Eeper of the Stars Pt 5

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 fifth part of many to come in a series I believe many of you have come to love. Please keep in mind that 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 and remember to FOLLOW my page also! I hope everyone will be kind.

Keeper of the Stars - part 5

About 10 months later

"Luke! Don't forget to pack our swimsuits," Savannah called to him as she put their toiletries together in a smaller bag.

"Got it, sweetheart," Luke assured her. "Make sure we have everything, honey. We're leaving immediately after Mass, that is, unless you realize you forgot something."

"One time, Luke. One time," Savannah argued. They'd made plans to go to Savannah's parents place last December to spend the day with them after Mass, and

during

Mass, she realized she'd forgotten their Christmas presents.

Doing his best to cover his error, Luke walked up to her and took her hand. "I was only teasing, Van. And if you forget something, we'll just stop back here before heading up there. We have time before we have to check-in. I'm hoping it stays warm enough to swim in the lazy river each day. It'll be nice to be there again. I have one amazing memory from there which keeps me company every day."

"I'm thrilled to be part of that memory," Savannah replied and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Mmm, freshly shaved. That never gets old."

"I'm glad this worked out," Luke told her as he carried their two bags down the stairs. "With Sara and Jake's wedding coming up, and the other two over the next month, things are going to get really busy. Three weddings, Season, and then Cards Hysteria. I'm glad you learned from last year about how much needs to be prepared for Christmas. Tabi still talks about how her help made it possible for you to successfully complete all those orders."

"The car is gassed up, will be packed up, and away we'll go for the three-night stay," Savannah reminded him. "I'm glad we're doing this now before our anniversary. Halfway between when we met and when we pledged our lives to one another. And these dates worked out perfectly too."

"Got it, got it, got it, unplugged, Mom's got the key, say good-bye to everyone after Mass, and be home by late Wednesday morning so you can go to Sara's bachelorette party," Luke announced as he went through his mental checklist. "Alright, Mrs. Heartland, let's get out of here."

They walked into the church for Mass and joined Sara, Jacob, Ana, Andy, and the baby in the row behind Lori, Mike, Tabi, Nicholas, Max, Sam, James, and Miša. Meesh didn't join them all the time, but whenever she went to Mass, Savannah made sure to hug her. Savannah winked at Tabi and Nicholas and happily took the baby when Andy offered.

After Mass, they all gathered by the cars and said goodbye. "Make sure you're back by noon and no later!" Sara instructed Luke and pointed at him. "And Luke, please don't go getting appendicitis this time. You'll ruin going to the Dells for me forever."

"Sara, I truly appreciate your concern and will do my best to keep from ruining

your

experience," Luke teased and hugged her before walking over to Savannah to have her finish her goodbyes.

"Alright, Kolbe!" Savannah told her godchild. "You be good for Mommy and Daddy, alright? Aunt Vanna loves you!" Savannah went on to give a bunch of little cheek kisses and then gave the baby back to Ana. "I'll see you at the shower," Savannah whispered to Ana and waved at Andy.

As they drove up to Mt. Olympus for their getaway, Savannah and Luke talked about the past ten months. After their beautiful honeymoon, Luke and Savannah went back to working long days and enjoying each other at night. They followed the NFP charting, and Luke continued to learn more about his wife and their relationship. True to his word, Luke also learned to communicate with her more openly, and they never had a fight or argument which wasn't discussed calmly.

Work was calm and straightforward for Luke, but for Savannah things were crazy busy. She sold many more cards than she had planned, and as Luke had mentioned during their earlier discussion, Tabi came in clutch. Savannah honestly didn't know what she would have done without her, and Tabi's savings account had the evidence of the thanks Savannah had given her.

Savannah's birthday had landed two days before Thanksgiving, which was followed by the surprise early arrival of Kolbe the next day, and then Thanksgiving came around. Luke and Savannah had taken over preparations of the food and held the meal at their house for the whole family. Everything turned out wonderfully, and even Ana, Andy, and Kolbe were able to make it to the house to visit, eat, and enjoy a little dessert before heading to their home to become an official family of three.

