Coming Home(129)

Two of the men, who she could now see were bouncers, dragged a still-shouting Scott toward the back exit, his mouth covered in blood.

She turned just in time to see Danny’s back as he stormed through the front door of the bar and out onto the street, someone following closely behind him.

Leah attempted to follow him, but the arm around her waist pulled her back. “Are you out of your mind trying to get between those two?”

She turned around, finally acknowledging the person holding her, and she tried to remove the arm from around her waist as she made a move for the door again.

Sarah tightened her grip. “Hey,” she said calmly. “Let him cool off. He’s with Kyle. He’ll be fine. Just give him a minute.”

Leah turned to look at her sister, her shoulders sagging in acquiescence as she fell back on the barstool behind her.

Her eyes instantly welled with tears.

“What are you crying about?” Sarah said. “He’s not hurt.”

Leah turned her head and stared at the door as her chin began to quiver.

“It was just a few punches, Leah,” she said with a tiny laugh. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“I can’t believe this,” Leah mumbled, shaking her head.

“Oh, please don’t tell me you’re mad at him. You know Scott deserved that. In fact, he’s had that coming for a long time.”

She glanced at Sarah. Of course she didn’t understand. How could she?

“I’m just a little shaken up,” Leah said, and Sarah reached over and rubbed her shoulder.

“Alright, well, you can relax now. Kyle will come back and get us when he calms down. Here,” she said, handing her a beer. “Drink.”

Leah took a careful sip, struggling to swallow it.

“If you want the truth,” Sarah said, “I kind of wish they had let that go a few minutes longer. Scott could have used the lesson in humility.”

Leah sat there, staring at her beer as her stomach churned. Of course Sarah thought her reaction seemed excessive. She didn’t know that this was more than just some bar fight. She didn’t know what this could have meant for him.

Leah replayed the scene in her mind, recognizing all the places she should have handled the situation differently. She could have asked Sammy for help as soon as Scott wouldn’t let her leave. He would have tossed Scott out in a second if he was making her uncomfortable. She should have done everything in her power to diffuse the situation before Danny felt like he had to get involved.

Leah looked down and shook her head, because if she were being honest with herself, she should have handled the situation long before that. She should have dealt with him as soon as he started contacting her after their breakup, instead of taking the easy way out and ignoring him all this time. So in truth, she had brought this all on herself.

And consequently, she had brought this down on Danny.

The image of Danny swinging at Scott flashed in her mind, and her eyes welled with tears again. How could she have been so careless? She had put him in a situation where he felt like he needed to take action.

She had left him no choice.

And what would have happened if he’d gotten arrested tonight protecting her? How would that have looked to the judge trying to determine if he was a violent criminal?

Leah swiped under her eyes as she willed her heartbeat to return to normal, but it was in vain. Every second that passed caused the knot in her stomach to grow tighter. Where was he? What if Kyle wasn’t able to calm him down? What if Scott went after him again outside?

She took another sip of beer, and the taste made her feel like she was going to be sick. Leah pressed her fingers to her mouth and closed her eyes.