Page 37 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“Do you think it would be?” he asked Dan.
“I’ll tell you what. You go and find Sawyer. He’s the big guy with the tattoos. Looks mean, but he’s a real pussy cat. Go tell him you need some supplies to make a tree house. I’ll come and help you with it in a while, ok? I just need to check on some stuff inside.”
“Really?” Hudson looked hopeful. He didn’t jump up and down like Ally would, but the excitement was there.
“Really.”
He ran off to find Sawyer, and Dan headed for the house to look around and see what needed doing in there.
Leah hadn’t been pleased to see him… or any of them, if he was honest, but they weren’t going anywhere. Pride was all well and good, but this house needed work before the first snowfall in winter.
Dan walked through the rear door, which opened into a utility room. He then stepped into the kitchen and stopped. Leah stood on a chair, looking into a cupboard. Her butt in those worn cutoffs was at eye level. While that was a distraction, it was more the fact that her shoulders were shaking and she was sniffing that drew his attention.
She turned to see who had entered, and then just as quickly, she looked away, but not before he saw the tears.Leah never cried.
“You okay?” He moved closer.
She nodded, eyes forward, but her breath was coming out in short, sharp pants.
“Why are you staring into that cupboard?”
“I-I, ah—I’m getting something.”
“Okay.” He was standing below her now. “What?”
“Wh-why are you inside?” she asked instead of answering his question.
“Checking if the roof in here is okay, plus the walls and floor.”
Her breath was coming out in gasps. She sounded like she’d run a marathon.
“What’s going on, Leah?” He’d seen plenty of people panicking, and to him, it looked like she was doing just that. What he didn’t know was why.
“N-nothing.” She waved a hand behind her. “Go and do things.”
She was stammering, and Dan didn’t think he’d ever heard her do that before. He stood where he was, taking in the rigid line of her shoulders.
“Need me to help you with something?”
She shook her head.
“Look. I get you don’t like me, and we’ll get to that reason soon, but?—”
“I d-don’t want to get to it,” she said.
“Whatever. But if you need help, and I’m standing here, you know I’ll give it to you. So what’s going on, Leah?”
“I-I don’t know how to bake,” she whispered.
He wasn’t sure why that was a problem because he couldn’t bake either, but Dan ran with it.
“And that is making you panic?”
“Not panicking,” she said slowly.
“Not everyone can bake, Leah. I’m shit at it, but I’m a good cop, so there’s that.”
She sniffed back the tears. “Really?”
