Eeper of the Stars

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and it was created solely by me as the author. Any similarities to characters, businesses, places, or things are all happenstance, though my appreciation to those who have

inspired

my works is immense.

Author's Note:

This is the third part of many to come in a series I believe many of you will (or already have!) come to love. It's a slow buildup into the hot and heavy scenes, but my stories are STORIES, so many details make for fun, exciting, and interesting plot lines. Please remain calm in awaiting the next installment, but I assure you, it'll be worth it. Questions and comments are welcome. Please take the time to rate this story also. I hope everyone will be kind.

Keeper of the Stars - part 3

Monday's food frenzy and all the planning for the future meals went better than Savannah had expected. All leftovers seemed to be able to be used with another meal, and very little had to be thrown out. Miša was a master at utilizing all the food. All the remaining food to be ordered was able to be purchased from her supplier as well, especially with the farm's tax ID number. They had created a list of the foods and beverages required all the way up through the wedding banquet, and it was all ordered by the end of the day to arrive over the course of four delivery dates, so that it could all come as fresh as possible.

Savannah also managed to get onto her website and wrote an update sharing about the events coming up and the fact that she'd be closed to orders for three weeks. She didn't want to take any chances during the week before the wedding, and of course, she'd be off during her whole honeymoon.

The wedding meeting went well also. All the details were shared from the most obvious to brand new information. Everyone had a say in any aspect, but the final decisions all came down to Luke and Savannah.

The wedding party was made up of Andy and Sara as Best Man and Maid of Honor, Max and Sam who were to be listed as the Best Man and Maid of Honor also, and James and Mary Elizabeth were listed as Groomsman and Bridesmaid. All of them were going to be sitting up at the main table along with Ana who would be sitting with Andy.

"We won't be discussing what everyone is wearing, but everyone needs to let me know if they need anything for any part of their clothing from hat down to socks and underwear. I will not be running around fixing problems that morning if I can help it. I'd like to relax and enjoy the day as well. So, everyone here, make sure

tonight

that you have what you'll need that day." Lori paused and then smiled. "That includes you too, young man," she stated sternly, but in a joking manner. Savannah looked up to find Jacob, Henry's brother, walking toward Lori to give her a hug.

"Hey, Aunt Lori," Jacob greeted her as he hugged her. "Sorry to interrupt, but I heard there was talk of someone needing to be taken to the church for something? Mom wanted me to offer to take her because Savannah is so busy with things. I was headed that way anyway."

"I mentioned wanting to see the church since I was planning to do the decorations, but I didn't have to go right now," Sara informed him quietly and raised her hand. And then time kinda slowed down. Jacob looked over at her as Sara slowly stood up. "But I

can

go with him now, if it's OK with you. Lori?" She hadn't taken her eyes off him from the time he walked in.

"Um, sure, honey," Lori responded and smiled at her knowingly. "Jacob, this is Sara. Sara, this is..."

"Jacob," Sara answered without a beat. She took his arm and followed him out of the barn where they were meeting. Everyone either had a knowing smile or a look of shock on their faces.

"Whoa," Ana sighed as she sat next to Savannah. "What is it with this family? Did I look like that when I looked at Andy?"

"Yes," Luke, Max, Mike, Lori, and even James answered immediately.

Savannah, who wore one of the smiling faces, looked over at Sam. She had one of the shocked faces. Savannah took the opportunity to wink at her friend and then slowly looked over at Luke. He too had a shocked look. She patted his leg and smiled wider.

"Well, then, I guess we had better get back to business," Lori announced and smiled at Savannah as she straightened up her papers. "We know that Sara is decorating the church, so we'll let her figure out how many pews get the flower decorations and all that."

"The flowers will be here and put in either the fridge at the main house for the ladies or, for the men, yours will be in the fridge at Luke's house. Make sure you get that taken care of. Mike, I am going to need you to ensure they are all wearing them. Luke will know who gets what." Savannah laughed out loud and then patted his leg when Luke dropped his papers on the table.

