LEANN DISLIKED RETURNING to the neighborhood of her childhood, a house that wasn’t a home and siblings who’d deserved more than they were given.
When this was over, whatever happened after she confronted her father, she was heading to California to visit her brother and find out the full truth of why he left. She hoped that Clark had realized that he didn’t want to be like their father. Then, when she came back, she’d visit Gail and work on becoming a sister rather than a guardian.
She’d also visit her lawyer, sit next to Ryan and Melanie and work out terms that were best for their boys.
She opened her car door and stepped out, standing in the street in front of her childhood home and not utilizing the circular driveway.
She had no clue what to do.
Tim and Aaron had called to say good-night. They’d enjoyed the evening with their dad and stepmom, and now were fast asleep at their grandparents’. Oh, and they’d assured her they’d finished their homework.
Leann, alone, was out in the darkness, wishing the world was a better place but knowing she could contribute to the well-being of only her portion of the world. She’d made Sarasota Falls a safer place for her boys, her friends, her neighbors and, yes, her family. It should be enough.
But, it wasn’t.
The front porch shimmered, spotlights reflected on fancy, pristine cushioned chairs that no one ever sat on. It was all for show. Not like the chairs on her front lawn that didn’t match, or the ones inside her house that hosted her boys and their friends for pizza nights, video game playing and occasionally homework review.
Her mother’s bedroom light was on. No doubt Allison Crabtree was going over her itinerary for tomorrow. Leann hadn’t a clue about what her mother’s day would be like. Should she have made an effort to try harder to find out?
“I can deal with this,” Leann muttered to herself, yet she didn’t move. Every time, every single time, she was called home to deal with family issues, it was a step into the past that she never wanted to remember, let alone police.
“I don’t have a dog this time,” came a voice.
Leann jumped. Cops were never supposed to be caught off guard, but she had been. Gary stood there, hands in his pockets, serious expression on his face.
“What are you doing here?”
He stayed a few feet away, hands at his sides, looking so serious that she almost went to him.
“Well,” he said, “I watched you leave the station. I told myself that I needed to give you space, drive Lydia home, keep busy. Seems Lydia didn’t need me. She and Jace jumped in the back of Russell’s truck, so I didn’t have any passengers, and quite frankly, there’s only one passenger I want.”
She’d not cried, not when she saw her father’s likeness in the drawing, not when she’d told everyone at the police station, “A thousand a month would be nothing to him.” And not when Brian Blackgoat had muttered, “I’d rather have been fathered by Guzman.”
Gary, though, threatened to bring her emotions all crumbling down, and if the faucet turned on, she might not ever be able to turn it off. “It’s not a good time,” she managed.
“No, it’s not a good time, but I’m not here for just good times. I’m here for bad times, too.”
She shook her head even as he took a step in her direction.
“I have no clue how to help you. I’ve just discovered that I don’t have a half brother, and you’ve discovered that you do. We’ve reversed situations. It took me days to come to terms with the scenario. I’d just decided this morning, thanks to you, that I would give Brian a chance and that my top priority would be helping my mother deal with it.”
Leann tried to laugh but managed only a dry chortle. “My mother will choose not to deal with it. She’ll tell my father to do whatever it takes to bury the problem.”
“Only a few lights on.” Gary looked at the house.
Leann could only nod.
“So,” he asked, “what is your plan when you confront your father? You do have one, right? I can certainly understand why you hightailed it over here,” he said. “However, in combat, the adrenaline rush, whether it’s from fear or anger or some other emotion, is a powerful weapon made weak if not accompanied by a well-thought-out plan.”
“Another mantra?”
“No, I came up with the saying just now.”
She again tried to laugh but snorted, very unladylike, instead. “I don’t have a plan. How do you plan for something like this?”
“What do you want from your father?”
“I want him to confess.”
“What will that get you?”
Leann thought a moment, not liking her first inclination, which was putting her father in his place. He didn’t have a place, not really.
“Do you want him to acknowledge the affair?” Gary asked. “Acknowledge Brian? Pay for Brian’s court costs along with Russell?”
“All of it and none of it?” she confessed. “I just want…” Did she know what she wanted? Her father had never really been involved in her life. Why was she surprised that he’d had another child he’d not been involved with?
“What were you thinking about on your drive here? Besides confronting your father.”
“I was thinking about talking to my siblings, drawing closer to them, cutting ties with my parents completely.”
“Do you really have ties to your parents?”
“Only when they suggest to the mayor that their daughter might not be the best choice for chief of police.”
“We can deal with that. My aunt’s suggestions were spot-on.”
We?
Gary wasn’t done. “When was the last time you sat down to dinner with your parents?”
She didn’t even have to calculate. “Over two years ago. We sat at the same table at a picnic to raise money for the new fire station.”
“Did you act as a family?”
“No, my father had to ask which of my boys was the oldest.”
Gary whistled. “Then I like your idea about drawing closer to your siblings. I like the concept of a big family.”
She interrupted, “But—”
He took two steps and had her in his arms before she could finish. He tugged her upward, so she stood on her tiptoes, and that’s when he kissed her.
“Just think how big our cookouts are going to be after we get married.”
“Married! We haven’t even really dated! And, this is a horrible time to propose! I’m standing in front of my parents’ house. My father—”
“Trust me, your father will not be invited to the cookouts.”
Later, Leann couldn’t say whether it was Gary’s humor that had her considering giving a yes or the kisses that distracted her from where she was and what she needed to do. And, surely what had her so confused and even considering his being a part of her life, her kids’ life, was he was such a rock in the middle of turmoil.
She should be on her knees crying. Instead, she was in his arms feeling a whirlwind of emotions and all of them making her feel strong and hopeful about the future.
“I’ll eventually want a better proposal,” she finally said between kisses.
“I can do that,” Gary promised.
“Maybe,” she said, “you can propose at a nice restaurant, or maybe at a cookout at Russell’s.”
“You do like your food.” He kissed her, let her go and walking back to his vehicle. She watched as he opened the door and retrieved something. A moment later, he was holding out a pink envelope to her.
“What’s this?”
“Open it,” he urged.
She took it, slid a finger through the flap and pulled out what was inside.
“A Valentine’s Day card! You bought me a Valentine’s Day card.”
“I did, but it’s all wrong.”
She shook her head.
Facing her, he traced her cheek with his finger. “When I bought the card, I wanted you to be my valentine. I was thinking no further than a little romance. Now I know that would never be enough. I realize it’s only been a few weeks and I know your life has never been more chaotic, but, I’ve been with you every step of the way, and I’m offering to do the same forever.”
She bit her lip and tried to breathe.
Gary checked his watch. “Eleven fifty-nine. You have just sixty seconds to say yes to a proposal given on Valentine’s Day.”
“Valentine’s Day?”
“That’s right. It’s February fourteenth. Fifty-eight seconds. The perfect day to say I love you for the first time.”
It was all going too fast, and just how was a person supposed to act when switching from hot anger to ecstatic anticipation in mere seconds?
Leann tried to rein in her happy thoughts. Love?
“Fifty-two seconds. But, trust me, I’ll wait fifty-two days, weeks, years, if that’s what it takes to get a yes.”
“One knee,” she ordered.
Gary Guzman got down on one knee. Leann let the tears fall, then, but not the hot blinding spill of emotion that had been threatening all day. No, these tears were cool, opening her eyes to a future with Gary Guzman. And, oh, would she have a story to tell about the timing of his proposal. She dropped down on one knee, too, and said, “Happy Valentine’s Day, soldier.”
“Is that a yes?”
She couldn’t decide whether to kiss him, tell him she loved him, or say, “Yes!”
So, she did all three.