In December, things winded down for Savannah's business, and when she reported her earnings over the course of the prior month, she received applause from the members at the table. They were also thrilled to learn that she intended to give them all gift packs to share with their family members in appreciation of their efforts to build her business. Every one of the members had brought her at least one customer, and she greatly appreciated their efforts on her behalf as well as their belief in her.

Christmas was a wonderful experience for Savannah as she'd never had such a noisy, packed, and playful Christmas as her first with the Heartland family. Normally her Christmases were quiet and quick. She had such a full day with so many people whom she loved that she ended up sleeping most of the next day to recover. Lori, Mike, Andy, Ana, and Kolbe, ME, Miša and James, Sara and Jacob, Max and Sam, Tabi, and Nicholas all blessed her with a day full of love, hugs, gifts, games, meals, and memories.

Luke and she had exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve before they went to Midnight Mass. And then very early Christmas morning, after Luke did chores, he came back to bed, and they made love for hours before going back to sleep. Luckily, they made it to brunch with five minutes to spare.

New Years was another fun celebration. They stayed up until midnight with the family, playing games and having lots of snack foods they usually avoided throughout the year. At midnight, Luke and his brothers went out in the yard and shot off fireworks. Luke was so worked up after the celebration, he and Savannah went home and had extraordinary sex three times. Luke slept for just over an hour, went and did chores, woke Savannah up to take a shower with him, and then they had sex again up against the shower wall. They slept right up until dinnertime.

Valentine's Day was a treat for Savannah. She had agreed to watch Kolbe so that Andy and Ana could have a romantic evening the night before the holiday since Andy was leaving to travel for work. Savannah and Luke enjoyed the night watching a few movies and putting Kolbe to bed in the guest room in the crib they'd bought for "someday," but, for now, it was Kolbe's bed at their house.

The next morning, Ana appeared at their door with a huge smile on her face. Rather than collecting her baby, she collected Savannah for a day at the spa. Luke paid for a repeat of her wedding spa treatment package, and Andy had given Ana the same gift.

That night, Savannah made Luke a special dinner which they enjoyed, especially as Savannah spent much of the meal playing with him with her foot under the table. For dessert, because she'd worn a skirt for their "date," it was finally possible for them to use the adrenaline she'd built up in him. He had her pressed up against the wall, and not one article of clothing had to be removed as they had sex right there in the foyer.

Luke became very busy with planting season, and Savannah used the time to work on orders, build clientele, and get a head start on Christmas cards. By Easter, she'd already made 1,000 Christmas cards with Tabi's help, and the collection was safely stored until the time came to post them for sale. Tabi continued to impress Savannah, and Savannah made sure to tell her as such as often as possible. She designed cards one day a week and presented them to Savannah, and on more than one occasion, got to have her cards showcased on the business website.

For Easter, Lori and Mike had an egg hunt for the entire family. She'd gotten enough colors to allow every member ten eggs. Ana and Andy had blue, for instance, so there were 20 eggs all over the farm for them to find. And each egg had money, candy, or a toy, depending on who was getting the gift. Luke and Savannah had turquoise, ME had purple, Misa and James had green, Max and Sam had yellow, Tabi had pink, and Nicholas had orange. After two hours, they were either laughing, relaxing, or stomping around telling Lori she must have miscounted. Sam and Max were sore sports sometimes!

On Memorial Day, the family celebrated Luke's 23rd birthday with a small celebration followed by a huge picnic for the family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. They played baseball in the yard. Max had the quads out with the cousins for most of the day, trading this cousin for that one, stopping only to gas them up and head right back out. Miša prepared many of the dishes, and Uncle Scott ran the grill along with Jacob, Mike, and Henry trading off so the others could eat.

For their first anniversary of the day they had met and the following day with their engagement, Luke and Savannah planned the trip to the Dells which they'd been given as a wedding shower gift. They chose the very end of August before wedding season began. Due to some confusion and a misunderstanding, Sara and Jacob had to move their wedding to a week earlier than they had planned, which made it land on Labor Day weekend. Thankfully, Luke and Savannah's trip didn't cause any issues.

