Coming Home

  A minute later, Alexis appeared in the doorway, folding her arms over her swollen belly and trying to look stern. “Christopher, leave her alone.”

  “Yeah, Christopher, leave her alone,” Leah echoed.

  “Okay, okay,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender before turning to leave. He darted his hand out quickly, swiping a piece of ham on his way out.

  Leah rolled her eyes while Alexis sighed. “I swear, when people ask me if this is my first child, I’m always tempted to say no,” she said, looking over her shoulder at her husband.

  Leah smirked as she drizzled the balsamic vinegar over the salad.

  “What can I help you with?” Alexis asked.

  “Nothing. Go sit. I’m almost done in here.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Sit. Rest. Your days of sitting and resting are numbered,” Leah said with a wink, grabbing the wooden spoon from the counter.

  Alexis leaned over and kissed her cheek, discreetly pulling a piece of cheese from the plate between them, and Leah quirked her brow.

  “For the baby,” Alexis said innocently, popping it in her mouth before she went back out to the living room.

  Leah laughed as she brought the salad and the antipasto out to the table and uncorked two bottles of wine. She glanced at her watch before wiping her hands off on her mother’s apron and loosening the strings.

  “Hey, Sarah?” she called.

  “Yeah?”

  “Can you come in here for a sec?”

  A moment later, her sister’s head popped around the corner. “What’s up?”

  “Can you just watch the sauce for a minute? I’m gonna go upstairs and change.”

  “Yup,” she said, coming into the kitchen and pulling herself up onto the counter, swinging her legs from side to side like a child.

  There was only a three-year age difference between them, but Sarah had always seemed so much younger to Leah. Physically, they were complete opposites: Sarah was almost pixie-like, standing at five-foot-one, while Leah towered over her at five-foot-seven. Sarah’s hair was long and straight, a warm caramel color that showed hints of red in the sunlight, while Leah’s was a chocolate brown, falling just past her shoulders in subtle waves. Their only similarity was their eyes: large and deep green, surrounded by a fringe of thick lashes.

  Leah nudged her little sister playfully. “Is Kyle coming later?”

  “Yeah, for dessert.”

  “You know, a guy who comes to spend Christmas with a girl’s family after dating her for only two months means business.”

  “Well, duh. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hold on to this?” she said, gesturing at herself.

  Leah burst out laughing, throwing the apron at her sister before running upstairs to the bedroom that had been hers as a teenager. Her father had moved them all to Bedford shortly after their mother’s car accident. Leah had been about to start seventh grade at the time, her brother about to begin high school, and their father had told them he was moving them for the sake of their education—that the city schools were in bad shape, and he wanted them all to attend a good high school. But even at twelve years old, Leah knew the real reason.

  He had a hard time living in that house without her. They all did.

  Leah stripped off her “cooking T-shirt”—an old shirt so splattered and stained it looked like a Rorschach test—and pulled a fitted green sweater over her head. She glanced down, tugging the sleeve over her bare wrist. It had been two days since she’d left the note at Catherine’s. The optimist in her wanted to believe that maybe her note had blown away in the storm, and that was why Catherine hadn’t called. But the realist in her knew that if she hadn’t called, she hadn’t found it. And if she hadn’t found it by now, she wasn’t going to.

  Leah knew she couldn’t hide the lost bracelet forever, but she just wanted to make it through the holiday before she had to come clean and tell her father.

  After changing into a pair of skinny jeans, she came back downstairs and turned into the kitchen just in time to see her father sneaking a piece of salami off the serving platter.

  “Daddy,” she said, and he dropped it quickly, spinning in her direction.

  “Princess. You look beautiful.”

  “Nice try,” she said, walking over and sliding the platter out of his reach. “You know you’re not supposed to be eating that.”

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s Christmas, Leah. I’ve been good all year.”

  “I know, but you have to take it easy with that stuff.”

  Her father reached over and pinched the tiniest sliver of salami off the plate, nibbling it off the tip of his finger before raising his eyebrows at her. “Happy?”

  “Don’t be like that,” Leah sighed. “I’m just looking out for you.”

  He walked over to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “I know,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “But it’s been two years. My blood pressure and cholesterol are both good. You gotta stop treating me like I’m made of glass.”

  Leah nodded and looked down. It didn’t feel like two years since her father’s heart attack. It felt like it could have been yesterday. She could remember every horrible detail with perfect clarity, right down to what an awful excuse for a daughter she had been.

  “Besides,” her father said. “I eat healthy practically every other day of the year.”

  Leah smiled up at him. “Only because I go on reconnaissance missions through your fridge and cabinets and do your grocery shopping for you.”

  “I didn’t say I was responsible for my healthy eating habits, just that I had them.”

  The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile just as Christopher’s voice boomed through the house. “Not for nothing, but I’m about to eat my fucking arm out here!”

  “Watch your mouth!” Leah and her father yelled in unison.

  She glanced up at him, rolling her eyes, and he laughed softly, kissing her head again before grabbing one of the serving platters and bringing it to the table.

