Star Wars. Suns Among Stars Trilogy, Book One: A Man Among Boys

Chapter Six

Chapter Six:

When Luke stepped from the speeder at the Lars's homestead, he sucked in a breath, praying that Owen didn't lay into him for being away for something other than school. He moved away from the speeder, but a call from Corsair stopped him.

"Luke."

He froze, feeling like a child who'd just been caught trying to sneak a cookie. He heard the man get out of the speeder and stand beside him.

"Yes sir?" Luke asked quietly.

"I don't appreciate you lying to me."

Luke turned red, and turned his head. "What do you mean, Sir?"

Corsair shifted beside him, and then grabbed his chin with a hand and made Luke look at him. Luke swallowed fearfully, ready for another fist to his face.

Corsair saw this and did a double-take, releasing Luke as though he'd been stung.

"Lands' sakes, Boy, did you think I was going to strike you?" Corsair asked in disbelief.

Luke dropped his gaze again, and nodded once.

You've already done it twice, remember? Luke thought. Though I admit I deserved those ones.

There was a tense silence in which Luke wished he could just climb into the nearest hole.

"Owen's not beating you is he?" Corsair asked softly when the moment grew too lengthy for them both.

Luke's head shot up. "No, Sir! Of course not!"

Corsair studied Luke for another long period, during which he forced himself not to squirm. Then the older man glanced at the speeder, where Venussia was fiddling with her purse.

He took Luke's arm and walked him out of earshot before facing him head-on. "Luke, is there anything you want to tell me about that night you and Venussia slept together?"

Luke glanced furtively at the speeder, catching sight of the girl who'd seduced, and then betrayed him entirely. The offer had a tempting ring to it, and the more he thought on it in those long seconds, the more it appealed to him.

But then he recalled the life within that same girl... a life that was as much Luke's as it was Venussia's. And though he hated all the negative attention he'd been getting, Luke did not want to run the risk of endangering his daughter any.

And if Corsair decided to pack up his family and move back to Fondor, Luke would never lay eyes on his little one in the flesh.

So with a shake of his head, Luke turned down the offer. "No sir."

Corsair lifted a brow, but Luke remained silent.

"Very well," the older man said. "And I am a little offended that you think I didn't notice you slip back inside that exam room. I am not that thick, Luke."

Luke again blushed, and Corsair continued. "If you had wanted a holo of the baby, all you had to do was ask while we were in the room."

Luke finally met the man's green gaze, unable to hide his shock. "Y-you mean you don't mind?"

Corsair smiled softly, adding to Luke's astonishment. "Luke, I am a father: I am far from blind. I did not miss the way you couldn't take your eyes off the growing child."

Luke placed a hand to the pocket that housed his baby's holo. "I didn't think you'd approve."

"I may not like the way this happened, Luke," Corsair said. "But it did, and whether I like it or not, you are that child's father. And as a father myself, I know what you are going through. It's truly a humbling experience to watch your child grow up in the womb, and to know that you created that, and now are responsible for her well-being."