Into The
Night
We Shine
A Double Blind Study Holiday EP
by heidi hutchinson
copyright 2015
Smashwords Edition
INTO THE NIGHT WE SHINE
© 2015 Heidi Hutchinson
Ebook Edition
Editor: Jo Evans
Cover Photo purchased from Shutterstock.
Cover Design by Heidi Hutchinson
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To my readers
Every writer says they have the best readers.
But I actually do.
“Happily Ever Trapped”
Luke and Lenny
Note from Author: Dear Reader, this scene takes place over the first Christmas after the end of the series (Brand New Sky). This is Luke and Lenny's third Christmas together.
Lenny turned on the lights in the backyard and excitement caused her chest to compress.
“Yes.”
So much snow.
She'd wanted to be home for Christmas this year.
Her home.
Luke's home.
Their home that they had built together. That they were building together.
And now it was definitely going to happen.
She'd planned for it, despite everyone else planning her holiday for her. She'd tried to explain to her family that she wanted to have her own Christmas, just one, with her husband in their newly finished home. Her mom was not okay with that. She wanted all of her kids home this year for reasons that were her own that Lenny tried to ignore.
But her mom had made a fuss until Luke had agreed last week to driving into town to spend Christmas Eve and Day in the Evans family home. Lenny had tried to explain to Luke something he wasn't used to: moms used guilt and manipulation in expert fashion to get their way. Which is why Kelli Evans had turned on the water works to her new son-in-law when Lenny wasn't around.
Because there was no way Lenny would have fallen for that shit.
Not that Lenny didn't enjoy spending the holiday with her family, she did. A lot. Normally.
But nothing about this year was normal. And Lenny wanted to do something different.
She bounced up on her woolen covered toes and grinned at the minimal visibility and the white that blanketed her wild backyard, coming to more than a foot up the sliding glass door.
They were snowed in.
For Christmas.
***
Luke's eyes had been drawn to the lights coming on in the backyard. He set his guitar in its stand and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the Tetons in his studio in the west corner of the basement of the house.
“Shit,” he muttered.
He'd been watching the weather forecast with an obsessive amount of interest all week long. But the difficult part of living in the mountains was that the weather was usually unpredictable. And true to form, they'd been gifted with a winter storm that had begun the night before and was only now starting to let up. But it was too late. The damage had been done, and now Luke was looking at the solid fact that they wouldn't be leaving their house for at least two days.
He pressed his lips together as his eyes lifted to the ceiling. He could picture Lenny standing at her balcony door, giddy with excitement. Under normal circumstances this would make him happier than hell. Because when she was happy, he was always happy.
This winter was anything but normal.
Lenny had always been ambitious. And normally, that was just fine. She never made a plan she couldn't execute.
But twelve weeks ago, everything changed.
It was small at first. Little things, like not liking the smell of Luke's aftershave and suddenly hating the taste of coffee. The coffee thing was harder on Lenny than on Luke. She spent about a week complaining about everyone in her life burning her favorite beverage on purpose. It wasn't until they received confirmation that she was pregnant that those things started to make sense.
That's when it really started to snowball.
Luke had been thrilled that his wife was pregnant. He had taken all of the books the doctor had given them and went straight home to study. He prepared himself for morning sickness, mood swings, unusual cravings. In other words, he embraced this new development in their life the same way he lived: like a rock star.
But one of the things that had drawn him to Lenny in the first place was her unwillingness to be like everybody else.
He really should have known that she wouldn't do pregnancy even remotely normal.
***
At first, when Lenny and Luke had discussed selling The Lodge and building their own home to their own specifications, she'd been worried. She'd heard stories that house-building led to marriage-ending. She didn't want to do that.
She liked being married to Luke.
So she made a plan, executed the plan, and their house was built to perfection four weeks ahead of schedule—exactly two weeks before she found out she was pregnant.
That was the day everybody lost their minds.
Lenny slid to a stop on her thick socks at the garage door. Her over-sized sweater sleeves coming over her hands as she gripped the door knob.
“What are you doing?”
Her grip tightened on the door knob as she gave Luke an eyebrow waggle. “We're snowed in.”
His bright blue eyes were heavily guarded. Which she ignored. “Are you sure? Maybe I can get the snow blower out and move some stuff around.”
Lenny rolled her eyes and yanked the door open, stepping into the garage. She hit the button to raise the door and then went to the refrigerator that housed all of her extra ingredients she would need.
“Shit,” Luke muttered.
She glanced up to see what she knew would be the case. A solid wall of snow, blocking even daylight from entering the garage. It would take days to shovel out. They would probably have to call Duke to help them.
If Duke could even get out. Lenny should call Natalie today to check-in.
