First Kiss Last by Sara Miller (read e book .TXT) 📗

Leah regretted she was not in a real position to be a part of Sky’s life. She could listen and validate her feelings though. Leah loved Sky and helping her in any way made her happy.

Back at the picnic table with the other children, they discovered plenty of cookies left. There were also cheese slices, whole grain crackers, seedless grapes, and drinks. Leah and Sky sat down and joined in.

This time, no one had to rush off. Sky was pleasant to be around. Liam and her nieces chatted happily. When they were done, the kids went back to playing. Better yet, Sky kept her word and stuck to Liam’s side. Leah watched it all from her favorite bench.

Just before three, she got up and gave her nieces a five-minute warning. They whined as expected, Liam included. The kids played nicely together and it was no wonder they were disappointed when it had to come to an end.

“It’s almost three,” she told them.

“It is?” Sky checked her phone. “We gotta go too, bud.”

Liam nodded reluctantly. He looked back and forth between Sky and Leah as if trying to decide something. He gave Leah a quick hug and then took his sister’s hand.

Everyone exchanged shouted goodbyes as Sky and Liam walked away. They waved back as they left the park.

Leah and the girls made their way across the playground to find Leah’s used SUV. When the girls were buckled and ready, she took off. She drove in the same direction Cade’s children had gone. She was too curious and couldn’t help herself.

When they caught up to them a block away, Leah tooted the horn and the girls waved and shouted to their friends. Leah smiled happily.

Two blocks later, her smile faded. Leah saw the familiar black truck. Worse yet, she saw Cade. He was standing in a yard of a house in the middle of an addition. He was talking animatedly to one of his employees. It did not look like a happy conversation.

Cade’s expression was intense. Even from this distance, she could see his eyes flashing and there appeared to be dark circles under them. He looked thinner to her and like Liam, his hair needed a trim. Leah took this all in as she passed slowly through the residential area. Thankfully, Cade paid no attention to traffic.

Once they were several houses away, Leah released the breath she was holding. She looked in the rear view mirror to check on the girls. Allison played quietly with a toy Leah hadn’t realized was in her car. Emmie, however, was staring right at her.

She didn’t know what the girl knew and she wasn’t going to ask but Leah was now convinced: Emmie knew more than she should.

“Anyone want to get a milkshake?” Leah surprised herself by asking. Maybe she did have pregnancy cravings after all. Or maybe she just needed to get the look off Emmie’s face. Either way, it worked. The crinkled forehead was replaced with childish joy.

Chapter 36

It rained every day during the last week of April. Leah woke up to rain. She drove to work in the rain and she drove home in the rain. She fell asleep to the sound of the rain. Her only respite from it was in her dreams.

Every night she was standing outside Cade’s door. She tried the knob each time and it was always locked. Liam’s was not but he was always sleeping soundly. Leah could only observe. When she woke, the sound of the rain greeted her and she had fresh tears on her cheeks.

She’d rather have the rain.

By Friday morning, she was about at her wits’ end. She was not the only one. The girls were going stir crazy. Allison and Emmie bickered, whined, and outright fought. Their parents had run out of patience and Leah was ready for a break.

The monotony of the week was weighing heavily on her. Leah received a slight reprieve when she was surprised at work with a baby shower. She especially enjoyed the delicious double chocolate cake, which she suspected was homemade.

Even though Leah had hinted about a group gift from her registry as Lily had suggested, the ladies at work were not group-minded. Each one was excited to purchase her own individual gift.

Bringing home her small haul of gifts lifted everyone’s spirits. Lily examined every gift with a running commentary. The girls oohed and aahed over the tiny neutral-colored outfits.

“But why is this one blue and this one pink? We don’t know if it’s a boy or girl!” Emmie criticized.

“This way, we have at least one outfit ready for Baby, whichever it is.”

Leah eyed the blue romper. It had thin horizontal stripes and a green dinosaur patch on the front pocket. Would her baby wear it or the pink dress with the tulle skirt? Emmie traced the ruffled sleeves of the dress. Leah knew her niece’s preference.

Allison was more interested in the non-clothing items. She held up an odd- shaped green item and squeezed it repeatedly. She frowned when it did nothing.

“What is this thing anyway?” Her voice sounded offended.

Leah wanted to laugh.

“It sucks snot out of a baby’s nose. I had one for you and Emmie too.” Lily explained with a laugh.

Allison immediately dropped the object. Her face showed how absolutely disgusted she was. She still held her hand out as if it was contaminated. This from the girl who was proud of puking and would voluntarily touch a dead bug.

“It hasn’t been used yet!” Lily told her

Allison’s expression remained almost exactly the same but her mouth quirked slightly and her eyes twinkled.

Emmie started giggling. Leah joined in next, followed by Lily’s full laugh. Allison broke last and laughed the hardest.

“Hey, this is the best sound I’ve heard all week! What’s so funny?” Robert joined them, finally home from work.

Lily tried to tell him but she only laughed harder. He gave her a side hug and a quick kiss. Leah did not have any better luck getting her