Page 19 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“How old is he?”
“Why do you need to know Hudson’s age?”
“Because if he’s seven or near to it, then you must have been real heartbroken when you left Lyntacky, seeing as you took up with someone else straightaway.” He couldn’t seem to stop the words pouring out of his mouth. “Is daddy here too?”
Her eyes narrowed, and he knew that look. The next words out of her mouth would be a shriek.
“Real smooth, Dan, even for someone like you,” Leah said, not in a shriek like he’d thought. But cold and angry.
“Someone like me?” he said through his teeth.
“I almost don’t want to tell you the truth, but in a town like this, I know it will get back to you, and probably not the correct version, so I will.”
She leaned in, and he inhaled that scent that was hers alone. A mix of wild and soft, and inherently Leah’s. He felt his body react to her nearness and hated it.
“Hudson is six, and Cassie’s son. She died a few months ago. I’m his guardian now. He is all I have left, seeing as you made sure his granddaddy will end his days in prison.”
Her voice trembled slightly on the last word. She was one of the toughest people he knew, so when Leah was near tears, it was a big deal, which losing your sister was. The two Reynolds siblings were close—had to be, as they’d only had each other.
“So you can go to hell, Dan Duke, for thinking I’d ever do what you just accused me of.”
“Leah, I’m?—”
She walked away from him before Dan could finish his apology. She then turned back to look at him briefly. “But I’m a Reynolds, so it’s expected, right?” she added, then continued on across the street and straight into Zoe’s store, leaving Dan standing there, jaw clenched, heart racing, knowing he’d hurt her.
“Well, fuck,” he muttered. He’d just accused her of having his kid and not telling him about it, when in fact she was looking after Cassie’s son. Cassie, who was now dead. He’d also basically called her loose for hooking up with someone after she’d left him.
“Christ,” he whispered, looking up at the clear blue sky.You’re an idiot.
She’d always made him feel crazy and off-balance, and it seemed that hadn’t changed.
“Problem?”
“No.” He didn’t turn to look who was behind him because he knew that voice.
“Sure looks like a problem, Double D.”
“No offence, JD, but fuck off.”
His sister was engaged to the man at his back. Dan thought of him like a brother and couldn’t be happier for Zoe, but right then, he didn’t want to talk to anyone.
“Saw you talking to Leah. Have to say, it looked tense, and I heard raised voices,” JD said, moving to his side. “You know I can’t leave you standing here hurting… if that’s what you are, because your sister will make my life hell. You being her baby brother and all.”
Dan sighed and shot JD a look. Tall, bearded, and covered in tattoos, the man always wore the latest fashion and smelled good. Not that Dan would ever tell him that. From a wealthy family, he’d followed Sawyer to Lyntacky from the big city after they’d become friends and never left.
“You know Leah now?” Dan asked him.
“Yeah, we had breakfast together a few days after she arrived back in town. When you were on your course.”
“You had breakfast with Leah?” Dan couldn’t seem to think straight. He wanted to find Leah and apologize but doubted she’d listen to anything he had to say right then.
“The family did. We were having our monthly Do-Si-Do breakfast, and she walked in with Hudson. Cute kid, by the way, and he and Ally seemed to get on well. Mind you, she gets on with everyone. She’s the best.”
“Back to Leah,” Dan ground out.
“Right. She had breakfast with us. Sad about her sister, bud. Has to be really hard to suddenly find yourself raising a child.”
How the hell did he apologize to a woman who already hated him for being an idiot and speaking without facts? Which wasn’tusually his thing. Dan never walked into anything anymore without thinking it through.
