A Bond Never Broken

Chapter 33

October 20, 2015

Louisville, Kentucky

5:30 p.m

I twisted my beer bottle in my hands focusing on the fire that was ablaze before me, feeling lonelier than ever. Being away from Caroline and the boys this long was taking a toll on me and an almost child-like homesickness had begun to sink in over the past few days. That all made me feel kind of selfish because I knew Caroline was worse off, having to deal with the kids by herself and all. Even if I was going on a break for Thanksgiving and Christmas soon, even if I was looking forward to that and wishing I could speed up the clock, I wanted to go home to my family now.

Carter had a buddy of his who lived in Louisville and he had invited Carter, the rest of the band, and I to join in on a huge bonfire, with, of course, beer. I had obliged, knowing there was nothing better for me to do on this free day. I've been trying to enjoy it, I even played beer pong earlier in the evening to try and join in, but my mind was in a different place. My mind was with Caroline, lying in bed at home carrying on pointless conversations with the tv on as background noise.

I looked up as I felt Carter squeeze my shoulder. "Hey," I mumbled, taking a sip of my beer.

Carter sighed and took a seat next to me on the tailgate of my truck. There was a moment of silence between us before Carter spoke up.

"Caroline?" He said.

I just shook my head and smirked, still not making eye contact. "You always seem to know what's bothering me." I looked at him and he smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

"I've known you for what? Twenty-something years? I know what makes you tick and I know that look on your face... you're missing her."

I sighed, nodding my head. "Yah..." I took another sip of my beer, quenching my thirst before continuing. "I know I'll be going home soon, but I need to see her. Like, every fiber of my being needs her next to me right now, and I obviously can't have that."

"So, in other words, you're itching to whip that ring out and get down on one knee?" Carter said, nailing it right on the head.

I nodded my head. "Once again, you've spoken for my feelings."

"Well," Carter said, pulling out his phone, the screen illuminating his face. "It's 5:36 right now, and if you head out now, you can be home around nineish. Ten at the latest." He said, matter-of-factly.

I was confused at the moment. Was he suggesting that I skip the last show I have and go home? I couldn't do that... or could I?

I laughed. "Yah right, Kerri would kill me."

He laughed back. "She might be mad for a while, but, first of all, she can't kill you. Second of all, there's not much she can do since you're her employer."

I frowned. "What about my fans? I can't just ditch the next show."

Well, I could, but I'm not like that...

"Just play it off as a family emergency, your fans will understand."

I picked at the label on my beer bottle, realizing once again that I hated Bud Light, but I wasn't going to be rude.

"But..."

Carter held up his hand. "No buts. How bad do you want to see Caroline?"

"Real bad."

"Then get your ass out of here."

I looked at him and smiled. "Am I going to regret doing this?"

Carter smirked. "Are you?"

I hesitated before smiling. "Hell. No."

I hopped down from the tailgate and Carter followed suit, just luaghing.

"Go get em' tiger!" I heard Carter holler, but I was already pulling out.

As I was driving, the only thing I was focused on was getting home to see Caroline. Nothing else mattered. I was going to get home, pull her into my arms and never let her go. Ever. I was going to make her mine as soon as possible if that's the last thing I do. One thing's for sure, I lost her once, twice isn't an option whatsoever. I could never live without waking up next to her, seeing her blonde hair sprawled out on the pillow. Never being able to wrap her in my arms and place kisses on her lips or watch her play with our children out back would cause me to die a little inside. My heart would break piece by piece.

I glanced down at the clock on my dash. 8:45. Turns out, when you desperately need to see your woman, you can get places fairly quickly. Before I knew it, I had turned onto the road I lived on, entering the circle of houses in which mine was located. My house came into view and I could make out that the lights were on in the family room and kitchen. I slowly pulled into our drive, being careful to not make much noise when I shut my door. Heading up the walkway to the front door, I could feel my heart swell with love and anticipation. I softly knocked on the door and waited. Moments later, I could hear the lock click and the door swung open. There stood Caroline, in nothing but sweat pants and one of my Georgia Bulldog shirts, her hair thrown up in a messy bun, but I swear, she had never looked more beautiful.

"Luke.." She said quietly. "Why are you home so early?"

She looked so happy to see me yet confused.

"Baby, I missed you. I couldn't help my self." I whispered.

Her face lit up and a smile formed at the edges of her lips. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly. I breathed in the familiar scent of vanilla and nuzzled my scruff into her neck, knowing how much she liked that and how much it drove her crazy.

We pulled away from each other and I placed my hand on her cheek slowly caressing her jaw bone with my thumb.

"But why.." She said, still in amazement that I was home.

I placed my finger on her lips and shook my head. "Don't ask questions." I replaced my finger with my lips and a tingling sensation washed over me. My lips formed to hers perfectly like God designed them to find each other.

Since we were humans and needed air at some point, we pulled away, still very close. Her lips lingered on mine, and I felt like I was on cloud nine and never coming back.

"Where are my kids? I want to let them know Daddy's home." I said, looking over her shoulder to see if any of them had noticed I was back.

"At your mom's. She offered to take them since it was a Friday."

It's like our minds had one thought, and one thought only from then on. I smirked and looked at her lovingly. We went inside and locked the door. It was now a race to the bedroom, our clothes flying in every direction, landing who knows where. Our hands touching every inch of the other's body.

"I love you Caroline Cynthia Boyer, and I'll be damned if I let you go." I said.

"Luke, you're not going to lose me. Ever. And I can promise you that." She said.

I kissed her once more, putting every ounce of passion I had into it before pushing her down on the bed and becoming tangled in the sheets.

This was the woman I was going to marry.

Author's Note

*What do you think about Luke's decision to come home early?

*When will he decide to propose?

Okay, this is going to end at like 50 chapters. If you guys would like a sequel, comment!