Chapter 4 #2
Her friend’s eyes went to Hudson after she’d released Leah and then back to her.
A question now in them. Behind Birdie, her husband, Sawyer, the eldest of the five Dukes, sat with a little girl on his knee.
In the booth behind and across from him were three of his siblings, and their partners.
All were watching the conversation play out between Birdie and Leah. Thankfully, Dan Duke wasn’t there.
“This is Hudson, my nephew,” Leah said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Cassie’s son.”
“Well, hey there, Hudson, I’m so pleased to meet you. Your aunt and I were besties during school.”
“Besties makes you sound really old, Aunt Birdie.”
The young girl who was sitting between Brody and Phoebe said those words. Leah might not know everything that went on in Lyntacky, but she remembered this girl. Ally was Brody Duke’s daughter. She’d grown so much in the past seven years from that little girl who liked to wear bright colors.
“Yeah, well, it’s how we used to talk,” Birdie said, smiling at the girl.
“Is Cassie back too?” Zoe Duke, the only girl in the family, said getting out of her seat.
Gorgeous, confident Leah had always been a little in awe of this woman.
“Slide into that spare booth, Hudson, and start reading the menu,” Leah said, waving her nephew into a seat. “I’ll order for us soon.”
“He can sit here beside me. Dad, move,” Ally said, pushing her father in the shoulder.
“She was such a sweet little girl once,” Brody said, getting out with a baby in his arms. “You get in there, Hudson, and don’t take any crap from my daughter.”
Hudson shot Leah a look, and she nodded. “All these people are good ones, buddy, you’ll like them.”
“He looks just like the Cassie I remember,” Brody added as Hudson slid slowly into the seat. Ally then nudged the menu in front of him and pointed things out on it.
“Okay, he’s busy, so now tell me what you couldn’t with Hudson close,” Birdie said. Beside her was Zoe, and next to her now was Brody, who was rocking his baby from side to side as it hung over his shoulder. They were staring at her.
She needed to get this over and done with so they could move on.
By tonight the Lyntacky grapevine would have ensured that everyone in town knew the circumstances of Cassie’s death, and she wouldn’t have to speak about it again.
Forcing down any emotion, Leah said, “Cassie died. A few months ago now, and I’m his guardian. ”
Silence greeted those words, and the looks on the faces closest went from shock to sadness.
“Oh, Leah,” Birdie whispered and then hugged her again. “I’m so sorry.”
“Man, that sucks,” Brody said, putting a hand on Leah’s shoulder. “What happened?”
All of the adults, realizing something wasn’t right, got out of the booths, and came closer. Then Zoe relayed the news about Cassie, and she received hugs from everyone.
Leah didn’t like people getting too close to her, but she didn’t fight it. Dukes did what Dukes wanted to do, so you just rolled with it, and when it was done, she could back away.
“Cancer. It came on so fast, and she was gone in months,” Leah said, choking down the tears that were always close to the surface when she thought about her sweet sister. She’d fought hard to keep her emotions tamped down for Hudson’s sake.
“Well, you’re back here with us now, and we’ll look after you,” Birdie said. “Come on, you sit down, and we’ll get you some food. You look like you need it.”
“Which means what?” Leah protested. “And I can look after myself.”
“You’re skinny is my guess,” Sawyer Duke, the eldest in the family, said.
“You’ve still got that same stubborn streak in you, I see,” Birdie added. “Don’t let anyone see you need help. Don’t lean on anyone.”
“Birdie—”
“What state was that house in when you arrived?” Zoe Duke asked, cutting Leah’s words off. “Do you need us to come out and help you get it back in shape?”
“No. I’ve got it, and it’s clean now,” Leah said and could hear the defensive tone of her voice.
“It wasn’t an insult, Leah.”
She sighed. “I know, but the house is okay. I cleaned it up.”
She watched as the Duke family all shot one another looks.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Ryder Duke said quickly. “I own the cafe down the bottom of town, next to the pizza place. Come in there some time, and your first meal is on the house.”
“I don’t need charity, Ryder.”
“Do you need a friend?” Birdie demanded.
She ignored that and instead asked, “Why are you eating here if you own that place? It looks really nice.”
“It is really nice,” he said. “But I like the cinnamon toast in here better, and we also need to share the love around in Lyntacky. So once a month we all come here for breakfast.”
And that was a Duke through and through. They were good folks. A little mean when they had to be, loud and opinionated, too, but they were always there when you needed them.
Leah’s eyes went to Hudson, who was listening as Ally talked to him.
It wasn’t about her anymore. She had him now, and if the Duke family took him under their wing, he would be safe and have support.
So, she needed to suck up her pride and make that happen, even if with them came Dan Duke, that asshole who had broken her heart.
“So, Leah, you still playing ball?” Sawyer asked.
“I haven’t in a while.”
“Well, no time like the present. You can play for us.”
“Ooh, yes,” Zoe said. “We always have someone pulling out.”
“But right now you need to sit and talk to all of us. We want details of what’s been happening with you and to hear all about Hudson,” Birdie said, wiping the tears from her eyes. She’d always been the most emotional out of the two of them, and she loved Cassie just like Leah had.
They’d kept in touch on and off over the years, and Birdie kept her up to date on what was happening in Lyntacky. She’d planned to tell her about Cassie, but not found the words to do so because her pain had been so raw.
Sawyer put an arm around Leah and pulled her to his side.
Looking at the people around her, she saw they were all loved up now, and that made her both happy and sad.
Pleased her friends were happy and sad she’d met no one since Dan, who’d made her want to be loved up.
Shutting down that thought, she sat and got reacquainted with her old friends while Hudson made a new one.