Page 93 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
He shot her a look, those lips tilting up again, then wandered over to the group currently looking like a bunch of birds all standing on one leg with their arms raised. She noted that her uncle was standing next to Robyn Duke. He was leaning in to hear what she was saying.
Scanning the people as she got out, Leah noted most were older, with a few younger ones scattered in. She saw Meadow and Hamish McAllister. Bart and Tripp. Dr. Hannah was there too.
“Come on, it will do you good,” a man said to her as he arrived.
“No, thanks,” Leah said.
“Jonathan,” he said with a friendly smile. “I’m Caleb Stanway’s partner.”
“Hi. Leah Reynolds.” She shook the hand he held out, watching for a reaction. It was a habit, and one she’d never been able to break. Did he know the good or the bad stuff about the Reynoldses? “Caleb was a friend of my sister’s in school.”
His smile fell away, and suddenly he pulled her into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Leah. I know you don’t know me, but I’ve heard all about you. Caleb told me Cassie passed and you’re raising her son. How are you doing?”
Weirdly, for someone who didn’t like being hugged, she didn’t mind this one. It was all encompassing and genuine, as were the words that accompanied it. He smelled really good too. Clearly she was getting used to being back in Lyntacky.
“Thank you. We’re doing okay,” Leah said when he released her.
“Well, we’re coming to visit you now that we’ve been introduced. I’ll bake Hudson some of my magical vanilla custard cookies.”
“Ah, he’d love that.” Leah wasn’t sure how else to answer.
“Good. Now I need to bend like a pretzel. Sure you don’t want to join me?”
Leah shook her head. He patted her cheek and walked away.
“This town,” Leah muttered. She no longer wondered how everyone knew everything about her. It had always been the case.
She walked, dropping into the Do-Si-Do to tell Linda that she could work a few nights. Next was the bank, where she deposited the check. Stepping outside, she raised her face to the sun and inhaled.Was her luck changing?The balance now in her account certainly suggested it was.
“Hi, Leah.”
“Hi, Brody.”
Dukes were everywhere in this town, no matter how much she wished they weren’t.
“You all good?” His smile was softer than Dan’s. He didn’t carry the weight of his other brothers, either, but he was as tall.
“I am, yes. What can I do for you, Brody?”
“We need someone to play for us on Saturday. One of the team had to pull out for work commitments.”
“I don’t think?—”
“Please,” he begged her. “We’re playing the Levelers, so we need a full team because no way will they give us one of their players.”
“I haven’t played in years, Brody.”
“You were one of Lyntacky’s best before you left. You don’t lose that kind of skill,” he said, smiling. It didn’t make her tummy flutter like Dan’s smile did… damn it. “Hudson would love seeing you out there kicking butt.”
He would, she thought. He’d love the hype of game day, as would Uncle Callum.
“If I say yes?—”
“Great. Here. Gotta run. See you there twenty before the game starts.” He thrust a bag at her that she hadn’t noticed him holding until then. “Thanks, Leah, you’re a lifesaver.”
When he’d disappeared, she opened it and saw it was full of Lavender Leaders uniforms. Hats, shirts—it was all in there. She couldn’t stop the laugh.
“Well, well, well. You have some cheek coming back here after what your father did in this town.”
