Chapter 6
Leah came out of the school ten minutes later and walked to her car. Was that kid hers? The thought hit him hard, and it wouldn’t let go.
Is that my kid?
He knew the question would spin in his mind on repeat until he got answers, so when she pulled out of her parking spot, he followed. Would she have come back to Lyntacky if she’d had his child?
Dan followed her car as she rolled onto the main street and through the heart of Lyntacky, the small town he’d spent his whole life in after growing up here with his siblings. This place had watched the Dukes go from troublemakers to respectable citizens… most of the time.
Some of the older residents had watched him change from a reckless kid into a responsible cop. And being a cop here meant knowing when something felt off. Whether it was a big deal or a tiny shift in the usual rhythm.
He knew every shop, every owner, and exactly what they stocked. Sometimes, he knew more about the locals than he cared to.
He loved this place. His job. Everything important to him was here.
His eyes stayed on Leah’s car. She drove slowly, the way you did in a town where everyone knew you and no one hesitated to call the station if you ticked them off.
Who was that little boy’s father? Was he actually hers? And why the hell hadn’t anyone in his family mentioned she had come back to Lyntacky with a kid? Even a head cold was broadcast around all the Dukes, followed by a delivery of chicken soup.
Leah slowed, and he did the same, watching as she parked across the road from Petticoat Homeware, his sister Zoe’s store.
Dan parked a few spaces behind her and watched as Leah stepped out.
She locked her car, like someone who’d spent too long in the city.
No one in Lyntacky was brave enough to steal cars.
Well, not from within the town limits where everyone knew everyone.
He got out and walked toward her. Hearing his footsteps, Leah turned, and their eyes met. Dan saw a flicker of emotion flashing in the green depths. Guilt, maybe? Anger? Or was he just projecting?
“Hey, Leah, nice to see you again.”
The look in her eyes told him it wasn’t nice at all, but she was too polite to say otherwise. The old Leah would have. She never held back.
“Dan” was all she said.
“How are you settling in?” he asked. The smudges under her eyes told him she was still adjusting. Leah was pale, too, but Dan told himself that was not his problem. “Need anything?”
“No.”
“I just saw you at the school.” He paused. “Who’s the kid?”
Her eyes narrowed. “He’s mine.”
“How old? Looks around seven to me. About the same amount of years you’ve been gone. After you left Lyntacky without a word or forwarding address.” He hadn’t meant the words to sound bitter, but they had, which told him that while he thought he’d got over her leaving, clearly, he hadn’t.
She frowned.
“Who is his father?” Dan asked, deciding it was best to just ask the question.
Fire lit her eyes. “You think Hudson is yours? That I’d have a kid and not tell you about it?”
The words were hard, but Dan didn’t care. He needed to know if that boy was his or not.
“I don’t know, Leah. Would you?” Dan sounded calm when inside he was far from it. That was a learned skill from his time in the force. Never show what you’re feeling.
“He’s not yours,” she hissed. “And you never knew me at all if you think I’d do something like that.” She spat the words at him.
“Yeah, well, I guess we all jump to conclusions sometimes. Don’t we?” Now his words were hard.
Her eyes moved an inch to the left, breaking the contact. Dan wondered if the last seven years had given her time to think about what happened between them. What she’d accused him of, and if she’d come to the realization he’d just been doing his job.
“How old is he?”
“Why do you need to know Hudson’s age?”
“Because if he’s seven or near to it, then you must have been real heartbroken when you left Lyntacky, seeing as you took up with someone else straightaway.” He couldn’t seem to stop the words pouring out of his mouth. “Is daddy here too?”
Her eyes narrowed, and he knew that look. The next words out of her mouth would be a shriek.
“Real smooth, Dan, even for someone like you,” Leah said, not in a shriek like he’d thought. But cold and angry.
“Someone like me?” he said through his teeth.
“I almost don’t want to tell you the truth, but in a town like this, I know it will get back to you, and probably not the correct version, so I will.”
She leaned in, and he inhaled that scent that was hers alone. A mix of wild and soft, and inherently Leah’s. He felt his body react to her nearness and hated it.
“Hudson is six, and Cassie’s son. She died a few months ago. I’m his guardian now. He is all I have left, seeing as you made sure his granddaddy will end his days in prison.”
Her voice trembled slightly on the last word. She was one of the toughest people he knew, so when Leah was near tears, it was a big deal, which losing your sister was. The two Reynolds siblings were close—had to be, as they’d only had each other.
