Coming Home(68)

He looked down and nodded. “Do you think he got what he deserved?”

Leah chewed on the inside of her lip. Did she think he got what was coming to him when he lost his life? She looked up sheepishly as she asked, “Would it make me a terrible person if I said yes?”

Danny looked down before closing his eyes. “No. It wouldn’t.”

She sat there staring at him, trying to comprehend what he was really asking her. His questions seemed completely irrelevant to their discussion, and yet she knew there must have been some connection she was missing.

“I will tell you, Leah,” Danny said after a long silence. When he finally looked back up at her, his expression was a mix of sincerity and fear. “I have to tell you, because I don’t want to stop spending time with you.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes as he said, “It’s just…I don’t even know what I’m up against right now. I need just a little more time.”

“Okay,” she said softly, and his eyes met hers.

“Really?”

She nodded. “You can take whatever time you need. I just can’t be lied to. I don’t ever want to be lied to.”

“I won’t ever lie to you, I promise you that.”

She smiled softly. “That’s all I ask.”

They sat there for a moment, looking at each other, and then Danny closed his eyes as he brought his fingertips to his temples, massaging slow circles.

“You’re feeling it, huh?” Leah asked.

“I think I’m gonna be feeling this shit for days,” he said, wincing slightly as he continued to rub.

She laughed as she stood from the couch, and his eyes flew open. “Where are you going?”

“You need aspirin,” she said. “Bathroom?”

He nodded, closing his eyes again. “Medicine chest above the sink. On the bottom shelf.”

Leah got him the aspirin and stopped in his bedroom to get him the bottle of water she’d left there earlier before returning to the couch and handing them both to him. After he had swallowed the pills and about half the bottle of water, he looked over at her.

“Thanks. I’m still not cleaning up those coffee grounds.”

She laughed and he smiled up at her, revealing the dimples that made her chest flutter. Danny grabbed the pillow and positioned it behind his head as he lay back onto the couch.

And then he lifted his arm, inviting her into the space beside him.

She probably should have shown some hesitation, just to maintain some semblance of dignity, but instead she immediately crawled over to him, laying her head on his chest. He exhaled contentedly as his hand came to the back of her hair, lazily running his fingers through it, and Leah closed her eyes.

It felt so perfect to be lying with him this way, like they had done it a million times before. And she knew she would crave it now, like an addiction that weakened her until it was fed.

Leah sighed softly as she curled her fingers into his shirt, and she felt him kiss the top of her head as he continued playing with her hair.

She didn’t have all her answers yet, but she would. And it was enough to know that for now—to believe that whatever he had to tell her wouldn’t be significant enough to change what was happening between them.

Because she didn’t want to have to walk away from him now.





“How’s that working out for you?”

Danny kept the wad of food tucked in the side of his cheek as he glanced over to where Leah was leaning against his counter, her arms crossed over her chest, fighting a smile.