12. Leo
I’d never appreciated my long legs more than when they propelled me up the stairs to the first floor.
Janice’s shout caused a panic in me like nothing else. My hammering heart was now erratic.
“Are you okay?” I yelled as I made it into the kitchen.
Janice had a hand to her chest and was leaning over the large basin sink to look out the window. On the floor, the teakettle spilled steaming water. She turned around as I entered.
“Yes, oh my, I’m sorry for yelling. Just scared the good Lord into me.”
I went to her, grasping her shoulders to look her up and down. “You’re okay, though?”
“Yes. Yes. I’m fine. Lightning hit the tree, I think.” She patted my hand.
“I’ll clean this up.” Mari had come up and was kneeling to pick up the teakettle.
“Oh, you don’t have to. Thank you,” Janice said.
I tossed a dish towel onto the water before going to the window. “Shit. I think we need to call someone. The tree is smoking.”
“Is it on fire? We have a volunteer firefighter crew just up the road,” Janice said. She already had her phone to her ear.
That was news to me, but with the heavily pouring rain, I wasn’t too concerned about the fire spreading. I was concerned about my garden and the heavy branches falling.
I ran out the side screen door to look down the driveway. Rain pelted every surface, creating a deafening cacophony.
“Be careful!” my mom called after me, and I stopped just before I went into the storm.
Bright light flashed across the storm-darkened neighborhood, followed instantly by another crash of thunder. It shook the air molecules and raised the hairs on my arms.
Janice gasped.
“I should move my car so they have room,” Mari said. She was already running past me and out into the storm.
“Wait, no—” I reached for her as she zipped by me, but she was too fast.
She covered her head, but rain plastered her body as she splashed through the water pooling in the driveway.
“Don’t let her go out in that,” my mother called before reporting the situation to whoever was on the phone.
“I know,” I said, exasperated. Everything happened so fast, delaying my processing. I shook my head. “No!” I yelled to Mari.
Above her, the still smoldering pine cracked. Water streamed into my eyes as I peered to the top of the tree where heavy branches shook in the gusts. A particularly large limb was seconds from breaking off.
I looked back at my mom, whose hands covered her mouth.
“Mari!” I yelled again, but she couldn’t hear me.
Terror bolted through me, and I ran without thinking. She was seconds from reaching her car door as I ran full speed and tackled her like I’d ever watched a single game of football in my life. I tucked her to me as my arms wrapped around her waist, using my body as we fell to cushion her. That, of course, meant I took the full brunt of the impact.
“Oomph.”
The air was knocked out of me, but I still managed to hold on tight to her writhing form.
“What in the—” She flailed and tried to break loose. Water poured from the skies, filling my nose, eyes, and mouth. Water seeped into me from the ground. It was as though I was drowning from all directions.
“Stop. Fighting. Me,” I coughed out.
“Stop whatever you’re doing!”
“I’m being heroic.”
“Well, don’t be. I need to move my car if they’re supposed to help.”
She twisted to get a leg over, straddling to peer down at me. Her whole soaking body sat on mine. It was so soon since the touching in the basement. Why couldn’t I keep myself from chasing after this woman? I held on tighter to her wrists and tugged her back to me.
“It’s not safe,” I growled. Didn’t she understand how close she was to danger?
She fell forward, collapsing to rest her chest on mine. Her gaze moved over my face.
“Leo. It’s okay.” Her voice had softened with whatever she saw written on my features.
I frowned and squeezed her closer. This maddening woman.
“It’s okay. I can wait,” she said.
She’d barely finished speaking when we heard the groan and crack of a massive tree ripping in two.
Our heads snapped in the direction of the sound, and we watched, as though in slow motion, as the top half of the tree seemed to separate itself from the base. A branch—more like another tree—the length of a car and just as thick had detached. It fell down and down until it landed with a crash on the roof of Mari’s car.
The unexpectedly loud sound caused us to flinch into each other as bits of debris flew at us. My arms cradled her head and her rib cage. When the dust settled, so to speak, Mari stared agog at what had been her car but was now considerably less car.
She blinked rapidly, water dripping off her lashes and off her nose. Her blond hair looked dark, plastered with rain. Her whole body convulsed with a shudder.
“My...car.” She looked back at me, mouth parting. My hands were still wrapped tight around her as her head came to my chest, and a wail escaped her.
Had I imagined an outpouring of gratitude and “You saved my life!”? Maybe. Yes, it was harrowing, and I was still in shock that I had acted without thinking and the right thing had happened.
But if I had imagined that scenario, however brief, I was wrong.
“I could have moved my car!” Mari thrashed loose of my grip and scrambled, slipping and crawling to her feet.
“I saved your life.”
“My car is pulverized!”
She ran to her car and attempted to tug free the new Christmas tree decal, but it wouldn’t budge. Her hands slipped off soaking pine needles, cursing me. Cursing nature. Cursing me again when I got to her.
“Mari, we have to go inside. It’s still dangerous out here.”
Her shoulders slumped, but she let me drag her inside.
My mother met us immediately with towels. “Oh my goodness, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t add that Mari had lost her mind since Janice could clearly see that for herself.
I kicked out of my shoes and then bent to pull off Mari’s. She’d stopped fighting me at least but stared straight ahead, water still dripping off her blue lips and shivers racking her.
Janice fussed and made sure we warmed up.