"I'm excited to be doing this, Luke," Savannah shared after some silence. They were into Wisconsin already, and a sign for the Dells was sure to be seen every mile or two. The closer they got, the more excited Savannah became. She'd been looking forward to getting back to the scene where they first began. Oh, how times had changed since that day over a year prior.

"I keep thinking about those two people who met last year," Luke responded and reached for her hand to hold.

"I know," she agreed. "I can't believe the amount of trust they had to have had to meet, know well enough in their hearts that they belonged together, and commit to a relationship that quickly. Looking back, that could have been a real bummer if we hadn't worked out."

"I can't even try to explain how I knew, Van. I just did. You were the one," Luke told her as he often did. "Sorry," he quickly amended. "You

are

the one. Always," he added and kissed her hand.

"I love you, you know," she shared quietly and leaned her head back to rest on the headrest.

"I love

you

, you know," he responded as he always did. It was their thing. They hadn't done it on purpose, but it had become their way.

When they pulled into the hotel parking lot, Savannah smiled as she looked over at the lazy river. It was packed with people from what she could see, but they still had to get checked in and situated in their room. Savannah followed Luke and waited with him to be called up to the counter. Luke handed a man the paperwork and held Savannah's hand while they waited.

"OK, everything is set, Mr. and Mrs. Heartland," the attendant informed them as he shuffled through some things. "We have you staying in the honeymoon suite for three nights. Here are your keys and wristbands which will last through Wednesday until closing time. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to let us know. It's a pleasure to have you staying with us."

"Thank you," Luke offered and resituated the bag on his shoulder. Luke turned from the counter and led Savannah down to a hall and then began walking toward their room.

"We didn't have a suite when we booked the reservation, Luke," Savannah told him knowingly. "What did you do?"

"Called and upgraded," he answered simply as he read the numbers on the rooms. "We didn't stay in the rooms down here last time. Oh, here we are," Luke noted and put his key to the door to open it.

"Wow, oh, wow," Savannah breathed as she walked in and saw the size of the room, the bed, the bathroom, the hot tub, the shower and the TV. "This is amazing," she added and smiled as she set down the bag she'd been carrying.

"Yeah, that was well worth the extra $200 I spent to upgrade us," Luke agreed. "I like it. I think we deserve it, don't you?"

"So, what should we do?" Luke asked as he began putting their clothes in the dresser. He purposely held up each lingerie piece for her to see that he'd picked out for her for their trip. "Hands down, Van. You have an amazing body, but these just add flare, I guess. I love when you walk around all confidently in them."

"Thank you, dear," Savannah replied and blew him a kiss from the bathroom. She was setting up their stuff on the sink. "I hope you still feel that way when we get old. I only have two more years until I'm nearly 25. Ugh, practically a grandma already."

"Wow, look like that when you're a grandma, and we'll never leave the bedroom," he promised. "You'll already be a hot mama down the road. Hot grandma? Forget it."

"Anyway, it's Sunday afternoon," Savannah assessed. "Would you want to walk around the theme park, or do you want to swim? The outdoor one only stays open so long, but the indoor one will be open until late. That one always seemed to feel like a sauna, though."

"Let's do the theme park," Luke decided. He sat down to take off his boots and then switched to shorts and his running shoes. Savannah looked him up and down and laughed. "I literally just watched my handsome farm boy turn into the hot boy I met a year ago. Amazing what shorts and shoes can do." Savannah laughed again and shook her head. "Alright, hot stuff. We need glasses, wallet, wristbands, and the room key."

"Got them," Luke confirmed and then waved her over to stand in front of him. "Seeing as we're celebrating both anniversaries, I think we should do this first." He took her in his arms and kissed her softly, and then deepened their kiss. She dropped her glasses on the bed as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Mmm," Savannah moaned. "Never gets old," she stated and put her hands on his chest. "Let's go check out our old stomping grounds. You know... that we visited once, together, a year ago."