"The food for the reception," Lori announced, "will be prepared and cooked entirely by Savannah and Miša, and Miša will also be making sure we have it all on the table by dinnertime. That morning at 9:30am sharp, ladies, we are eating brunch in the barn. Eat well because you won't be eating a meal again until dinner, but not too much that you get sick." She then pointed at Tabi who had gotten sick the last time she was told to fill up. "Guys, you'll eat at 10am. Nicholas will be at the women's brunch to keep an eye out and has agreed to go and get you boys when the coast is clear."

"Boys?" James inquired. "We're all of age, Ma," he chastised. "You can admit that we're all men."

"Fine," Lori told him and rolled her eyes. "Nicholas will come get you

men

when the coast is clear." She gave him a sarcastic look and then smiled as she looked over her notes again.

"Much of the rest is not important to share, per se," Lori clarified. "Now, are there any questions?"

"Will there be snacks for guests after the ceremony?" James asked and looked over at Savannah.

"Yes, Savannah and I spoke about this, and we have a spread which will include veggies, fruit, cheese and crackers, and chips and dip," Miša shared. "The non-alcoholic drinks will be available right away because we're going to try to keep the alcohol in the back until dinnertime. That will make it so that certain heavier drinkers get fed and hydrated

before

they decide to dive into the beer supply. I hear there was more than just a cake smash and chase at the last wedding?"

"Yeah, we'll keep an eye on that issue as well," Lori noted and smiled. "Thank you for that. I think that will make things less of an issue. Good idea about feeding the guests in between the ceremony and dinner. I forget that it's not just about meals. I was only thinking about pictures and things we had to do. OK, anything else?"

"I think we're good," Luke told them and then stood up and extended his hand out to Savannah to have her stand with him. "We just want to say thank you to everyone here for making this whole experience so special for us. We are honored to have each and every one of you joining us along this journey. And we are thrilled to be able to share it with all of you."

"Here, here!" Mike cheered and lifted his bottle of root beer in the air. The rest of the table members lifted their water or soda bottles and cheered after him.

"Meeting adjourned," Lori announced and stood up to walk over to talk to Miša.

Savannah turned to look at Luke. "Headed back to work?" she asked him and rubbed his back.

"Yep," he sighed and put his arm around her shoulder. "But I'll see you tonight, right? You promised me something but won't tell me what."

"Yes, I'll be there," Savannah promised. "I'll be at my place until I see you walk over. Will you tap on my door to let me know?"

"Sure, sweetheart," Luke told her and then kissed the side of her forehead. "Love you."

"Be careful," she requested as she usually did when he was about to head out. "Love you."

She and Miša fell into step cleaning up the food which had been served for dinner that night and preparing the dishes which could be made and chilled for the following day's meals. They were finished with nearly everything in about an hour after which Miša waved her off to go back to her place promising to finish up.

As Savannah worked on a few card orders which were on her to-do list, she found herself getting tired more quickly than she had thought. She had a feeling the early wake-up calls were going to take some getting used to.

"Savannah," Luke whispered as he moved her hair to kiss the side of her forehead. "Honey, why don't you go up to bed?" Savannah moaned and then sat up as she realized where she was. She had fallen asleep working on the cards.

"No, I'm fine," she told him almost instinctively. "Go take a shower. I'll be there when you're done."

"Alright," he agreed and left her once he saw that she was up and moving.

"Knock, knock!" Savannah announced as she walked into the house. "Boys, I hope you're covered up!" She walked up the stairs and touched the picture of Luke and her as she often did when she walked up the steps. She rounded the corner and walked into Luke's room, closing the door as she did so. Luke was just coming out of the bathroom in his shorts.

"Hi," he greeted her as he continued drying his hair. "You're tired, sweetheart. You know you don't have to do this," he reminded her and shook his head as she began to object.

"No, I want to see you each night," she told him and pointed to the bed as she took his towel to go and hang for him. "I want to give you this." She took a seat next to him and began massaging his neck, shoulders, and then the full extent of his back. He moaned a little as she began, and then let out little sighs as she worked his muscles. When she kissed his back, he didn't respond with any movement or noise. She was pretty sure he'd fallen asleep. It was what she'd hoped her treatment would do. That, and to help him have a good night of sleep. She kissed him once more on the side of his forehead and covered him up.

