Page 53 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
They found Birdie on the floor, playing with Hudson and his Legos.
“You ready to go, Hudson?” Leah asked, checking the bag on his bed to make sure he had everything. “I’ll grab your toothbrush.”
Soon they were in the SUV and heading to Birdie and Sawyer’s house. Locals called it Duke Drive because originally it was where they all lived. Now Ryder and his girl, Libby, lived in town, and Zoe lived with her man, JD, on some land just outside of Lyntacky.
Sheriff Dans’s house came first, and then the original family home, which was where Dan and his mother lived. It was a big rambling farmhouse she’d spent time in as a kid.
Leah remembered those days and knowing instantly as she walked in the front door that this was what a home should feel and smell like. The sound of laughing and scents of baking. She’d loved it when she was there because for that brief moment, Leah could imagine it was where she lived.
“Dan on duty tonight?” Birdie asked.
“Not sure. He usually comes by to check in on Girls’ Night at some stage, if not to taxi everyone home,” Zoe said.
Leah could handle that. He was just someone in her life now, and she needed to remember that. What happened between them was over and done with, even if she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Next on the drive was Brody, Phoebe, Ally, and Leo’s house, a single-story with a natural stone-and-wood exterior, and last on the road was Birdie and Sawyer’s place.
“Wow,” Hudson said from beside her, eyes wide as he took in all the trees, the glimmer of water, and lastly the house. Two containers were side by side on the ground and the third one placed the other way on top.
“Ally calls it the hashtag house,” Birdie said. “It’s a wonderful place to live. Wait until you see inside.”
They all got out, and Leah grabbed Hudson’s bag. He put his hand in hers, which was a sign he was nervous. She wouldn’t leave him here if he didn’t want to stay.
The house was bigger inside than she’d thought, and because the sun was sinking in the sky, the view through the wall of windows leading out onto a deck overlooking the water below was spectacular.
“This is amazing,” Leah said.
Their two dogs, Ted and Sylvie, greeted everyone like they hadn’t just seen some of them an hour ago. Hudson loved them, and that reinforced her need to get a dog. Plus, it would be good for security. An early warning barking system if anyone called at the Reynolds house.
Ally wandered in, all long legs and smiling. “Hey, Hudson. You coming for a sleepover?”
Leah really liked this kid, and to her way of thinking, Ally was yet more proof that Robyn Duke had raised her children right, and now they were raising their kids that way.
Okay, the Dukes had been rebels. They’d had their fair share of trouble, but all had come home to be good adults. People who were a little rough around the edges, but good-hearted, and there if anyone needed them. Leah didn’t need people, but it was still good to know they were there if ever she did for Hudson.
“We have popcorn and other snacks, plus Uncle Ryder made us donuts today,” Ally said. “I brought all my Legos over, Hudson. Do you want to play with them? We could build something cool.”
He nodded, his eyes going wide as he saw an older boy walk in from the deck.
“Bobby, this is Hudson,” Ally said. “He’s my friend.”
“Hey, Hudson.” The kid raised his hand and then dropped to the floor beside what looked to be a crate of Legos.
“Come on.” Ally waved Hudson over, and he released Leah’s hand and joined her and Bobby.
“I’m not sure how he’ll go,” she said to Ryder, who was lounging on a sofa with his niece Sadie on his chest.
“No sweat. We’ll just call you if we have any problems,” he said. “I’m sleeping out here with them.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Birdie said, kissing her baby, then her husband, who had walked in with a plate of hotdogs. Ally was next.
“You all behave yourselves, and I don’t want to bail anyone out of a cell in the middle of the night,” Sawyer said.
“That’s happened?” Leah asked.
“Not for a few years,” Brody said. “But go easy on the shots, seeing as you’re all lightweights now and can’t drink much.”
“I protest,” Zoe said.
