Coming Home(123)

After dinner the girls brought dessert out to the table, and everyone sat around, sipping coffee and talking casually. At one point Kyle was telling a story, and Leah looked at Danny to find his gaze focused on the other side of the table. He looked almost wistful, and Leah followed his line of sight to where Chris and Alexis were sitting; they were looking at Kyle as he spoke, but Chris’s hand was on Alexis’s belly, rubbing it gently as he listened to Kyle’s story.

She reached under the table and took his hand, and Danny blinked quickly, snapping out of whatever spell he was under as he looked down at her. She gave his hand a tiny squeeze, and he smiled before he returned it.

Just as everyone was finishing up, Leah excused herself to the laundry room to sort her father’s laundry, and by the time she got back to the kitchen, only Sarah and Kyle were left. Sarah was putting the leftovers in plastic containers, and Kyle was loading the dishwasher.

Leah walked toward the family room and popped her head in. Chris and Alexis were sitting on the couch together, watching TV.

“Where are Daddy and Danny?” she asked.

“Outside,” Chris answered.

“What are they doing out there?”

Chris shrugged, his eyes on the television. “Don’t worry. Dad wouldn’t do anything out there. Too many witnesses.”

Leah rolled her eyes, walking to the window and pulling the curtains aside. The outside light was on, faintly illuminating the driveway, and it took her a second to find them. As soon as she did, her eyes stung with the threat of tears.

They stood at the top of the driveway behind the pickup Danny had borrowed from Jake. Danny was off to the side, his hands in his pockets and his head down. The truck bed was open, and Leah’s father leaned on it with both hands, staring tenderly at what lay inside.

After a minute he stood, turning to Danny, and Leah watched as Danny raised his head. They were too far away for her to see their expressions, or even if their mouths were moving, but they stood there for a moment, facing each other. And then her father walked toward him, putting his hand on Danny’s shoulder.

Leah stepped back and let the curtain fall closed, suddenly feeling as though she were eavesdropping. A wave of emotion crashed over her, and all at once, she wanted to laugh, or burst into tears, or both.

Sarah and Kyle joined them in the living room, and Leah curled up in her father’s recliner, attempting to watch TV with everyone else. About ten minutes later, she heard the garage door being opened, and she knew Danny and her father were carrying the slab of concrete into the house.

Eventually she heard the sounds of them coming up the basement stairs, and as the door opened, Leah turned to see her father standing at the top. His eyes met hers, and then he walked over to where she was sitting, bringing his hand to her cheek as he stared down at her. She smiled up at him, and his lips curved into a gentle smile in return before he dropped his eyes and took a tiny, quivering breath. He walked out of the room then, and she knew he must have needed a few minutes to himself.

Leah turned her attention back to the basement steps; Danny was leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on her. Before she had even made the conscious decision to do it, she was out of the chair and crossing the room to him. He pushed off the wall as she approached, and Leah immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, hiding her face in his chest as she inhaled the scent that was quickly becoming vital to her. He brought his hand to her hair, holding her against his chest as he pressed his lips to the crown of her head.

And that was the moment she knew she had fallen in love with Danny DeLuca.