  A few minutes later, they were all seated as Leah poured everyone a glass of wine. As soon as she placed the empty bottle on the table, everyone turned to look at her father, sitting at the head.

  He cleared his throat and raised his glass. “Here’s to good health, good food, my wonderful children, and my little grandbaby on the way.”

  “Here, here,” Chris said, lifting his wine, and everyone followed, the delicate clinking of glasses echoing around the table.

  “We miss you, Dee,” her father said just as everyone took a sip.

  Over the top of her wine glass, Sarah made eye contact with Leah, smiling sadly, and Leah looked down, focusing on dishing out the food.

  As soon as everyone’s plate was full, the atmosphere grew lighthearted again; the entire first course was comprised mostly of Sarah informing everyone at the table—as only she could—of all the “crazy shit” she had learned in her most recent psychology class, interspersed here and there with Christopher trying to convince everyone that, boy or girl, he’d be naming his future child Humperdink.

  Sarah helped Leah clear the table after dinner, and as they were getting the dessert ready, Kyle arrived. Leah watched her sister’s face nearly split in two with the force of her smile, and she released her from any further hostess duties so she could spend time with him.

  Leah smiled in approval as Kyle pulled the chair out for her sister and asked her what dessert she’d like, serving her before he took anything for himself. She’d only met him a few times, but he seemed like such a genuine guy. There were so many times she caught herself wanting to tell her sister how much she liked him, but she always stopped herself. The truth was, as convinced as she was that Kyle really cared about Sarah, she couldn’t get past the possibility that she might be wrong. It didn’t have anything to do with Kyle—there was nothing about him that made her feel unsure. It was just that Leah had been wrong about that sort of thing before.

  Devastatingly wrong.

&n
bsp; After everything had been cleaned up, Chris and Alexis left, followed by Sarah and Kyle. As her father settled into his recliner with the remote, Leah made her way to the mud room, switching the load of laundry she had started earlier over to the dryer. She came back to the living room and collapsed on the couch, yawning for the fourth time as the day finally started catching up to her.

  “Leah, go home and get some sleep.”

  “I will, as soon as your laundry’s done.”

  He turned in his chair. “I can fold my own laundry, princess.”

  Leah eyed him doubtfully and he laughed. “It may not be pretty, but it will be folded. Go home and get some rest. You’ve done enough for today.”

  She opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by another yawn. Her father lifted his brow at her and she sighed.

  “Okay, okay. If you’re too tired to fold the entire load, just take out your button-downs and hang them so they don’t wrinkle,” she said, standing from the couch and stretching.

  “What would I ever do without you?” he said sarcastically, but Leah could see in his eyes that there was truth to his words.

  She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Good night, Dad.”

  “Send me a text when you get home, please.”

  Leah nodded, dropping her eyes as she remembered how irritated she used to get by his constant request to be notified whenever she arrived somewhere. Sometimes she wished she could go back and slap her younger self. Of course he was uneasy about his loved ones getting in a car and leaving. Of course he had a fear of them never reaching their destination. He had every reason to feel that way.

  “I will,” she said. “Love you.”

  “Love you too. Thanks for everything today.”

  After lethargically gathering her things, Leah walked down the driveway and started the car, pulling out onto the road before it had even warmed up. She had a twenty-five minute drive back to her apartment, and she decided it would be in her best interest not to turn the heat on, hoping the cold would keep her awake. Her eyelids suddenly felt like they weighed a hundred pounds, and all she wanted to do was get home and crawl into her bed.

  The muffled sound of her phone ringing inside her purse snapped Leah out of her daze, and she immediately glanced down at the clock on the dashboard.

  It was after eleven.

  Few things made her more anxious than an unexpected late-night call.

  With one hand on the wheel, she leaned over to the passenger seat and began rummaging through her purse. As soon as her hand wrapped around it, she swiped her thumb over the screen and pulled it out of the bag, hoping she made it before the call went to voice mail.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi. Um…is this Leah?”

  Her brow drew together as she pulled the phone away from her ear, squinting at the screen before bringing her eyes back to the road.

  “Yes, this is Leah,” she said cautiously. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Danny.”

  Danny? Who the hell was Danny?

  When she didn’t say anything, he added, “We met the other day.”

  And then it clicked.

  “Oh! At Catherine’s house?”

  “Yeah. She gave me your number so I could…oh shit. I just realized what time it is. Did I wake you up?”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m actually driving home right now and trying not to fall asleep at the wheel, so you waking me up is a good thing.” She sat up a little straighter, hoping he was calling her with good news.

  “Alright, well I just wanted to tell you that I think I found your bracelet.”

  “Oh my God!” Leah gasped. “You’re serious? You really found it? Please say you found it. You’re not messing with me, are you?”

  He laughed lightly. “Well, if I were messing with you, I’d feel pretty shitty about it now.”

  “You’re being serious? You have it?”

  “A gold bracelet. Kind of looks like it’s braided? Three diamonds in the side?”