“So you can go to hell, Dan Duke, for thinking I’d ever do what you just accused me of.”
“Leah, I’m—”
She walked away from him before Dan could finish his apology.
She then turned back to look at him briefly.
“But I’m a Reynolds, so it’s expected, right?
” she added, then continued on across the street and straight into Zoe’s store, leaving Dan standing there, jaw clenched, heart racing, knowing he’d hurt her.
“Well, fuck,” he muttered. He’d just accused her of having his kid and not telling him about it, when in fact she was looking after Cassie’s son. Cassie, who was now dead. He’d also basically called her loose for hooking up with someone after she’d left him.
“Christ,” he whispered, looking up at the clear blue sky. You’re an idiot.
She’d always made him feel crazy and off-balance, and it seemed that hadn’t changed.
“Problem?”
“No.” He didn’t turn to look who was behind him because he knew that voice.
“Sure looks like a problem, Double D.”
“No offence, JD, but fuck off.”
His sister was engaged to the man at his back. Dan thought of him like a brother and couldn’t be happier for Zoe, but right then, he didn’t want to talk to anyone.
“Saw you talking to Leah. Have to say, it looked tense, and I heard raised voices,” JD said, moving to his side. “You know I can’t leave you standing here hurting… if that’s what you are, because your sister will make my life hell. You being her baby brother and all.”
Dan sighed and shot JD a look. Tall, bearded, and covered in tattoos, the man always wore the latest fashion and smelled good. Not that Dan would ever tell him that. From a wealthy family, he’d followed Sawyer to Lyntacky from the big city after they’d become friends and never left.
“You know Leah now?” Dan asked him.
“Yeah, we had breakfast together a few days after she arrived back in town. When you were on your course.”
“You had breakfast with Leah?” Dan couldn’t seem to think straight. He wanted to find Leah and apologize but doubted she’d listen to anything he had to say right then.
“The family did. We were having our monthly Do-Si-Do breakfast, and she walked in with Hudson. Cute kid, by the way, and he and Ally seemed to get on well. Mind you, she gets on with everyone. She’s the best.”
“Back to Leah,” Dan ground out.
“Right. She had breakfast with us. Sad about her sister, bud. Has to be really hard to suddenly find yourself raising a child.”
How the hell did he apologize to a woman who already hated him for being an idiot and speaking without facts? Which wasn’t usually his thing. Dan never walked into anything anymore without thinking it through.
“How did Cassie die?” Dan had liked Leah’s older sister. She’d been gentle and a stable influence on her fiery younger sister. It saddened him to think she’d died at such a young age. Leah must have been devastated, and now she was raising Cassie’s son.
Fuck, he’d messed up.
“Cancer, I think she told Zoe. It was quick,” JD added. “What’s the deal with you two? Because I’ve heard stories, and according to my girl, who is always right, let me tell you—”
“You’re so whipped,” Dan muttered.
“She says you and Leah were good for each other, and then suddenly her dad was arrested and the Reynolds sisters left town. Sawyer said you won’t talk about what happened because Leah hurt you bad, and Brody says you’re shut up tighter than a jar of pickles in the Do-Si-Do because she was the one.”
“Fuck me.” Dan sighed before JD could continue listing the conversations he’d had with his entire family about when Leah left Lyntacky. “Sometimes, like now, I wish I were an only child and lived in a big city where not every second person carried your blood or some connection to you.”
“No, you don’t,” JD said. “Want coffee? I was just going down to see Ryder and Libby. You wanna tag along?”
“If I say no, will you leave me alone?” Dan asked.
“Unlikely. How’s the hand?”
“Good, and I’ll drink coffee with you because you have no friends.”
“True,” JD said. “You can drive.”
“Because it’s so far?” Dan said, looking down the street to where his brother’s cafe was.
“Just get in the car before Zoe sees us and wants to know why we’re out here and not in Petticoat visiting her. Then she’ll see your face and know something is off.”
“I’m not going in there,” Dan said.
“Because your old flame just walked into the shop, and something went down between you. Got that, just not what went down, but we’re going to eat and drink coffee, and I can sit and listen. Then give you relationship advice because I’m so good at it.”
“I hate loved-up people,” Dan muttered.
“Jealousy is an ugly trait,” JD said, folding his long legs into the passenger’s seat.
After throwing a last look at Petticoat, Dan did a U-turn and headed down the street. They reached the Swing Through Cafe minutes later.