Of all the people in her life who had recently lost their ability for rational thought, Natalie was the only one who treated her like normal.
“Yeah, so if you aren't busy, could you give me a hand with some of this stuff?” she asked, piling the mustard onto the bag of green beans in her arms. She wouldn't be able to carry all of this in one trip. She'd have to come back.
“Would you please go back inside?” Luke scolded her gently, pulling her backwards by her hips. “It's cold out here. I'll get whatever it is you need.”
“But you don't like to help me cook,” Lenny argued, moving back into place and adding a bag that housed four apples to her load.
“That's not true. I never said that.”
Lenny straightened and frowned at her husband. “You don't have to say the words, Luke. You spend the entire time hiding in the basement.”
“Not hiding, working,” he corrected gently, turning her body back to the door. “I love helping you. I can't wait to help you. Helping you in the kitchen is all I want to do.”
Lenny shrugged. “Fine. But no disappearing this time.”
***
Luke caught the bag of apples that fell from her pile just as she stepped back into the house. He loved his wife. Like crazy.
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Except that this pregnancy had stolen his wife and now he was living with this weirdo who wanted to cook all of the time. And she was terrible at it. But that wasn't the worst part. Nope. The worst part was everything.
Luke followed her into the kitchen and set the apples on the counter.
“Oh, you brought the apples!” Lenny rolled up on her toes and kissed his lips. “Thank you. I thought I had left them in the garage.”
“You dropped them, I caught them,” Luke tried to shrug it off as his eyes scanned the kitchen for any sign of trouble. He jumped when the oven signaled it was done pre-heating.
“What are you using the oven for?” he asked, forcing the casual into his voice even though every muscle in his body was pulled taut.
“For the pies.”
“Pies?” he clarified.
“Mm-hm. Apple, pumpkin, and chocolate.”
Luke rolled his lips inward. “There's just the two of us, Len. Do we really need three pies?”
Lenny grinned at him, lighting up her whole face. If she wasn't so damn adorable about this entire thing, it would be a lot easier for Luke to just put his foot down. But her exuberance was one of the reasons she was allowed to get away with anything she wanted to.
“Leftovers, silly.”
“Right.” Luke tried to hide his smile but he failed and was rewarded with Lenny throwing her arms around him and kissing his dimple. He tried to hold onto her a little bit longer, but she was already on the move.
“I'm so glad I took the turkey out a couple of days ago. I had a feeling.” She opened the stainless steel doors of their massive fridge and revealed the twenty pound bird in question. Luke knew better than to help her lift it, even though he had to grip the edge of the counter to keep himself in place. They had already had that argument. And she was right, she wasn't an invalid. She was pregnant and healthy. Probably the healthiest she'd ever been.
Luke watched her heft the massive fowl onto the island without incident.
“I'm just gonna let him sit here while I mix up the stuffing. Won't this be fun? I've never made a turkey this big.” She worked while she spoke. Gathering her utensils, vegetables, cutting boards.
And zero recipes.
None.
Not even a scrap of paper with some scribbles on it.
This was where the problem lay.
Lenny was more than accustomed to her photographic memory. As well she should be. But the pregnancy had stolen it. She couldn't remember anything anymore.
And she was in complete denial about the entire thing.
Luke licked his lips as he watched his gorgeous wife act like she knew what she was doing. She was literally barefoot and pregnant in his kitchen and Luke was trying to figure out why men ever wanted this at any time in the recent history of the world.
This was terrifying.
Of course, other women probably weren't as stubborn as his Lenny. Or as ambitious. She hadn't just planned a Christmas Dinner. She had planned a Christmas Dinner that would have Martha Stewart weeping with pride and appreciation.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lenny cocked a hip and planted a hand there.
“Like what?” Luke tried to buy time. No way was he going to make it another 28 weeks. There were too many holidays between now and then.
“Geez, Luke, you're sweating.” Lenny tossed a hand towel his direction. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Me? Yeah, I'm great.” He grabbed at the towel and ran it over his face. “Look, Len, I'm just wondering—”
The phone rang and Lenny snatched it up with a squeal. “Hey, mom!... No, it's okay, don't send dad out—”
Luke lunged and took the phone out of Lenny's hand. He ignored her wide eyes as he pressed the receiver to his ear.
“Hey, Kelli, Luke here.”
“Oh my goodness, I don't even know what to do. Bruce and Scott are trying to get the tractor started, but it'll take hours to work their way up to you guys and it's already seven. She'll be out like a light in two hours.”
Luke leaned away from Lenny, crossing one arm over his chest. “That sounds great. Lenny and I are doing great. She's just getting the turkey ready for tomorrow. Are you making that apple stuffing you talked about, Len?”