  Leah exhaled heavily as her eyes filled with tears. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “I have it right here. It was on the floor in the guest room.”

  “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Leah sighed. “I can’t even tell you how relieved I am right now. Will Catherine be around tomorrow? I can come down and get it.”

  “Well actually, that’s what I’m calling about. I’m gonna be in White Plains tomorrow meeting a friend for lunch. Gram said you lived an hour north, so I figured White Plains is probably about halfway for you, right? Do you want to just meet there? I figured it would shorten your drive a little.”

  “Sure, that works. Where are you having lunch?”

  “Uh…The Cheesecake Factory. On Maple Avenue. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yep. I’ve been there a few times.”

  “Alright, cool. I’ll be there around one,” he said

  “Perfect. Really, Daniel, thank you so much.”

  “Danny.”

  “What?”

  “You can call me Danny. No one really calls me Daniel.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, Danny, you seriously just made my night.”

  “Glad I could be of service,” he laughed. “So I’ll see you tomorrow at one?”

  “Tomorrow at one. Thanks again.”

  “No problem. Good night, Leah.”

  “Good night.”

  Leah ended the call, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat before turning on the radio. She cranked it up, singing along while she drummed her fingers along the side of the steering wheel.

  She felt like she could run a marathon right now.

  It seemed like seconds later that she pulled into the parking space in front of her apartment, and just as she turned the radio down, Leah heard the double beep that signaled an incoming text message. She assumed her father had jumped the gun, thinking she had forgotten to text him.

  She was wrong.

  Merry Christmas, beautiful. Call me. I miss hearing your voice.

  The smile faded from her lips as she read the text. She had removed him from her contact list, so under Sender there was simply a number—but it was a number she knew all too well.

  “Unbelievable,” she muttered, deleting the message before she tossed the phone back into her purse.

  And then she gave it the finger.

  She could not believe he was starting up again, and she was even more aggravated that he had managed to ruin her good mood. Did he really think she would want anything to do with him ever again? Did he see her as being that pathetic?

  Leah scowled as she got out of the car, realizing that he probably did. She had given him every reason to think that, allowing him to manipulate her over and over. Why should he think things would be any different now?

  She carefully traversed the icy walkway leading up to her door, balancing her bags and her plastic container full of leftovers. As soon as she was inside, she kicked off her shoes and made a quick stop in the kitchen to put away the food before sending her father a text, letting him know she was home.

  Leah stripped down to her underwear and crawled into bed, suddenly too tired to even think about putting on pajamas.

  She pulled her comforter up to her chin, and before her mind could rehash the infuriating text, she was fast asleep.

  Danny DeLuca glanced at his watch before shoving his hands back in his pockets.

  It was twenty after one.

  “Excuse me,” someone said as they opened the door to the restaurant, and Danny stepped to the side, allowing the man to pass.

  He didn’t know what to make of it. She had seemed too excited over the bracelet to be a no-show. Plus, he hadn’t pegged her as the kind of girl who would stand someone up anyway.

  Not that he even knew anything about her.

  He lifted his chin, blowing his breath out in puffs of vapor and watching it dissipate before his eyes. This was a sign. The universe telling him what he already knew. If he had anything resembling a brain in his
head, he would walk away right now. Give the bracelet back to Gram and let her handle it.

  Danny sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

  Ten minutes. He’d give her ten more minutes.

  He scrolled through his apps and opened Words With Friends.

  “Oh, bullshit!” he laughed when he saw Jake’s 103-point word. He had built off the C in Danny’s laces to make the word quixotic.

  The direct message that accompanied Jake’s move read simply: BOOYAH, BITCH!

  Danny smirked as he hit reply: I’d be impressed if I thought for one second you knew what that word meant, or even how to pronounce it. Dick.

  “Fucking cheater,” he laughed, hitting send.

  “Hey.”

  Danny lifted his head to see her standing in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest and her shoulders shrugged against the wind.

  He cleared the screen before putting his phone back in his pocket. “I was right about to give up on you,” he said, ignoring the quickening of his pulse.

  “Sorry. Parking was awful. I forgot about the gift-returners who would be out today,” she said, waving her hand in a circle around her head.

  He nodded, looking around them. “Ungrateful bastards.”

  The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile before she said, “You didn’t have to wait outside. It’s freezing.”

  Right. He was supposed to be inside. Having lunch.

  He shrugged dismissively, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s fine.”

  Leah tucked her chin into her scarf and looked up at him from under her lashes. “You’re taller than I remember.”

  He smiled then. Not just because of how she looked staring up at him that way, but because of her comment. Like they were long-lost friends who had just been reunited.

  There was something so damn charismatic about this girl. He’d spent barely five minutes with her that day at Gram’s, and yet she had managed to charm him. He liked that she wasn’t afraid to call him out on his shit; there was a confidence about her that not a lot of girls had—a toughness—but at the same time, she had been so incredibly compassionate and sweet when it came to Gram.

  “So,” she said after few seconds of silence, bouncing up on her toes and looking at him expectantly.