Start Again

Part 4

Luke sat on the bed in his room at his father's house, packing his backpack to go home. Lindsey was right beside him, offering to help, but Luke insisted that he was a big boy and he could do it himself. Lindsey thought, Stevie was going to be horrified, when she saw everything just thrown together. She was definitely the stricter parent, but Stevie had never fought Lindsey about the lack of discipline on his side. He didn't get to be with his son every day, he wasn't going to scold and yell at Luke for just anything. 

"I'm ready." Luke announced, pressing his backpack with his knee for it to stay together long enough to zip it up. 

"Alright." Lindsey nodded, getting up on his feet. "Lets go, say goodbye to your brother and sisters."

The four children had no problems with each other. They were too little to understand the complexity of this arrangement. Whenever Luke spent time at the Buckinghams', his younger siblings were always happy to see him. On the other hand, Kristen was a different story. She had never voiced it, but she often thought about it. She realized that Luke was innocent, she knew, that the only people to blame were Stevie and Lindsey. Fleetwood Mac were on tour, the Buckingham Nicks affair was going strong, Kristen had no idea. She also didn't know about the promises Lindsey had made, how he swore, he was going to end things with his girlfriend once he came home. Once the tour was over and when Lindsey returned, he knew, his plan wasn't going to be realized. He had his current 20-something-year-old girlfriend and his ex both pregnant. Even though Kristen constantly told herself that she won, Stevie was still the one, who gave Lindsey a child first. She doubted that even Lindsey thought about it, but she did. She had never stopped. It was difficult to ignore, when she saw that special bond between Lindsey and Luke every time they were together.

"Don't be late." Kristen spoke up from the kitchen, when she heard footsteps. "I'm making dinner."

"Don't start." Lindsey sighed, his fist clenched. 

"Start what?" Kristen raised her voice, coming towards Lindsey, who stood in the doorway. "I just told you, I'm making dinner for you and your family. I expect you to be back in time to sit down with us."

There was a lot on Lindsey's mind, but he chose to keep his mouth shut and avoid a fight. Luke was standing right beside him, he didn't need to hear any of it. 

Slamming the front door shut, Lindsey walked to his car and put Luke's backpack in the backseat, he then got in behind the wheel and took a couple of calming breaths. He didn't know what it was, but Kristen had been driving him crazy lately and he wasn't sure yet what to do about it.

Lindsey turned on the radio once they were out of the driveway and on the road. It had to be some classic rock station as out of all the songs in the world, a Fleetwood Mac one started playing. Normally, he would have switched, he'd played and heard Go Your Own Way enough times over the years, but Luke began humming then singing along. Even if the boy was messing up words and he had no clue, what the meaning behind the song was, Lindsey felt the tension leave his body as he looked in the rearview mirror at his son and smiled. He doubted, he had ever played any of his music to Luke, Kristen didn't enjoy hearing it at home much, which meant that Stevie was educating their son and he couldn't be happier.

"Mom!" Luke beamed and threw his arms around Stevie as soon as she opened the door to let them in. 

"Hey!" She greeted him just as cheerfully, hugging him back. "I've missed you so much! Did you have fun with your dad?"

"Yeah." Luke nodded, now face to face with his mother as she got down to his level. Not that she needed to bend that low. "We watched movies and ate lots of ice cream! And dad grilled stuff!"

"Oh?" Stevie chuckled, straightening up, she lifted her eyes up at Lindsey and smiled. "That does sound like fun. Why don't you go put your things away, honey?" 

Luke didn't argue and ran up the stairs, leaving his parents alone. Looking back over her shoulder, Stevie made sure that he was out of the earshot, when she turned to Lindsey, raising an eyebrow.

"Lots of ice cream, huh?" 

"Guilty." Lindsey shrugged, laughing lightly. "I can't say no to him."

"I struggle with it every day." Stevie smiled. "Are you in a rush? Would you like to come in?"

Don't be late, Kristine's words echoed. "Sure." Lindsey nodded, following Stevie into the house.