Lenny bit into a raw carrot as she watched him with a suspicious scowl.
“Oh, no,” Kelli whispered.
“Yep. So we've got a whole thing planned here. Pies and everything.”
“You're not going to sleep at all, are you?” Kelli stated the obvious.
“Doesn't look like it,” Luke said through a forced smile.
The line was quiet as the seconds ticked by. Luke kept his eyes on the floor as if Kelli were still speaking to him. Mostly he didn't want to look at Lenny and have her read his mind.
“I'll email you what I have. I don't know if it'll help,” Kelli stopped to giggle under her breath and Luke could've strangled her. While everyone was trying to be as supportive as possible during his current ordeal, they all thought it was hilarious at the same time.
“That would be great,” he said as sincerely as possible.
“I'll call tomorrow and check on you guys.”
The promise was nice, but it was just words. No one could help him now. He was in this. Deeper than he thought possible.
No one tells you about the weird stuff that comes along with “for better or for worse.” He assumed there was a better and a worse. He never imagined the secret category of bizzaro brain that his wife had developed.
“Why did you take the phone away from me?”
Luke glanced up to the greeting of Lenny's heated glare.
“Just wanted to make sure they weren't giving you a hard time about not making it to dinner tomorrow,” he lied.
She tilted her head and smiled softly. “Oh.”
“So,” Luke said, bringing his hands down on the counter, palms flat. “Run me through what we're doing.”
Lenny's smile turned bright and he sighed inwardly. This was definitely going to be a long night.
***
Lenny tried to fight off the yawn that had grabbed hold of her. She failed and covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Maybe you should go sit down for a few minutes. You've been on your feet all day.”
“No, I have to finish the cranberry relish first,” she said, determined to make this the best relish ever. She stopped and glanced about her kitchen. Had she been responsible for this entire mess? Where was the maple syrup? Wasn't that supposed to go in next? Her hand convulsed and she looked down to see the glass bottle of syrup in it. With the lid already off. Had she already added the syrup?
No, she would have remembered.
Still.
She crouched down to peer through the glass bowl, trying to identify the difference between the syrup and the cider. They were both brown. Maybe it was the cider she needed to add.
Hot tears welled up in her eyes and she blinked furiously. It was just relish, it wasn't that big of a deal.
“What's wrong, babe?” Luke was there, crouched beside her, his hand warm on her back.
“Nothing,” she lied, sniffing away her tears and standing back up. “I need to add the cinnamon,” she declared, having made her decision. She reached for the bottle and began shaking it into the bowl with abandon.
Luke took the bottle out of her hand and she narrowed her eyes at him in warning. He lifted one eyebrow calmly. “Sweetheart, you know I love you and I would do anything for you. But that's not cinnamon.”
Lenny's eyebrows snapped together and her eyes moved to the bottle.
Chili Powder.
She stared in silence for a long time, trying to figure out how she'd made that kind of a mistake.
“I've ruined it,” she whispered. She spun around and looked at her kitchen again but it was really for the first time.
The apple pie was basically a burnt crust with slices of apple dried to the bottom. The stuffing was bubbling over in the oven, se
nding smoke out of the vents in tendrils—she probably should have listened to Luke when he questioned her use of a dozen eggs.
“I ruin everything.”
Luke put down the bottle and folded her into his arms just as the tears hit.
“Shh,” he soothed, his arms tight around her. “No, you don't. Not on purpose. This isn't that big of a deal.”
Lenny's body bucked with a sob, Luke pulled her even closer but he couldn't hide the chuckle that vibrated in his chest.
“Why are you laughing?” Lenny cried. “This isn't funny! I've ruined Christmas!”
“No, you haven't,” he said gently, humor still lacing his words.
She tried to shove away from him, furious that he was making fun of her, but he didn't let her get away entirely. He shifted his hands to cradle her face and his thumbs wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Don't laugh at me,” she begged.
“I'm not laughing at you, beautiful. I'm just finding humor in the situation.” Luke's bright blue eyes traveled over her face, gentle and urgent at the same time. “You've always been ambitious, but it's okay to admit when you've bitten off more than you can chew.”
“You must be so disappointed in me,” Lenny said, feeling defeated. She'd wanted to make the perfect Christmas meal, all on her own. Show her husband that she could do this for their new family, that he hadn't made a mistake in choosing her.
Luke shook his head. “Never.”
Fresh tears fell and Luke took both of her hands in his. “Let's go sit down in the living room. I've built a fire. I'll rub your feet and we'll just take a short break before we come back to this.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He shuffled her out of the kitchen and into their living room.
When they designed their house, one of the stipulations Lenny had was big windows. She wanted to be able to see the mountains all of the time, from any room in the house.
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