“Your brothers have a lot of planning to do for your dad. Why don’t we wait and see when they finish?” Leslie suggested gently.
Owen put a hand on his shoulder and gazed at him. “Of course, you can visit us. You’re a Wolfe. I’ll text Leslie when we’re done, and we’ll pick you up?”
Conner grinned while he peered at Leslie to get her permission. When she nodded, he said, “Yeah. Can I bring Tucker?”
“We’ll see how much homework he has,” Leslie said, gently steering him down the hall.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as Elias passed them, heading to the truck. An invisible string seemed to pull them closer, but Leslie stepped back and held on to the door.
“Goodnight, Owen,” she murmured, letting him know his time ended.
“Good night, Leslie,” he murmured. He saw the shiver run down her arms as she clutched them tightly.
CHAPTER 7
Leslie droppedTucker off at school and pulled into Mrs. Robins's driveway.
“Why can’t I go with Owen and Elias?” Conner asked for the fourth time.
“It’s extremely boring, and they’ll sit in an office talking the entire time. Plus, you’ve spoken about this museum forever. Now, you’ll get a chance to see it,” she explained. “Owen promised you can see him later,” she reminded him.
“All right,” he said begrudgingly, getting out of the truck.
“I’ll be here to pick you up this afternoon, and we can eat all those wonderful leftovers,” she said, trying to take his mind off the Wolfe men.
Conner kissed her cheek and raced up to the door, where Mrs. Robins waved. She backed out of the driveway, and her stomach fluttered from anxiety.Seeing Owen didn’t top her list. He surprised her yesterday by showing up. After leaving her ten years ago, without any regrets. To add to the hurt, he changed his number shortly after leaving.
Pulling into the driveway, Leslie took a deep breath, checked her makeup, and got out of the truck.
Leslie didn’t notice Owen as she slowly made her way up the steps, rehearsing everything she wanted to say for the last ten years.
“Good morning,” he said, making her jump, miss the step, and drop her coffee tumbler, spilling it all over the porch.
“Snickerdoodles,” she yelled as Owen grabbed her to keep her from tumbling over the side.
“Easy, I got you,” he said as he helped her to her feet.
Yanking her arm away from him, Leslie stood and stared at the wooden floor. “Great. Now, I’ll have to start my morning without caffeine.”
“Come inside. I can at least remedy your caffeine issue,” he offered.
Picking up her traveling mug, Leslie shook her head. “If I wanted mud, I’d scoop it up by the creek and warm it. No, thank you.”
“How do you know how I drink my coffee?”
“Because I can smell it from here. Did you burn it, too? If you made it any stronger, it’ll come crawling out of the pot and into my cup,” she snipped.
“Fine, I’ll make a fresh batch if it’ll make you happy,” he said, opening the screen door.
“No. I don’t need anything from you. What do you want to know? I must be home in time to pick up my boys,” she said, walking inside and sitting at the table.
“Your boys? Have you always allowed Conner to call you mom?” Owen asked, dumping the strong brew and making a fresh pot.
“Jeremiah struggled the first few weeks when Conner arrived here.”
“Don’t you mean, dumped?” he asked.
“He’s wanted. Don’t ever talk about him like he’s nothing but trash,” she said fiercely.
