Right Where I Need to Be

"It has meat, peas, onions, and potatoes on top. If you don't like it, I can make you something else." Kay said, frowning as she placed her own fork back down.

"Good thing you didn't tell her it was road kill, that would have went over really well." Luke said, flashing her a smirk.

Brooke coughed a bit, covering the sound of her stomach lurching once again at the comment Luke made. Calming herself, she looked to Kay and smiled. "It's fine. I'm sure it tastes...great."

She leaned forward and scooped some onto her plate. It smelled alright, but the sight of it... She just prayed it tasted good, because she really needed her aunt and uncle on her side, and how good would it look for her if she hated their cooking? With a smile, she followed everyone else's lead, and began to eat. It wasn't too bad, thankfully, but she still couldn't shake the feeling of disgust in the pit of her stomach.

Luke wanted to laugh, but thankfully kept his face straight as he continued to eat. To say this was one of the oddest dinners he had ever experienced. He didn't even know what to think of this girl, she was gorgeous, that was obvious. But he didn't think he had ever met anyone that was so self centered, and just downright spoiled.

"So, I'm going to need to go into town tomorrow to get some feed. Is there anything else you can think we'll need?" he asked, looking towards Thomas.

Thomas considered Luke's question for a moment. "I think we're good for right now."

"Oh, maybe you can take Brooke along!" Kay broke in, smiling excitedly. Brooke looked to her aunt, startled a bit by the suggestion, but said nothing.

"That's a great idea. You can help her to get a lay of the land, Luke; maybe show her around town a bit. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so, I'm sure. Would you be up for that, Brookie?"

Brooke cleared her throat, wearing a tight smile. "Of course, uncle Thomas. Anything for you."

Luke nodded, sending Brooke a smirk. "I'm sure it will be loads of fun, I know she really loved the truck today."

Brooke laughed, playing along. "He's right. It was quite the trip." She accentuated her words with a hard kick to Luke's shin under the table. Feeling accomplished for the night, she looked to her elders. "May I be excused?"

"Oh, 'course you can. You're probably still tired from your trip." Thomas said, nodding.

"We'll see you in the morning, hun. If there is anything you need, Tom and I are just down the hall." Kay said, standing up and offering the blonde a hug.

"Goodnight, Brooklyn." Luke said, swallowing back the sting of her kick. Luckily for him, she hadn't managed to kick him too awful hard.

"Goodnight, everyone!" Brooke said, cheerful as ever, and proceeded to skip off toward the stairs and up to her room. At least, for the time being, she got a bit of payback. Tomorrow, however, was a different story.

She decided to take a quick shower to wash the day off of her. When she was done and returned to her room, she checked the status of her phone service. Seeing there was no change, she sighed. She'd have to talk to Kay and Thomas about that the following day, because there was just no possible way she could make it without interacting with those back home.

Home. Brooke suddenly wondered what all her friends were doing in that moment, what her parents were doing. The thought alone brought tears to her eyes, and before she knew it, she was sobbing into her hands.

After excuses himself from the dinner table shortly after Brooke had, Luke had headed back towards the guest house. As he opened the door, he happened to glance back at the main house. As he caught sight of Brooke through her window. What surprised him the most, was the fact that she was obviously sobbing.

Despite all the snotty things she'd down and said that day, he couldn't help but frown. This probably was a major culture shock for her. With a sigh, he turned back and headed into his house. Maybe he shouldn't stoop to her level. Maybe he should actually try to be nice.

Brooke fell asleep not too long after her little crying fit, and planned to sleep in the next day. Her aunt and uncle, however, had other plans. They were up at the crack of dawn, and Kay was barging into her niece's room at about 7:00.

"Rise and shine, darlin'!" Kay said, walking over to the window to open the curtains. The sun hit Brooke's face and she groaned. "Come on, Brookie. We let you sleep a little bit longer since it was your first night here, but you need to come down and eat something so you can get ready to go to town with Luke."

"What time is it?" Brooke mumbled.

"Oh, about 7."

Brooke's eyes flew open. "You call that sleeping longer?"

"Well yeah. Thomas and I were up at about 6. So, come on, little lady. Get up and get ready and breakfast will be waiting for you downstairs. Up and at 'em!"

Kay pranced out of the room, and Brooke was left laying in her bed, dumbfounded.

Luke rode his horse to the edge of the barn. He quickly dismounted and started untacking the mare. He's just come from round the mountain, checking on the cows to see how they were doing. After he'd finished, he turned his horse out into the paddock to let her run around some before putting her back into her stall.

He then put his tack into the tackroom, and headed towards the main house.

"Good morning Kay," he said, nodding in her direction when he stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning Luke. Thomas should be here shortly, he is in the office getting a payment ready for the feed store."

Luke nodded, before grabbing the plates and carrying them to the table. He then headed past the stairs towards the office.

After washing her face and doing her best to look presentable—with a bit of eyeliner and mascara—Brooke moped downstairs and sat down at the table.

"Want some coffee, dear?" Kay called from the kitchen.

"Oh, my God, yes," Brooke quickly replied.

Kay laughed a bit, and appeared in the room holding the coffee pot and a cup. She poured the steaming liquid and set a few things of sugar and creamer down.

After getting the debit card from Thomas, as well as a list for a few other things, Luke headed back towards the dining room. He was surprised to find Brooke sitting there, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"You should probably add a bit more creamer...Thomas made the coffee this morning, and it's about two seconds away from being strong enough to walk on it's own." he said quietly. Lifting his own cup to his lips.

Brooke looked up, a bit surprised to hear Luke addressing her, but quickly recovered. "Sheesh, exaggerate much? I'm sure it's not that bad. And besides, I have to watch my figure."

With that, she pushed the cream and sugar aside and proceeded to take a sip of her coffee. As soon as it hit her taste buds, she cringed, and quickly put the steaming drink back down to add more flavoring.

Luke snorted, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Not to say I told you so....but I did." he said, smirking slightly. Why this girl had to make such a big deal out of everything, he didn't know, but he was quickly growing to love getting a rise out of her. And it was so easy to do.

Eyes blazing, Brooke looked to the other again and flashed a tight smile. "Well, how noble of you. By the way, how's that shin doing?"

She quickly lifted her foot and gave him another swift kick under the table. Giggling, she stood, and made a dash for the kitchen to see if Kay needed a hand.

Luke just chuckled, shaking his head. He'd been kicked worse by foal before, and while his leg smarted a bit, it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.

---

After breakfast, Luke carried his plate to the sink and rinsed if off before placing it into the dishwasher. He the poked his head back into the dining room. "How close to being ready are you?" He asked, wondering if she was going to make him wait forever while she got ready. She already had what appeared to be eyeliner or something on, but he wouldn't put it past her to have to change it before they left, or something.

Brooke smiled to herself, before turning to look at Luke. "Well, I actually have to shower and do my hair and redo my makeup. Give me an hour or so, okay?"

With that, Brooke stood from the table and walked toward the stairs. She couldn't help but giggle as she headed up to her room. She didn't really have to do anything besides grab her shoes, but it didn't hurt to make Luke sweat for a few minutes.

Luke sighed, and headed out towards the front of the house. He plopped down on the top step. He leaned against the railing, wondering how long it would be until she was ready to go.

Brooke changed into a cuter top, some shorts, and finished off with a pair of flip flops. Checking herself in the mirror one more time, she exited her room and headed downstairs again. After spotting Luke out front, she hollered a goodbye to her aunt and uncle, and went out the door.

"You ready to go?" she said, jumping from the top step to land in front of him, smirking all the while.