They took their time as they walked around, holding hands as they had when they'd first walked around the theme park. They rode some of the rides, fed some goats, and laughed as they rode the go-carts and raced them against each other, oblivious, though cautiously, of the other riders out there. They ended up checking out the stores and buying some souvenirs for Kolbe, Tabi, Nicholas, and a few things for themselves too. They left the grounds after they dropped their purchases off in the room and changed. A romantic dinner and a walk down the main street by all the storefronts to build a mental list of places to stop in the following day rounded out their evening.

When they returned to the room, Savannah suggested they use the hot tub. She made a show of getting undressed, and by the time she was in the tub, Luke was undressed and ready to join her. They made love and then relaxed before settling in for a nice night of sleep.

The next morning, they woke up, went out to breakfast, and were some of the first to wade into the lazy river. They reminisced about the day they met and laughed about how naïve they were. They got out after several laps and laid on the lounge chairs to catch some rays and continue talking.

"I'm excited about Sara and Jacob's wedding," Savannah began as Luke rubbed sunscreen on her back. "I'm so glad things worked out with her plans to move to the main house to live and work in town. Jacob doesn't really want her working. Did you know that?"

"Gosh, as far back as I can remember, he's talked about having a wife who doesn't have to work and has dinner ready on the table when he gets home," Luke answered. "I think he would have fit in really well with the people who ran the farm back in the 50s, but today? He needs to be careful about that these days. I can't imagine telling my wife to stay home, clean, raise the kids, and have my dinner ready when I walk in the door." Luke looked over at her and shuddered.

Savannah smiled. "These days, women are used to working and going to school to do things they may want to do to contribute. Sara went to school. She wants to earn her keep until they have kids. She told me Jacob told her during one of their heated discussions, which of course ended in a massive make out session, that if that's how she feels about it, he plans to knock her up on their wedding night if he can."

"I never said he was the cousin with the most logical sense of direction," Luke countered. "He's great, and Sara and he are perfect for each other, but they have different ideas about life. They're working through it. And Henry told me they've been meeting with him and Bella about some sex talks you insisted they ask for?"

"I told them at my spa day before the wedding that Ana and Andy had been super helpful, and I also told Jacob directly that they should speak with Henry and Bella. I knew Sam and Max wouldn't come to us because it hit too close to home, and the tension still hits different with Sam and me sometimes. I'm glad they chose to talk with your cousin, Johnny, and his wife, Cara. They're a good match. And Miša and James? It is so neat that they went to Daniel and Tara."

"It works for them, so that's cool. I'm just glad we went with Andy and Ana. And you two," Luke noted as he shook his head, "you and Ana could not be closer. And even Andy has started to defend you rather than give you hell like he had been. It's like they've become our best friends."

"They are our best friends," Savannah corrected, "and we're Kolbe's godparents. Give me a break. You know you think about telling Andy things before Max anymore. It's just part of our life now. We're both married couples. We've been through similar things and can talk freely about those things. Soon, the other three couples will be married and will suddenly understand why this and why not that and be busy making their own lives."

"Such a smart girl," Luke praised and reached over to kiss her hand. "No wonder you married me."

"Because I'm so smart?" Savannah asked and laughed when she saw him smirking at her. "Well, I did get a lot in the deal, so I guess I was smart to choose you to end up with. I had other offers, but, well, you know."

"Other offers, huh?" Luke asked as he sat up. "Well, I suppose if I had to be the one to end up with you, I took one for the team." Luke leaned down to whisper in her ear. "And oh, Savannah, my love, they are so missing out. I definitely got the best deal," he shared quietly and kissed her ear.

"Mmm," Savannah moaned in response and smiled at her husband. "Well, on that note, why don't we go get lunch and do some shopping? And what would you think about doing one of those old-timey pictures together?"

"Who goes on vacation and doesn't do one of those?" Luke asked and helped her gather their things before heading back to change for their afternoon plans. They stopped in many shops and bought fudge and other treats to share at home. They took the old-timey photos and bought a package with a frame. Luke told her he knew exactly where it was going to go in their house. They went out to dinner after hours of walking around downtown and ended up back at the suite by around 6pm.