned Luke’s face to her, her thumb wiping the tears that rolled down his cheeks, weighed by the grief still so evident in his eyes. “Thank you for sharing that with me… Erin was beautiful and your son. I wish I could have met them.” She whispered, leaning up to press their foreheads together, giving him the time to process through the emotions he had dug up with the comfort that she was here if he needed her. They stayed there for a few moments before Dani broke the silence. “I met Jason five years ago in school.” And with those words, Dani was transported to a different time of her life. “He wasn’t bad at first, not in the beginning years. We were in love and after growing up in a home with an abusive father, it felt like my luck had finally changed.” She paused them, mindlessly tugging on a piece of loose thread from Luke’s shirt. “But as years went away and we got married, things got worse. I think his work, seeing that awfulness of human nature, got to him. It got him to drink and the drinking got him to get physical. At first it was only when he was drunk. Then it was when he was sober. It started small, a slap here and there. A tug of hair. Until one time he kicked me so hard, I miscarried our baby.” It was endless, Luca, every day was something new. A bruise, a new insult. I had no one. You just get into this dark space and everyone else feels so far away. You feel trapped. I tried to run away once and he found me. He beat so much after that, I didn’t know if I’d survive and he swore that if I ever tried that again, he would kill me and I believe him.” She sniffled then, trying to hide her tears or the fact that she was upset. Jason never liked it when she cried. “I was in New York before coming here and I know that he followed my trail there and then to a small town further south but I lost him after that. I don’t know if he knows where I’m at yet but he’s a cop…so he can use whatever he wants to find me. That’s why I have to be so careful.”

Luke was happy when Dani didn’t pull away from him but the next statement did take him a bit off guard. Out of all the things that she could have told him, the fact that she was married was not one that he was expecting, but it didn’t scare him away. If she was running, it was probably for a good reason and her next sentence confirmed it. “Did he hurt you? Your husband? Because you deserve to be treated like a princess. Dangerous or not…I won’t let him hurt you again. Not if I can stop him.” He took her hand back slowly, running his thumb over the back of her hand. “This doesn’t make me love you any less Dani.”

There was a lot going on right now, and a lot of things going through his head but he felt even more protective over Dani now. He led her out of the office and towards the living room area. “What can I do to help, Dani? What do you need me to do? Do I need to call the police? A lawyer? Both?” He asked, head tilted slightly. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do, okay?” He said and gave her hand a squeeze.

Dani was expecting a lot of reactions from Luke but a reaction of sincerity and concern was definitely not one of them. It didn’t make sense. She had just admitted to lying to him and hiding something from him and he was worried? Why wasn’t he mad? His question made ice run through her, painful memories running in her mind. She couldn’t quite answer with words; her throat constricted and her eyes blurred with unshed tears so opted to just nod at him. There was no way the extent of what Jason had done to her could be verbalized.  Dani never talked about her abuse. The brunette squeezed his hand, falling even more for this compassionate and way too caring man. How could Luke love someone like her? “I don’t care about myself, Luke, I care about you. There’s nothing Jason could do to me that he hasn’t done already but I can’t bear the thought of him doing anything to you.” Her nightly prayer was that Jason would never ever find her again. For her sake. For Luke’s sake. 

In silence, the couple ventured to the living room, Dani relishing the touch of Luke’s hand on her and using it to ground herself in reality. She felt dirty now; as if she had just displayed the ugliest parts of herself to the one person she never want to see them. Panic sieged her at his words, pupils widening as she shook her head vehemently. “No.” She stressed, running her hands through her hair. “No, you can’t, Luke. Jason....he is the police. If I raise the slightest flag, he’ll find me. I don’t even think a lawyer could help me. I can’t file charges because it’s his word against mine and  if I try to file for a divorce, he’ll know where I am.” 

Luke frowned, tilting his head slightly at her. “You weren’t stupid Dani…that’s me. I’m the stupid one.” He said softly once they were safely out of the room. “It’s just a glass, I don’t care about the glass, I care about you.” He said and offered her a small smile once she looked up at him. “I’m fine. I feel like an ass, but I’m fine.” He said softly, grabbing her hand in his gently. He was trying to figure out how to tell her that he wasn’t mad. He let out a soft sigh as he leaned in slowly, pressing their lips together. 

Once he pulled away, Luke looked at her, hoping he hadn’t just screwed everything up. “I just…since you’ve been here…there’s been so much…life here and I can’t help but feel that I’m falling for you…hard.” He admitted. “You don’t have to say anything back but I just thought you should know. Nothing you do will make me angry with you.”

“You’re not an ass.” Dani said softly, placing a hand without thinking on his chest and shaking her head. Danielle was an expert at knowing asses. She had grown up with an asshole of a father. She had dated assholes growing up and now she was married to biggest ass in the world. “You’re so far from it.” The words were whispered as she squeezed his hand. The kiss, when it came, wasn’t entirely unexpected. It had been building up between them for a while, thought Dani had thought it was all in her head. Even that day that he had caught her painting. And though it shocked her, it was most definitely not unwelcomed.

