Chapter 6
Leah glanced around her restaurant feeling a little giddy. Today she would take the first step in the expansion of her café. The engineer from Cody’s Construction Company–the outfit that had bought her father’s company–had come by earlier to look around and take measurements. The man would be returning next week, along with the architect, to draw up some possibilities for the way she wanted the place to look.
“Leah, you have a call.”
She turned around and smiled over at Marie. “Thanks. I’ll take it in my office.” Leah quickly walked to her office, wondering if it was Jocelyn calling, and if so, why she was calling the café and not her cell phone. Probably because her cell phone was in her office. When they talked yesterday, Leah had felt down in the dumps. Her sister was probably calling to make sure she was doing better today.
She smiled as she picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“Leah, this is Daniel.”
Leah raised her brow, wondering why Reese’s brother was calling her. “Yes, Daniel, what is it?”
“It’s about Reese. He asked me to call you to let you know he was involved in an accident on his way back to town and—”
“An accident!” Panic raced through Leah’s body. “What happened? Is he okay? Where is he?”
“Yes, he’s okay, just bruised up some. We’re at the hospital. Some trucker fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into him. I understand from the state troopers that things could have been much worse; especially if Reese hadn’t been familiar with the roads, as well as able to retain control of his truck. Otherwise, there’s no way he would have been able to stop the vehicle from going over a cliff.”
Leah closed her eyes, thinking of all the mountainous roads between Newton Grove and Memphis, with all their sharp curves. She began shaking. “Where is he, Daniel? I need to come to him. I need to —”
“No. You really don’t need to do anything. The only reason I’m calling is because he asked me to.”
She paused, hearing the cold bitterness in Reese’s brother’s voice. At that moment, anger suddenly tore into her, but she wouldn’t give in to it. “And I appreciate you calling, but I really need to know what hospital he was taken to.” She needed to see Reese, talk to him, and make sure he was all right.
“There’s no need for you to come here. The doctor has fixed him up and has given me the okay to take him home, so that’s what I’m doing. You can call and talk to him later. Bye.”
Leah heard the click in her ear and, for the longest time, just stood there and stared at the phone. If anyone thought she wasn’t going to find Reese and see for herself that he was all right, they had another think coming. She pulled the apron over her head as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. It would be closing time in an hour or so, and Marie could do it for her. She told Angie and Marie what happened and quickly walked out the door. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she didn’t have to worry about the café being opened.
At the moment, the only thing on her mind was getting to Reese.
···
Leah pulled into Reese’s yard at the same time Daniel did. Her car had barely stopped before she jumped out of it. As soon as Reese opened the door to get out of Daniel’s truck, she was there. And as if he understood, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. A part of her wanted to cry. She’d seen the scratches on his face, the cut on his forehead, and the slightly bruised eye. She thanked God those were his only injuries--things could have been a lot worse. She could have lost him.
She pulled back, placed her hands on his shoulders, and studied his features. Even banged-up, he was the most handsome man she knew. And because she needed to know that he was totally okay, she moved closer to him and, on tiptoe, covered his mouth with hers. She gave a sigh of relief, then one of pleasure, when he began kissing her back, accepting the invasion of her tongue as he continued to kiss her, and she kissed him over and over.
In the distance, she heard Daniel clear his throat, and she and Reese reluctantly parted. She glanced over and saw the frown on Daniel’s face. “If the two of you don’t mind, I have to get back to work, and I want to get Reese settled before I go. The doctor gave him some pain pills and said he should lie down and rest,” he said sharply.
She heard the underlying message in Daniel’s words. He would take care of his brother and wanted her gone. But she had news for Daniel Patrick Singleton. She wasn’t going anywhere. “You can go on back to work, Daniel. I’ll take care of Reese.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes at her, and she knew he wanted to say something, probably something smart, even hurtful, but decided to hold his tongue in front of his brother. She felt his anger. He and Reese had always been close. There had been a time when she and Daniel had been close, as well. But now, he saw her as the woman who had hurt his brother.
“I’ll be okay, Danny. I need you to assure Mom that I’m all right. And let her know that Leah is here with me.”
Leah could feel the tension between the two men, and it nearly broke her heart to know she was the cause of it. Daniel stared at Reese for the longest time before finally nodding. Getting back into his truck, he glanced through the window at them one last time before pulling off. Leah then turned her attention back to Reese. Taking his hand, she said warmly, “Come on. Let’s go inside so I can get you settled in bed.”