Frayed Silk(73)

He stares straight at Leo, patiently waiting.

Leo clears his throat. “Well, I’m here because earlier this year, my wife and I …” He looks over at me, his gaze stormy as he swallows. I gently nod, telling him with my eyes that he can do this. That I’m here for him as I squeeze his hand.

He blows out a breath, turning back to Evan. “Earlier this year, we attended a friend’s anniversary party …”





“Leo!” I hiss, looking around. “No. Get up.”

The smile on his face as he looks at me has all the frustration leaving my body in a huge sigh.

“Come on.” He tugs me down into his lap. “Relax, I’ve got you.”

I throw a startled look at him. “We’re going to break the damn thing.”

He laughs loudly, causing the kids nearby to look our way.

Even though they’re not mine, I give them my best mom glare in hopes that they’ll look away. Nothing to see here.

Leo maneuvers me to his side, wrapping an arm around me and hitting the accelerator. We lurch forward, and I cover my mouth as a squeal escapes. “Adults do this too, you know,” he says, steering the bumper car away from the kids who just tried to barge into us.

Grabbing his thigh in a death grip, I turn to him. “I know. But aren’t you worried someone will see you?”

He narrowly skirts the outside barrier as he snorts. “No. Why should I be?”

My eyes bug out. Well, shit. The changes in my husband haven’t been all that huge over the past ten months. He’s the same Leo I fell in love with all those years ago at a frat party. But this? His father and his grandfather took so much pride in the business and were so careful about appearances that it was drilled into Leo from a young age to be the same. So the fact that he’s acting like a big kid and doesn’t seem to give a damn has my heart filling with so much warmth that a dopey smile spreads across my face.

Until some kid slams into our side and their buddy sticks their tongue out at us.

“Oh, it’s on now. Move it, mister.” I grab the wheel and steer us until we slam into the back of their car as they try to get away. One of the kids flips us off, sneering at us over his shoulder.

“Little punk,” I growl. “Where are their parents?”

Leo starts howling with laughter. “Probably watching you, so take it easy.” He gently pushes my hands away from the wheel and takes over. Huffing, I spin around and look to see if their parents just saw what their kid did. But the only thing close to an adult that I see is the bored looking teenage girl and her friend, who’re supposed to be managing the ride.

We do a few more laps before even Leo starts to get crabby with the kids and decides it’s time to wrap it up.

“So long, suckers!” one of them yells as they speed by while Leo’s helping me out.

“Jesus Christ.” He snickers, tugging me down the steps and through the small crowds of people milling around the carnival, which comes here every year for various holidays. The latest one being the Fourth of July weekend that was a few weeks ago.

“Unbelievable. I hope our kids don’t act like that when we aren’t around.” The thought has me paling as soon as it leaves my mouth. We skirt around a couple of rowdy teenagers near the drop slide and make our way to the front gates.

“I’m sure they don’t.” He pauses as we wait at the crossing near the entry to the beach. “Though maybe Charlie …”

I smack his bicep, and he laughs. “I’m joking. He’s a grump at times, but he’s not that bad.”

“Freaking hope not,” I mumble. He brings my hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on it before we step off the curb and cross the street, heading to the toy store at the end of the street on the corner. Greta and Charlie had a sleepover at Lola and Trey’s last night, and being summer break, I thought it’d be wise to utilize this time to grab some presents for Greta’s birthday, which is coming up in a couple of weeks.

The heat from the sun has me appreciating the towering buildings above us as they shade us from its rays for a little while. Leo’s quiet but has a content smile on his face as he studies our surroundings. He has committed to seeing Dr. Tonks and never misses his appointment every month. He only has two more sessions to go, but I don’t think he minds going because the two of them seem to get along quite well. He addressed what happened with us in his earlier appointments. We even talked about Jared and really got down to the underlying issues of why I did what I did. To sum it up, Jared was my heart’s way of crying out for help. Something that I already knew, but I think it helped Leo to dig further and to discuss how he was handling it. Because even though it’s been almost a year since I last saw Jared, I can tell it’s something he’s not likely to ever forget. Not that I can blame him. And it’s the same for me.

Those fears, the worry that something will go wrong and our happily ever after will be interrupted once again still lurk in the dark corners of my mind. But every day, they shrink a little more, and I know that one day, I’ll be able to look at them and see them for what they are. A way of trying to protect myself because nothing’s worse than being blindsided.

Life. It doesn’t always follow the rules and plans you lay out for your future. Something always happens to make you realize that while yes, you are in control, some things just can’t be predicted. And simply won’t fit into the mold of your plans or dreams but rather, will smash them to pieces and force you to rebuild. So finding a way to be happy and live despite that is what matters. It’s where you’ll find your true strength and find out just how much you have. And mine, well, he’s walking alongside me. I’ll never take that for granted or sit back and allow us to crumble again.