14

LEAH WOKE UP, unsure of how long she’d been sleeping. She peeked out the window and saw that it was dark. Fighting grogginess, she mustered enough energy to take an overdue shower. As she finished her shower, a wave of dizziness struck her with such force that she sat on the tub’s edge. Taking several fortifying breaths, she looked down at her withered body and guessed she had lost around forty or fifty pounds in the past few months.

After she gathered a little strength, Leah climbed from the tub and scrubbed her fuzzy teeth, twice. She wrapped a towel tightly around her body and crossed the hall to her room. Exhausted from the energy used for the shower, Leah sat on the bed, waiting for her strength to return.

Leah woke up freezing. She had no idea how long she’d been napping —she’d only meant to rest for a few moments. She dragged her weary body back out of bed and dressed in a pair of jogging pants and a hoodie. She ran some curl serum through her still-damp hair and headed downstairs.

Leah reached the bottom of the stairs and found Crowley sitting on the couch. His head was bent down as he studied a case folder. She turned around to head back upstairs.

“Where you going?”

Leah took two steps up. “Just going to go back to my room. I don’t want to disturb you.”

“I could use some company. Lulu goes to bed way too early. You’ve got to be feeling claustrophobic in that room by now.” Crowley glanced away from the file and met her eyes. He held her gaze until she looked away.

Leah wished Crowley wouldn’t look at her that way, like he was determined to discover her secrets. Secrets she had no desire to share. But some company did sound appealing, so she crossed over to the fireplace and stood with her back to it for a while to warm up. She watched as Crowley made some notations on a yellow legal pad. A few minutes passed in silence until her belly disrupted it by releasing a rude growl. She’d not eaten in three days but didn’t have the strength to make something.

Crowley glanced up from his folder and gave her a thorough looking over, causing her to fidget. “You look a little puny, Lee,” he commented. “And you’re too pale.”

“I feel a lot puny, Crow.” Leah walked over to the couch and sat at the opposite end from Crowley, where two bed pillows were piled. She rested her head on them, and Crowley went back to jotting notes for a while. “Working on anything interesting?” she eventually asked.

“I’m working out negotiations for a high-profile divorce. They’re some bigwigs who own an island off the coast of South Carolina. The sad part is that they’ve been married thirty-eight years and are now divorcing after investing all that time.” Crowley shook his head.

“That’s one heck of a way to start the New Year off.” Leah propped her feet on the couch and shifted around to face Crowley as he spoke.

“Yeah. They didn’t want to ruin their family’s holidays, so I agreed to have the paperwork ready by the end of the month.” He grabbed hold of Leah’s bare feet, which were freezing. “Where’s your socks?” He shot her a disapproving look as he rubbed her feet.

Leah didn’t pull away, finding the heat and contact of his hand comforting, which surprised her immensely. It took a moment to find her voice. “At the apartment. I forgot to pack some.”

Crowley released her feet and sat up so that he could pull out the quilt he was resting on. He placed it over Leah and tucked it firmly around her feet. The quilt was warm from his body heat, and she gladly snuggled into it.

“How do you feel?” He placed his hand on her forehead and looked at her with concern.

“The fever is finally gone.” Leah was astounded by the comfort she took in his attention. “I’m just weak. I’m feeling pretty hungry, actually.”

Crowley removed his hand from her forehead. “What sounds appealing?”

She gave a guilty smile. “Something chocolate, but I’m guessing I won’t find that in this house.”

Crowley made a show of looking over his shoulder before fishing out a king-size Snickers bar from his briefcase. “I’ll share it with you, if you promise not to tell Lulu,” he whispered as he opened it and gave Leah half. His eyes held a hint of mischievousness.

“Promise,” she whispered back as she took her first bite. “Hmm. It’s been too long. You wouldn’t happen to have a Diet Mountain Dew hiding in there too?” She pointed at his briefcase.

“Nope, but I can get you a cup of hot coffee.” Crowley shoved the last of the candy bar in his mouth and headed into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later, carrying two steaming cups and handed Leah one. “Instant will have to do until the electricity is restored.”

“I don’t mind. I actually like the taste. It was all I could afford starting out.” Leah took a sip. “Even though I’ve drunk my share of gourmet coffee since then, I still enjoy a cup of instant every now and then.”

“I like it pretty well myself.” Crowley sipped from his cup and gazed at the fire.

“Hey. Thanks for sharing your chocolate with me.” Leah smiled.

“I don’t take sharing my chocolate lightly either. Most people don’t know this, but I have an overgrown sweet tooth,” he said, causing Leah to snort in amusement.

“You don’t have anyone fooled on that one, Crow. I heard all about your pie contest binge, and I’ve seen you in action, with my own two eyes, with all of those Christmas cookies.”

As Crowley grinned at her, she took a good look at him and quietly giggled. His unruly hair was sticking up in every direction and his long-sleeved T-shirt and plaid night pants were pretty wrinkly.

“Why are you camped out on Lulu’s sofa instead of your bed at home? You scared of a little storm?”

He gave her a sidelong glance and shrugged. “I’ve always stayed to help her out during any storm for as long as I can remember.”

“But why?”