"Good night, 'boys,'" she teased knowing they, especially James, preferred to be called "men."

"Night, Vanna," Max responded and waved as he sat up on the bed. "Thanks for all the food today. You did a great job."

"Thanks, Max," she told him and smiled as she stood on the stairs where she could see him. "I'm happy for you two, you know," she added and nodded. "I hope everything turns out as you both want it to."

He looked surprised and then softened his face to a knowing smile. "Thanks. Uh, we just didn't know how to tell you."

"No words necessary. She's happy. You're happy. Two of my favorite people are happy together. I'm happy." She smiled as she thought about future possibilities. "Night."

Once Savannah was back in her little place, she stripped of her shirt and pants and fell into bed, thankful to have just enough energy to make sure she had her alarm set before falling asleep.

"Good morning, beautiful," Luke whispered very early in the morning. Savannah opened her eyes and saw that it was still dark.

"Luke? What's up?"

"I just came to thank you for the back rub last night and to apologize for falling asleep," Luke whispered. "I slept really well, and I felt bad when I realized I did that to you."

"Oh, Luke, no," Savannah told him as she covered her forehead with her forearm. "I did that on purpose. I was hoping it would relax you and help you fall asleep and sleep well. Mission accomplished," she said with a faint smile and put her hand on his face.

"Alright, go back to sleep, sweetheart. I love you," Luke told her and kissed her forehead. He didn't have to ask twice.

For the next week, everything for Savannah ran like a well-oiled machine. Meals were out in great time, card orders came in, and she was either able to whip them up and get them out or postpone a couple to wait to be handled and delivered after her time off. Back rubs ended each night leaving him relaxed and sleeping and Savannah feeling like she was helping. Luke was handling Season like a champ, and the morale on the farm was up just like Savannah had guessed it would be.

On Sunday morning, Luke collected Savannah for the early Mass. As they drove, Savannah was quiet and thankful that Miša had already arranged to handle breakfast for that day because she didn't attend church. "The kitchen is my church," Meesh had claimed and told Savannah she'd take some prayers though if she wanted to offer some up for the upcoming week and their meal prep. "Hopefully everything goes as smoothly as it did last week!"

"I got it today," Savannah told Luke quietly as they drove to the church. "So, it'll be gone by Friday at the latest, thankfully."

"Good," Luke told her and took her hand. "I told you not to worry about it. Perfect timing, just like our story. You OK? You seem down."

"I feel kinda drained," she admitted. "First day thing, I'm sure," she told him as if to brush it off. "I'm sure by tomorrow, I'll be back to my normal self. Only six days now. I can't believe it."

As they sat at Mass, Savannah prayed for the upcoming week, the safety of all the workers, in thanksgiving for many things including Luke, his family, their upcoming wedding, Sam, Sara, and Miša, and for God's great love, and for their marriage to be blessed. All else in her mind was a jumble of thoughts. She felt a little dizzy, but she again contributed that to the first day of her period.

When they got to the barn, she wasn't surprised to find it loaded with workers, family members, and a full spread of breakfast foods. Miša had taken the opportunity to show her talents, and

oh

, how she shined! Savannah walked over to her and nudged Miša's hip with hers.

"No surprise, superstar," Savannah acknowledged her and smiled. "Naturally, you've outdone yourself."

"You're not mad, are you? No one knows that I did it all," Miša promised. "They just assume we worked together on it as usual."

"Well, that needs to change!" Savannah declared. Before Meesh could catch her, Savannah called attention to everyone in the barn. Ana whistled which silenced them quickly. "Thank you, Ana," Savannah told her and nodded in her direction. "Anyway," Savannah yelled so they all could hear her, "I just want to give my deepest appreciation to my dear friend without whom these meals you've been having would have been anywhere near as wonderful. And this morning's entire breakfast has been the work of my culinary genius friend and honorary third sister, Miša! Can we please give her some recognition?"

The group did not disappoint Savannah with her desire to recognize her friend. The cheers which erupted were loud and country strong. Savannah turned and blew her a kiss to which Miša gave her a less than friendly gesture in return. Thankfully only Savannah had seen it. It only made Savannah's smile bigger.