Her eyes stayed closed for a few seconds after he pulled away, her mind hearing his words but unable to believe that someone like Luke could even remotely feel for her. Squeezing her eyes, Dani shook her head. “It should.” Her hand reached up to cup his cheek, her thumb caressing his skin before she pulled away and took a step back. “It should make you angry because I haven’t been completely truthful.” She crossed her arms over her chest then, a defensive mechanism. “I’m married. I wasn’t on a road trip...I was running away that night I landed here.” Her voice cracked as she looked up at Luke, waiting for him to react. Waiting for him to get angry. He claimed to love her but Luke didn’t know her. “I’m falling for you too; I have been for a while and you... you need to know that because loving me... taking me in how you have... it’s dangerous for you and I never should have put you in this position.”

~

“It’s fine, no big deal at all.” She smiled before the boys started back to wandering on their own and she shook her head, “I think Philip is probably a little to big for the ponies now but I’m sure we can find them both something that could interest them.” She smiled at the other, “I don’t mind if they’re interested. It’s up to them honestly. I’m trying to let them venture out as much as they want. Even though it is challenging at times for me.” She said shaking her head, “hard to let go when it’s been just me and them for so long.”

Dani looked over at her oldest boy and chuckled, gauging that he probably was too big for the ponies. “You might be right about that but a couple of the horses are out in the pastures if they want to go out and hang with them. They’re really friendly; I’ve spent more time with them than actual people lately.” Dani nodded at Layla’s words, a sympathetic smile crossing her lips. “I’m sure that wasn’t easy; but it looks like you’ve done a great job with them.”

Luke had honestly forgotten that Dani had been in the room, as he would have handled himself differently over the phone. Her position in the room only became known to him once he heard glass break and he immediately snapped out of the anger he had found himself in as he turned to find Dani backing up slightly as he started towards her. “Hey…it’s okay. I’m the one who should be sorry.” He said as he held his hands up in surrender. He made sure to soften his voice as much as he could. “Dani..it’s okay, I promise. I shouldn’t have raised my voice but nothing is your fault, okay?” He said as he knelt down carefully, grabbing a trash can nearby and putting the big pieces of glass that he saw into the can.

Seeing how Dani reacted to his yelling concerned Luke. They hadn’t really talked much about their pasts and he was starting to think she had a rough one. He hated that for her as he was starting to like her a lot and thought she deserved only the best people could offer. He stood from the floor and then slowly reached out, taking her hand slowly in his. “I didn’t mean to scare you, okay? I’m really sorry.” He said again as he walked around where the glass was and carefully led her away from the room so she didn’t cut her feet on it. “Are you okay? Not cut or anything?”

“No, no, I was stupid. I didn’t think.” It’s your fault. You’re so stupid, Dani! Why don’t you ever think?! Jason’s words rang in her mind on a loop as she picked up the pieces of shattered glass. Danielle flinched momentarily has Luke knelt down beside her and though her conscious mind was well aware that Luke would never lay a hand on her but she couldn’t help her reactions.

She kind of tuned out everything, just focused on picking up the glass. It surprised her to see his hand reaching out to her, calm and soft. It took a few seconds for her to react but she finally let him take her hand and guide her out the mess. “It’s my fault, I didn’t think; it won’t happen again. I’m sorry, Luke.” She wiped under her eyes with her free hand, looking down dejectedly at the soiled floor. “I... I think I’m okay, I’ll clean this up, I promise.” She sighed, finally actually looking up at him for the first time since the accident. “Are...are you okay?”

Luke had been dealing with some issues with one of the companies that buys his food products, particularly with them not paying their bill and even just one company doing that could cause financial troubles for his farm. He hadn’t heard the door open at first but when Dani set the food in front of him he gave her a smile and mouthed thank you. Finally he found himself off of hold and he started to talk about the bill that he was owed. He could feel his frustration rising in himself and he stood up from the chair. “Look, I need this bill paid. NO! I SENT THE INVOICE THREE WEEKS AGO!” He shouted once the client said he had never received the invoice. “I PUT IT IN YOUR MAILBOX MYSELF.” He yelled once more, slamming his fist angrily on the table. “SO NOW YOU’RE CALLING ME A LIAR?”

Not noticing how Dani was reacting, Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. “You better have the money to me by the end of the day tomorrow or I will have to take you to court over it.” He said before hanging up the phone, already feeling himself calming down. It wasn’t often that he found himself getting angry like that but it was the ranch or this paycheck and he was upset about it.

