Page 72 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
Digging through the linens, she found two blankets she’d thought were long burnt or tossed out in the trash.
After a few deep breaths, she forced her mouth into a smile and went back to Hudson’s room.
“So, how about this?” She held out a baby-blue blanket that had pink elephants on it. The tassels had worn off, and it was faded. “It was your mom’s when she was little.”
Leah laid it on the bottom of the bed. She then patted it for Benny to jump up. The dog did, took a couple of turns, thensettled down with a sigh, like he’d cooked dinner, put two loads of laundry on, and then walked to town and back.
“He likes it,” Hudson whispered.
“Okay, sleep time for you, bud.” She leaned down to kiss him, and his little arms snaked around her neck, which they hadn’t done since his mom’s death.
“Thank you for Benny, Aunt Leah.”
“Love you,” she said, kissing his cheeks. “Sweet dreams.”
She turned on the nightlight and let herself out the door. She pulled it, too, but not all the way, as he didn’t like it shut. Hudson had been having a few nightmares lately, which had come on since Cassie died.
Leah staggered into the bathroom, washed, and pulled on her pj’s. She then watched an hour of mindless TV until she couldn’t keep her eyes open a second longer. This parenting stuff was tiring. After checking on Hudson, who was sleeping, and Benny, who was doing the same on Cassie’s blanket, Leah climbed into bed. The light on her phone flashed, and she picked it up.
Sleep well.
Leah stared at the message from Dan, then lowered her phone back onto the nightstand and closed her eyes, smiling.
Chapter 20
“Breakfast will be ready soon, Dan!”
“Thanks, Mom!”
Dan’s room was on the bottom floor of the family home because he worked shifts and didn’t want to wake his mom when he came home late. After washing, he pulled on his uniform and thought a few things through.
So far, he hadn’t said anything to his family about buying a house. He knew they’d be pleased for him, but Dan wasn’t sure how his mom would take it, even if he’d bought it to rent out. One day, she’d have to know he’d move into it.
Every change his family went through, she called new chapters. Was this that for him and for her?
Leah Reynolds was one of those chapters in his life he’d never closed off. She’d been special to him, and then that changed when he’d arrested her father. They’d exchanged angry, hurtful words, and when he’d gone back to apologize and talk it through, she’d already left Lyntacky. The Reynoldses’ house had been locked up tight after the feds were done with it, and it stayed that way until Leah returned seven years later.
He had so many questions to ask her, but to do that, he needed to get her alone. Work had kept him busy since Girls’ Night at the Rollaway, and he hadn’t seen Leah around town. That was going to change. He would drive out to her property and talk to her later, and he’d make her listen.
That sorted, Dan left his room and headed to the kitchen where he knew his mom would be. The room was large and filled with light, and when he thought about his mom, he pictured her here. Food was her love language. If her family had full stomachs, then all was right in her world.
“Hey,sweetie. Did you sleep well? Need me to check that knife wound?”
“It’s all good now, Mom, and you looked at it last night.”
“All right, then. Are you ready to get out and protect the good people of Lyntacky?”
“Born ready,” he said because she asked him that at least twice a week.
“That’s my boy.”
“What are your plans for today, Mom?”
“Well, it’s Saturday, so I’m going for a coffee at Ryder’s, then shopping for some groceries. I’m spending the afternoon in the garden. I’ve already got dinner cooking.”
“Nice. What are we having?” Dan asked, sitting down to the omelet his mother had filled with tomatoes, bacon, and onions, just how he liked it.
“Beef chili in the Crock-Pot.” His mother was wearing her favorite apron, the one Ally had made her with the crooked seams and the words Best Nana Ever on the front. It was yellow, pink, and green.