“I’m going to get fresh towels. Why don’t you get some dry clothes for the two of you, and I’ll wash what you’re wearing?”
I looked down at both of us covered in mud, bits of grass, and pine needles.
“Good idea.” I stripped out of my clothes and down to my boxers so I wouldn’t drip on the stairs. When I glanced at Mari, she still shivered in her towel and stared straight ahead.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t move,” I demanded.
She made a sound, and I ran to change and grab her some extra clothes.
Less than a minute later, back in the kitchen, I was relieved to find she’d listened to my instructions.
I handed her the clothes I brought. “You can change in there.” I gestured to the half bath off the kitchen.
She nodded and shuffled away, leaving a trail of water behind her. While she changed, I cleaned up the remaining mess and reset the kettle for tea. My hands shook as the adrenaline slowly seeped away. That had been so damn close. I couldn’t fully process just how close that had been.
When Mari walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, I had to look away before my arms reached out to grab her and hold her to me. Seeing her in a favorite tee and a pair of my shorts made my heart flip and my stomach hurt. I longed to touch her all over and check for any damage. I wanted to strip her and kiss every inch of her body to make sure she was okay. I wanted to take any pain away and replace it with pleasure.
There was no doubt in my mind I had developed feelings for Mari. Feelings much deeper than shallow attraction.
I had cornered her in the basement, and the memory of what I had been about to do flooded me as the iceberg of adrenaline melted away. I’d almost kissed her.
This attraction to her was the last thing she wanted. Another “disappointing person” in her life. If ever there was a man to ultimately let her down, it was me.
She slumped into a chair and collected her long hair over one shoulder. She deftly braided and tied it off with a band from around her wrist.
“Sorry about all that”—she thumbed with minimal enthusiasm toward outside—“almost getting myself killed nonsense.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice still shaky.
The floor creaked above our heads, where Janice moved around upstairs.
“Yeah. I reacted without thinking. Very on brand for me. It felt very important to move my car at the moment.”
“To be fair, it did get crushed by a giant branch. Maybe that was the rush?”
She smiled, but it faded away quickly. “Yeah, but thanks to you, I wasn’t crushed. Sorry for beating you up for it.”
“I’ve managed worse. Was anything important in there?” I had a weird burst of post-adrenaline panic at the realization we had been minutes away from putting the drum kit in there. So maybe it had been a good thing I couldn’t keep myself away from her? In the game of what-ifs, it was very easy to win whatever side you wanted.
“No, actually. Not really.” She tossed her braid over her shoulder and sat up straighter. “It’s not the car. The car is whatever. I have insurance. But this is just another thing I don’t have time for.” Her fingertips went to her temples to rub circles. “It’s another way for the system to beat me down. The car is my independence and my way to help Cath. It’s really starting to feel like something is out to get me. It was a freak accident, yet it feels like a sign.” She stood, arms punching down in determination. “Okay. Enough. I need a plan. The Winstons will likely have a loaner I can use while this gets fixed.”
Just like that, she’d shaken off her near-death experience. Maybe she should process it before she got to work, but she was ready to go.
“Pishposh. You can borrow ours,” Janice said, appearing out of nowhere.
Or maybe I’d been too ensconced in watching how Mari moved in my clothing. Either way, I jumped when Janice had reappeared magically at my side.
“You mean the one car I’m already sharing with you?” I asked.
I could not possibly risk any more time with Mari. My feelings for her were growing too quickly, so any alone time needed to be avoided at all costs. How hard could that be? She was busy, and I was a hermit. I had not agreed to spend time with Mari. A few months to help out Cath and come out on the other side unscathed. That was the new plan. Even if part of me thought the new plan was shitty and just hovering around what I actually wanted.
“Who’s sharing with whom?” Janice asked, crossing her arms. “And anyway, where do you suddenly have to be?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but she had a solid point.
“Though it does remind me. I don’t have anybody else insured except us two.” My mother patted my head. “Looks like you’ll be driving her around.”
Mari and I both started to object at the same time. I turned to her. Wait, why was she objecting?
Oh, right, being escorted around by the town’s biggest disappointment.
“What about you, Janice? We can’t even use the car until this is all cleaned up, it’s currently blocked by the remnants of the tree.”
“Actually. The car is not in the garage.” Janice made a scene of cleaning up the spotless counter. “I had a friend drive me home. When I started not to feel good.” I carefully did not look at Mari, already sure what look I’d find. That look that sounded like mm-hmm. This was most definitely the same friend that was either still upstairs or had snuck out when we were in the basement. “And I can always get a ride from the bunco ladies as I need. Or walk. It’s good for me.”
I suspected this same friend would be driving her around, and she was all too happy to have the ready excuse to spend more time with them.
“I couldn’t. And it’s fine. Like I said, the Winstons will have a rental.” Mari nodded, determined.
Weirdly, the more determined she was not to let me drive her, the more I felt like insisting I didn’t mind.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said.
“It is more than you think. I have to be at school by six thirty for zero hour.”
I groaned. “In the morning?”
“Yep. And rehearsals after, not to mention appointments in town almost every night.”
“Maybe we should just let her get a rental. She needs her freedom.”
“No.” Janice shot me an all-too-familiar look. It garnered no arguments. To Mari, she said, “Leo will drive you. He’ll have to be going to town more often anyway to help Cath. Good. So it’s settled.”
Mari opened her mouth, nothing having been settled, but the fire truck siren coming up the street cut her off.