And when she had called her a third sister, she had given her perhaps the biggest compliment of them all. Miša had always been the unofficial fourth musketeer in their little group. The "esses" loved Miša, but because Miša was often unable to join them due to her work and culinary schedules, she missed out on a lot. When they could be together, they bonded very well. Announcing that she was so much more than just a friend from college surely meant more to Miša than she would ever share with Savannah.

Before long, Savannah had eaten and began feeling more like herself, just as she had hoped. In fact, after lunch, she helped clean up and prepared the food for dinner so that all they had to do was bake the lasagnas and Texas toast. The rest was just going to need to be uncovered and put in the ice baths.

Max was leading Sam and Sara over to the shed. She'd heard them talking about taking the quads out that afternoon. As if on cue, Jacob pulled up in his truck. When he got out, he walked over to Savannah to say hello.

"Hi, Jacob," Savannah greeted him and gave him a quick hug. "How's it going?" They both knew what she was asking.

"Really good," he answered and unintentionally smiled much more than he had meant to. "Savannah, may I have permission to speak freely?"

"Absolutely," she responded and laughed. "I've been waiting for that from

one

of you four for a while now. Just because I'm marrying Luke this Saturday doesn't mean I don't want to hear the details of what's going on in the lives of my best friends, brother, and cousin."

"I think I fell in love with her the day I met her," Jacob told her. "Was it like that for you guys? I always thought Henry was being dramatic when he told us that it was like that for him, but now that I'm with her, I never want to be away from her."

"You're not crazy," Savannah assured him. "It was exactly like that. I can't explain it. Luke can't either. Ana and Andy say we're like a younger version of them, which has been awesome because they've been like our sex education teachers along this journey. Just an FYI, reach out to Henry and Bella. Every couple is different, but I know for a fact Sara hasn't had someone to guide her the

right

way, meaning with real discussions and real information. Not the crap you get in school. And I have a feeling Sara and Bella will become the best of friends just the way Ana and I have."

"Thanks, Savannah," Jacob told her and waved at the group by the quads. "Oh, looks like they're waiting for me. Talk to you later, OK?"

"You bet, Jacob," Savannah told him and waved at the group. They were only taking two quads out. How cute. Savannah smiled to herself and walked to her little place. She felt an itch to go running. She just needed to release some of that adrenaline. Instead, she sat at her work desk and sorted out the cards which needed to be made. If she really focused, she could get a few more orders out before she decided to call it quits with the cardmaking until after the honeymoon.

Before long, she was well into her work. She turned on her music and got into a grove. She'd neglected to look at the time which turned out to be a mistake. She hadn't set an alarm, so she not only worked through cooking time, but also through the entire dinner hour. She was bummed that she'd missed Luke, but she knew she would see him when he got back, and then it would be back rub time.

When she finally stopped working and had cleaned up, she checked her phone and rolled her eyes. She headed to the barn and found everything cleaned up from dinner, and breakfast was prepped for an easy morning. Savannah wrote a note to Miša hoping it would make her laugh in the morning, since she knew Miša would be there before she got up.

"Hey Meesh,

Sorry I flaked on dinner - I'm always in your way anyway...

I'll make it up to you! Maybe I'll oversleep so you can handle breakfast too! Haha! J/K - love you! Vanna"

That night, Luke mentioned that he had been looking forward to seeing her at dinner but noticed that she had been well into her work, so he had let her be. He mentioned that Miša had teased him about his bride ditching her. Savannah told him that she knew Miša could take care of the meal, and if she had really needed her, Miša would have come and gotten her. Either way, she told him about the note she'd left for her and said it would all be fine.

As she got ready to give him his back rub for the night, once he was showered of course, he requested that they sat and talked a little beforehand since it was earlier than usual. He stood before her, and when she asked what he wanted to talk about, he had nothing, and that's when the make out session began. About 25 minutes later, and after a lot of heavy breathing, they finally separated themselves, and he promised he'd keep his hands to himself while she worked his muscles.

When she was done, she kissed his shoulders as she had each night before and left him peacefully asleep as usual. She smiled as she turned out his light and left the room.