Free Love in Between by Sandi Lynn

look pretty,” Luke said in embarrassment.
Charley looked at me and winked. I needed to watch out for this little girl. We climbed into Luke’s Jeep and headed for the carnival.
“Nice camera. I take it you like to take pictures,” he said.
“Yeah, I love taking pictures. Photography has always been a passion of mine. Someday, I’d love to work for a big magazine.”
“You mean like National Geographic or something like that?” He smiled as he looked over at me.
I nodded my head. “Yeah, something like that.” I smiled back.
***
Charley’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the lights. “I can’t wait to get inside!” she said with excitement as she grabbed onto our hands and dragged us through the parking lot. Luke looked over at me and smiled. We got to the gate, and I pulled out my wallet to pay for my ticket.
“I got your ticket,” he said.
“I can buy my own ticket, Luke.”
“Charley invited you, so I’m buying your ticket.”
We stepped up to the window, and he purchased three wristbands. I tried to give him my money, but he wouldn’t take it.
“If I let you buy my ticket, then this becomes a date. I don’t do dates,” I said to him.
He stared at me for a minute. “I can assure you that this isn’t a date. I don’t do dates either.”
“Will you two stop it and hurry up ,” Charley said with an attitude.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Luke said. “You can buy the food.”
“Deal,” I said as I held out my hand to him, and we shook on it.
We both held one of Charley’s hands as we walked around the carnival. The lights were bright, and the music coming from the games was loudly blaring through the speakers. Charley saw a ride she wanted to go on, so we waited in line.
“Do you watch Charley a lot?” I asked as I looked at Luke.
“Yeah, I do. I try to help Maddie out as much as I can. It’s hard being a single parent.”
“I’m sure it is. I could only imagine,” I said.
“What about your parents?”
“They help out a lot. Right now, they’re on a month long cruise.”
“They own the apartments?” I asked.
“Yes. They’ve owned those apartments for over twenty years. I remember them buying the building when I was seven years old. It’s where Maddie and I spent most of our childhood. What about you?” he asked.
I didn’t want to talk about my childhood or my family. It wasn’t a topic that I was comfortable with. The only thing I ever wanted was a normal, happy childhood. I can thank mommy and daddy for not giving me that. I felt horrible for having to lie to Luke about my family, but I didn’t want him to know about how horrible they were. I didn’t want to be judged for their actions. And as far as I’m concerned, my family is dead.
“I grew up in Seattle with my parents and my sister. They died a couple of years ago in an accident.”
Luke looked at me, and I could see the empathy in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“Thank you. I don’t like to talk about it,” I said so he wouldn’t ask me any other questions.
Luke nodded his head. We finally arrived to the front of the line, and Charley got on the ride. We stood there, waving to her as the car she was sitting in sped by us.
“She’s a great little girl.” I smiled.
“She’s the best,” Luke said. “She’s a huge part of my life, and I will do anything to protect her.”
I looked at him and smiled. The ride ended, and Charley got off. She grabbed onto our hands once again and led us over to the games.
“Miss Gilmore, do you like to play games?” she asked as she looked up at me.
“I love to play games, Charley.”
“So does my uncle Luke.” She winked.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Charley, when we’re not in school, you can call me Lily.”
“Really?!” she asked in excitement.
Luke looked over at me and laughed. “Just remember though, she’s Miss Gilmore during school hours,” he said.
“Ok, I’ll remember,” she said as she led us to the game that had the huge, stuffed purple cat