Is this love?

Chapter 37

"I'm kinda nervous," I say, as we pull up to the duke farm.

The general is still parked in the front of the house, and yes its still Orange. Uncle jesses pickup is parked opposite the general, leaving a perfect gap for Daisys jeep. A Blue car was parked a small distance away from the house, and by the looks of it, the occupants of the car are none other than Bo, and a beautiful girl. I believe her name is Lily, or Lila, or maybe Lola. I don't know, its one of those three. Daisy told me the other day, but I've forgotten due to my terrible memory when it comes to peoples names.

"Don't be," Luke says, leaning over and kissing my forehead.

"But I haven't actually seen them in 3 years. What if they hate me now for leaving?" I say, starting to feel a little panicked.

"Ashley," Luke begins, letting out the worlds smallest sigh. "They don't hate you and you know it. If anything they'll love you even more now that you're back."

"I hope so," I say, as the fear increases.

We have just pulled up to the house, and I'm completely and utterly terrified. What if they really do hate me? After all, I did leave after being back for a small period of time, and all I left were two letters to the guys.

Luke gets out, then helps me out. I undo Mels carseat, and balanced her on my hip, feeling my muscles relax as I did so. She leans her head on my shoulder and yawns. I gently kiss her forehead as we enter the house.

"ASHLEY!" Uncle Jesse yells and about plows me over, until he spots Mel. "Who do we have here?"

"Uncle Jesse met Mel, my daughter," I say, my heart racing, worrying about what he's going to say.

His eyebrows pull together and he looks between Luke and Mel. "She looks like Luke."

At the sound of his name, Mel reaches for her father, whining. "DADDY!"

He takes her and balances her in his hip. Terror floods through me with the absence of my daughter, but I try my best to ignore it, since shes happy with her father, and turn my attention back to Uncle Jesse. He seems to be processing the interaction between Luke and Mel.

My hands begin to tremble as I wait for his reaction. His eyes are on Mel. I turn my attention back to her, and smile at the sight before me. Mel is resting her head on Lukes shoulder, and when I look, Luke places a gentle kiss on her head.

Uncle Jesse clears his throat, pulling my attention back to him, the knot in my stomach returning. "Luke."

Luke looks up. "Yeah?"

"She's your....?"

Luke nods, and Mel clutches his shirt tighter, scared that she's going to be forced away from him. Uncle Jesse steps forward and holds his arms put for her. She watches him closely, then releases her grip on Luke and leans out toward uncle Jesse. He pulls her close to him. Shes hesitant about this, but her eyes show her curiosity. Luke wraps his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. I lean into him, my muscles relaxing once again. 

Allie steps forward to take Mel and put her down for her nap. Mel instantly reaches for her. Allie takes Mel, balances her on her hip, and heads out the door, shooting me a 'call me if you need me' look. I nod once and she leaves, taking my baby with her.

"So," uncle Jesse begins. "I was going to scold you, Ashley, for not once writing to tell us that you had a daughter. But after holding her, however briefly it was, I think I understand." He pauses for a moment, and I'm unsure whether to say something or not. I choose the later, giving uncle Jesse some time to gather his thoughts. "At first I was under the impression that she was a love child, but after learning that Luke is her father, I know she's not a love child. She's a child who has two parents who love her unconditionally. Although, what I don't understand is when did you find the time to...ya know...have sex?"

I shuffle uncomfortably. This is not the respondes I was expecting. Yes I was expecting the 'when did you find time to conceive her' but I wasn't expecting him to phrase it the way he did.

Luke and I share a look, and come to a silent agreement. We will tell him the truth, rather than make something up. Besides, after all uncle Jesse has done for us, he deserves to know the truth.

"Well, it happened like the third night I was here. Yes it was an accident, obviously, but she is beautiful and one of the best things that has ever happened to me," I answer, focusing my attention back on uncle Jesse, so he knows I'm not lying.

He nods. "She is beautiful, I'll give you that. But she was no accident."

I frown in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You two loved each other enough to reveal yourselves in that way, and thus your daughter was created. And even after being apart for 3 years, that love is still strong. And that leads us to a very important question." He replies, his mouth turning up into a smile.

"Which would be?" Luke asks, with a hint of knowing in his voice, almost like he knows what the questions going to be.

"When are you two going to get married?"

Luke and I share a look. "How about next month?"

"Sounds good to me," I answer, turning my attention back to uncle Jesse, who looks rather shocked. "He asked me to marry him back at the Boars nest."

"Really?" Uncle Jesse asks, directing his question to Luke.

"Yup," Luke answers, turning my head and kissing me, right in front of uncle Jesse.

The kiss didn't last as long as I wanted it too, but hey, it was better than nothing.

A/N
OMG THAT TOOK SOO LONG TO WRITE. I'M SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY LOVES.
Ok, so I was going to make this the very last chapter, then I realized, this would be a terrible ending to the book, I mean where's Bos reaction to Mel?
Oh and the pic is of Mel. :) thanks for reading:) I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible.
I love you guys, you're awesome.
-JenHoranCliffordDuke