Teresa Hill
Page 19
She hadn’t figured out what she was going to do with herself yet, but she seemed determined to make something of her life, and she was building a tentative relationship with Dani and had a pretty good one with Luke. He was still a little wary, but he was coming around. Elena had the kids two afternoons a week and two weekends a month, and Joe thought she was actually growing up finally, and for his kids’ sake, he was happy about that.
So he didn’t understand this at all.
“Nothing happened?” he asked.
“No. I talked to Elena. She was as surprised as I was.”
Joe leaned down and kissed his wife. “I’ll talk to him. We’ll figure this out.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t worry,” he said.
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
She brightened at that. “I love you, too.”
“I’ll talk to Luke and grab a quick shower.”
He went and kissed his daughter good-night, then went into Luke’s room. It was dark in there, Luke snuggled up in the far corner of the bed against the wall.
“Hey, buddy.” Joe ruffled his hair.
Luke rolled over and said, “Daddy?”
“Hi. Sorry I’m late. Had a little trouble with a busted water pipe. How was your day?”
“Fine.”
“Samantha told me you lost a tooth.”
“Uh-huh,” Luke mumbled.
“She said you might want to start collecting them again.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Why, Luke? I thought everything was okay. I thought you were happy.”
“I am. I just need somethin’.”
“Something you can’t get from me?”
“I dunno. I think it takes magic,” Luke whispered. “I figured maybe twenty-five teeth. That’s all.”
“Twenty-five, huh?” Joe puzzled over that. If a new mother took a hundred… “What do you want, Luke?”
“I want a brother,” Luke confided. “People get those sometimes, after they get married. My friend Jimmy’s gettin’ one, and all of us and Samantha’ve been married for almost as long as they have, and I just thought…well, I thought if I could get twenty-five baby teeth… Do you think that would be enough?”
Joe laughed. It bubbled out of him, a joyous sound that often echoed through their house, which he’d finished just last month. There was so much joy in their house. He couldn’t believe how his entire life had been turned around so quickly.
“Luke,” he said, “I’ll tell you what. You don’t need the teeth for this one. I’ll take care of it.”
“You will?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Hey, I found you a new mother, didn’t I?”
“No, Daddy, I found her. Don’t you remember? She came to my school, and I knew right away she was magic, and she is.”
“You still think so?”
“Of course,” Luke said, no hesitation what-so ever.
“You’re right,” Joe agreed. “She is magic. No more teeth, okay? No pulling anybody else’s. No buying them out of anyone’s mouth.”
“Okay.”
“Good night.”
Samantha heard Joe laughing as he came down the hall to their bedroom. So it couldn’t be that bad. She’d gotten so scared when she realized what Luke was doing, because she wanted him to be happy, and she thought he was. But Joe had taught her a lot about love and faith and strength. She loved him, had absolute faith in him, and their relationship was stronger than any she’d ever known. They could get through anything, she believed.
So this was one more little bump in the road. Whatever was wrong with Luke, they’d deal with it.
“Well?” she said as Joe came in, whistling.
“Just a second,” he said. “I’m filthy, and I’ve got to have a shower.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now.”
“What about Luke?”
“I’m working on it,” Joe said mysteriously.
She frowned. Joe climbed into bed with her a few minutes later. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, and she kissed him back.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she said when he finally lifted his head.
“Nope, not a thing.”
“Luke,” she reminded him. “What’s wrong with Luke?”
“It’s all right, sweetheart. He just wants a brother, and I told him I know how to get us one of those.”
Samantha’s eyes lit up and happiness flowed through her. She pulled Joe closer and murmured, “Well, what are we waiting for?”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0874-2
LUKE’S WISH
Copyright © 2011 by Teresa Hill
Originally published as MAGIC IN A JELLY JAR © 2001 by Teresa Hill
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