“For one thing, it was actually stated in my parents’ will to always take care of her.” Before she could say anything, he added, “Both my parents have passed away. Can we just leave it at that?” He looked away with a bit of uneasiness.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It just hurts too much to talk about it.” They sat in silence for a few moments, studying the fire, before Crowley continued. “I genuinely love Lulu. I’m a blessed man that God saw fit to give me two mommas. My momma and Lulu were best friends. Lulu had no children of her own, so Momma always shared me. I see it as an honor to fulfill my parents’ wish, but I would have done it regardless.” Crowley smiled somberly and met Leah’s gaze as she shook her head. “What?”

“How can you be born so good when some men are born so bad?”

“I have my moments, Lee.” He stood and stretched before tossing a few more logs onto the fire.

“Not evil ones,” Leah said quietly.

Crowley looked over his shoulder at her for a moment and then went back to tending to the fire. “I guess it comes down to the choices you make.” He shrugged. “I’ve worked on some criminal cases where I thought I was fighting the devil himself. All I know is that drugs, alcohol, or childhood abuse typically plays a big factor in crime. A lot of consequences can come from one bad choice.” He rejoined her on the couch, propped his socked feet up on the coffee table, and leaned his head against the couch.

“Tell me about your New Year’s Eve date.” Leah wanted to change the subject, and she just couldn’t resist teasing him with this topic.

Crowley closed his eyes and shook his head. “Next subject.”

“Oh, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.” Leah nudged him in the side with her foot. “I guarantee I had a worse New Year’s than you.”

Crowley turned his head and opened his eyes to meet Leah’s. “I would have rather been burning up with fever.”

“You’re full of it.”

“Look, I love Ana as a sister. Sometimes she takes my brotherly love and tries to make it into something more.” He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long sigh. “And the party was a total bust. I spent the entire night keeping idiots in line as she showed off in front of them all. Instead of looking like the protective brother, I looked like the super-jealous boyfriend.”

“Why not love her more?” Leah asked.

“I tried for a while, but it just felt wrong. You can’t help who you fall in love with, or not.”

“You’re right.” Images of Brent flashed through Leah’s head, with the last one being him motionless on their bloody bed. She shivered.

“Next subject?” Crowley arched an eyebrow and smiled when Leah nodded in agreement.

The next few hours passed by with them rambling through various topics, steering clear of any serious ones. They debated what soup they would beg Lulu to make the next day. Crowley wanted chili, but Leah thought vegetable soup would be better. They teased each other about who Lulu liked the most between them.

A little after midnight, Crowley’s eyes shut as he dozed off midsentence. He had been telling her all about his ideas for the next youth fishing tournament. She watched him for a while, wondering if he would rouse back up and finish his sentence. But his bottom lip puckered out, making him look like a youth himself, so she decided he was out for the count. Leah eventually dozed off too.

Lulu came downstairs at sunrise and found her two guests snuggled in quilts on opposite ends of her couch. She didn’t know if she was supposed to like that or not, but chose to like it. She was relieved Crowley was finally warming up to Leah.

A hot breakfast of grits, eggs, and turkey sausage encouraged the sleepyheads off the couch by midmorning. After eating and helping Lulu clean, the trio spent most of the day playing board games and snuggling up in quilts by the fire. Lulu was amused at how the two “young’uns,” as she referred to Crowley and Leah, teased and bickered like siblings would.

They both had different requests for supper, saying Lulu would fix her favorite person’s request, and she did just that. Lulu began prepping the ingredients for chili, making Crowley whoop in victory over Leah, until Lulu started a second pot for the vegetable soup. Leah doubled over in laughter and stated that Crowley was no longer the only favorite Lulu had. Lulu loved her house filled with young banter and laughter. This was how her house was always meant to be, and she was happy that it was finally happening.

Later that night, Crowley bundled up and said he was going to check things out. He stopped by the closet and pulled out the box he had tucked away and took it with him. The two ladies were in the kitchen, heating water for coffee, when the first set of booms sliced through the silent night. They rushed to the back door just in time to see the night sky burst into a rainbow of sparkles. They spotted Crowley, crouched down by the deck, lighting fireworks and aiming them up over the river.

Lulu pulled the door open to holler at him. “Are you crazy?”

He stood with a mischievous grin on his face. “No, ma’am. Lee missed her fireworks show, and I’m just being the gentleman you raised me to be, trying to make it up to her.” He crouched down to get back to work. “Now close that door before she gets sick again,” he ordered.

Lulu huffed at being told what to do but listened. The two ladies grabbed dining chairs and planted themselves in front of the French doors in the living room to enjoy the show. Crowley lit the sky up in a continuous procession of flamboyant bursts for the better part of the next hour, before coming in and placing a light icy kiss on Lulu’s cheek. He then did the same to Leah, causing her to shiver at his cold yet soft lips. “Happy New Year, Lee,” he whispered before planting himself in front of the fireplace to unthaw.

“Thank you.” She smiled after regaining her composure.

Trying to hide her grin, Lulu didn’t miss how the young woman had become flustered, or the lingering kiss that caused it.

The following day, the ice melted, the electricity was restored, and Leah and Crowley moved back to their own homes. Even though Lulu’s house emptied of her family, her home stayed warm and cozy with the memories made and the ones to come. She was quite hopeful about it and went ahead and whispered a prayer of thanks.