Coming Home(120)

“Okay.”

“Okay, so that’s a ridiculous waste of time and gas. You don’t have to do that.”

Danny put his fork down on the table and leaned toward her. “Leah?”

“Yeah?”

“What time should I pick you up tonight?”

She stared at him for a second before she conceded with a sigh. “Five thirty.”

Danny smiled, taking his elbows off the table as he picked up his fork. “There. Now, was that so hard?”



As Leah and Danny walked up her father’s driveway, she bit the corner of her lip, glancing over at him. She couldn’t understand how he could be so calm; her stomach rolled incessantly the entire drive to her father’s, and now that they were nearing his front door, she felt like she might be sick.

Danny noticed her looking at him, and he gave her a tiny smile, squeezing her hand as they walked up the steps. They stopped in front of the door, and Leah looked up at him.

“Last chance to back out,” she said, and he smiled.

“I’m all in,” he said, placing a reassuring hand on the small of her back, and she took a deep breath before she turned and opened the front door.

The sounds of talking and laughing instantly greeted them, immediately followed by the smell of Sarah’s lasagna.

Here we go, she thought just as her brother’s voice boomed through the house.

“Oh, you’ve got to be f*cking kidding me! Somebody paid this ref off!”

She flinched and shook her head, looking up at Danny.

“Does he have a swear jar?” he asked.

Before she could answer, Sarah and Alexis came out of the kitchen.

“Hey guys!” Sarah said excitedly, taking the bottle of wine out of Leah’s hands. “Danny, I’m so glad you decided to come.” She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek, and he smiled his dimpled smile at her.

“Here, let me take that,” she said, reaching for the dessert box with the Giovanni’s logo scrawled across the top. “Whatever’s in here needs to be hidden before my brother sees it.”

She turned and walked back toward the kitchen, and Alexis stepped forward, holding out her hand. “Hi, Danny. I’m Alexis, Chris’s wife.”

Danny took her hand and leaned down, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Nice to meet you,” he said, and she blushed slightly.

Leah removed her coat and Danny followed suit. As Leah reached for it, Alexis intercepted it. “No, let me take those. You guys go inside. Danny, the boys are all drinking beer. Do you want one? Or a glass of wine?”

“A beer would be great, thanks,” he said, handing her his coat. Alexis smiled with a nod, turning toward Leah to take her coat. She made eye contact with her, raising one eyebrow before she continued toward the hall closet.

Leah turned to Danny, looking up at him as she took a breath. “Ready?”

He nodded. “If you are.”

She forced a smile and turned to walk toward the family room. Goddamn him, he was still the epitome of calm and collected. Meanwhile, her pulse was rushing in her ears as they approached the room.

As they reached the doorway, three heads turned to look at them simultaneously. Her father was sitting in his usual place in the recliner, and her brother was laid out across the couch, one hand behind his head. Kyle was on the love seat, one arm draped across the back and the other holding a bottle of beer on his knee.

“Hey, look who’s here!” Chris said, swinging his legs over the couch as he sat up, and her father shifted in his chair, gripping the sides as he pushed himself up to stand.