Dani sighed softly as she waited for Luke to finish up with his call, walking over to where she placed the tray with food and drink and picked up her glass. She took a sip of of her iced tea and walked back towards the bookshelf nearby. Delicate fingertips traced over the leather bound books but the sound of the chair scrapping across the floorboards startled her, causing her to jump. She spun around to face Luke, a gasp tore from her. It made her so mad that this was what a reaction like this caused but whenever Jason got up too fast, whenever his voice began to raise, it was usually followed with a shove. A slap. A punch. 

With every shout, Danielle backed up against the wall, trying to hide the reaction but she was still so scared. Years of deep abuse not being able to easily be ignored. It was the first hitting the desk, the loudness of it that caused Dani to drop her glass, the cup shattering on the floor. “Sorry!” She immediately apologized, throwing herself to the floor to start picking up the broken pieces of glass. “I-I’m s-sorry. I’m so sorry.” The words came out in a frenzy, her hands shaking. She’s unable to look up, remembering how much Jason really hated when she looked at him while he was in rage. She flinches as she hears footsteps, backing up and her voice breaks as she speaks up again. “I’ll clean it u-up, sorry.”

Layla’s eyes widened at the assumption and she chuckled shaking her head. “No, uhh.. I wouldn’t even really say we’re dating.” She was confused at what they really were. “His daughter ran into me at the park and we’ve been introducing each other to other things.” She chuckled, “you’re fine. Honest mistake. I had these two with my first husband, he passed away a few years ago.” She nodded, “we’ve been doing okay though, right boys?” The boys both nodded and took off to look at different horses. “To say raising boys is difficult would be an understatement. Luckily Philip makes it a little easier on me. He’s really stepped up when I needed him to.” 

A blush painted along Danielle's features as she corrected and she felt bad for immediately assuming. "Sorry, I shouldn't have guessed." There was a part of her that was angry with herself for always apologizing; even in situations that didn't necessarily require her apologies. Dani laughed as the boys ran to the horses, so distracted by them and she loved how the gentle giants all lowered their heads to allow the boys to pet them. "They seem like great boys; I know Luke has a couple of ponies... Do you want the boys to try riding? It's not hard and they are really well trained." She offers, but if she's honest, it's a distraction so that the inevitable question of how do you know Luke, doesn't come around. 

Shaking the dark thoughts off, Dani grabbed the tray of food holding two cut sandwiches and two teas and began to pad her away through the house in the direction of Luke's office. It was hard to conceal the skip of her heat or the spark of excitement she got at the thought of the older man; her affection and crush for him barely hidden, she was sure. It was embarrassing and she was sure that he probably thought she was a dumb little girl with schoolgirl crush. It was his fault, really, for being so kind and different than any other man she's known in her life. Using her foot, Dani pushed the door in for his office and gave Luke a smile she reserved solely for him before placing the tray on his desk. “Lunch,” Danielle mouthed at Luke, a shade of pink covering her cheeks. She stayed quiet, having realized that he was on the phone. The twenty-year old began to look around his office, taking in bits and pieces of him as his call carried on, wanting to wait for him to eat together. @lukexxking

Layla chuckled and looked between her boys then back at Dani. “Horses are anything but our strong suit. I don’t think any of us have ever really been around them.” She smiled, “I know these two haven’t. Been too busy helping out mom in the shop.” She smiled ruffling her youngest’s hair. He was only ten while his big brother was thirteen and today hadn’t been the best day for him. His attitude was coming out but he did his best to control it and Layla was always there for him to talk to. “I figure Lincoln is busy helping Luke if you wanna hang out with us for a bit. If you don’t mind keeping us company, of course.” 

Approaching a chestnut mare, Dani grabbed a handful of hay nearby and held it up to the gentle giant, smiling softly as she nickered before chewing the hay from her fingers. “I haven’t been around them much either... not until a couple of weeks ago.” She hadn’t done a lot of things until like Luke came into her life. One of them was just generally feeling safe. At the offer, Danielle smiled and nodded, letting herself give the horse one final pat on her snout before stepping towards the family. “Of course, it’s nice to have company. So... are you Lincoln’s....wife?” She asked carefully, still so unsure of the dynamics of anyone in Luke’s life. “I’m sorry, I.. I’m still trying to learn everything.” 

Layla’s brows raised and she smiled, “I was here to see Lincoln so you’re okay.” She said pulling her youngest boy to her and ruffling his hair. “The guys out front said he would probably be in here but I haven’t found him yet.” She said shooting her thumb over her shoulder before reaching out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Danielle. I’m Layla and no, no. I own an auto shop in town. Lincoln invited me and my sons here out, they’re not very interested in horses though.” She chuckled. 

“Oh, gotcha.” Danielle murmured a bit nervously, still a bit uncomfortable at having just sort of popped into Luke’s life and getting to know the people around him. “I think he was with Luke in the back last time I saw them.” She offered hoping it would help her. It was then her attention was drawn to the boys with Layla and she offered them a small smile. “Have you ever fed one?” She asked them, her smile growing a bit. “It’s really fun and they love it.