Page 13 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
Looking at the two booths ahead and to the right, she found it full of Dukes.
Fuck.
“Get over here, Leah Reynolds!” her oldest friend in the world demanded.
“Hi, Birdie.”
“Sawyer told me I had to give you time and space, but it hasn’t been easy,” Birdie said, grabbing her like Linda had. “It’s so good to see you again, Leah.”
Birdie had been the friend who was always at her side, no matter what was happening. Both raised in homes different from what was considered normal, they’d bonded pretty much from their first day of school.
Birdie’s family were Lyntacky’s resident hippies, and she’d suffered ridicule for her clothes and what was in her lunch bag. Leah was raised by a father who was an asshole, and most of the town’s residents disliked him. It had been natural for them to gravitate toward each other.
Her friend’s eyes went to Hudson after she’d released Leah and then back to her. A question now in them. Behind Birdie, her husband, Sawyer, the eldest of the five Dukes, sat with a little girl on his knee. In the booth behind and across from him were three of his siblings, and their partners. All were watching the conversation play out between Birdie and Leah. Thankfully, Dan Duke wasn’t there.
“This is Hudson, my nephew,” Leah said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Cassie’s son.”
“Well, hey there, Hudson, I’m so pleased to meet you. Your aunt and I were besties during school.”
“Besties makes you sound really old, Aunt Birdie.”
The young girl who was sitting between Brody and Phoebe said those words. Leah might not know everything that went on in Lyntacky, but she remembered this girl. Ally was BrodyDuke’s daughter. She’d grown so much in the past seven years from that little girl who liked to wear bright colors.
“Yeah, well, it’s how we used to talk,” Birdie said, smiling at the girl.
“Is Cassie back too?” Zoe Duke, the only girl in the family, said getting out of her seat.
Gorgeous, confident Leah had always been a little in awe of this woman.
“Slide into that spare booth, Hudson, and start reading the menu,” Leah said, waving her nephew into a seat. “I’ll order for us soon.”
“He can sit here beside me. Dad, move,” Ally said, pushing her father in the shoulder.
“She was such a sweet little girl once,” Brody said, getting out with a baby in his arms. “You get in there, Hudson, and don’t take any crap from my daughter.”
Hudson shot Leah a look, and she nodded. “All these people are good ones, buddy, you’ll like them.”
“He looks just like the Cassie I remember,” Brody added as Hudson slid slowly into the seat. Ally then nudged the menu in front of him and pointed things out on it.
“Okay, he’s busy, so now tell me what you couldn’t with Hudson close,” Birdie said. Beside her was Zoe, and next to her now was Brody, who was rocking his baby from side to side as it hung over his shoulder. They were staring at her.
She needed to get this over and done with so they could move on. By tonight the Lyntacky grapevine would have ensured that everyone in town knew the circumstances of Cassie’s death, and she wouldn’t have to speak about it again. Forcing down any emotion, Leah said, “Cassie died. A few months ago now, and I’m his guardian.”
Silence greeted those words, and the looks on the faces closest went from shock to sadness.
“Oh, Leah,” Birdie whispered and then hugged her again. “I’m so sorry.”
“Man, that sucks,” Brody said, putting a hand on Leah’s shoulder. “What happened?”
All of the adults, realizing something wasn’t right, got out of the booths, and came closer. Then Zoe relayed the news about Cassie, and she received hugs from everyone.
Leah didn’t like people getting too close to her, but she didn’t fight it. Dukes did what Dukes wanted to do, so you just rolled with it, and when it was done, she could back away.
“Cancer. It came on so fast, and she was gone in months,” Leah said, choking down the tears that were always close to the surface when she thought about her sweet sister. She’d fought hard to keep her emotions tamped down for Hudson’s sake.
“Well, you’re back here with us now, and we’ll look after you,” Birdie said. “Come on, you sit down, and we’ll get you some food. You look like you need it.”
“Which means what?” Leah protested. “And I can look after myself.”
