“I can’t stop thinking about you leaving.”
“Let me change my clothes and meet you at the table.”
When she returned, Leefe was at the table. “I’m impatient,” she said and held out Clary’s envelope.
Clary slit the envelope and began to read. When done, she handed it to Leefe. “You should read this too. Have you ever seen a contract, or signed one?”
Shaking her head, Leefe took the papers. Finally, she looked up. “What does continued education really mean?”
“That means I have to keep up with requirements in the school system, not only in South Port, but Wisconsin as well.” Clary held up the contract. “This is a teaching contract for the public school here, and I’ll be busy, really busy,” Clary said. “Can you live with that, and remember, Robin couldn’t. You read her letter. Also, Mr. Jackson let slip that there’s a problem with Piper’s classes. The company that’s sponsoring this summer’s work has looked at what information she’s given them, and they’re not happy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. A lot of those kids are from the day care.” Leefe held up the manila envelope. “Maybe that’s why she gave me this list of names tonight and asked me to look at them. She also asked me to stop by their classes.”
“We never got around to that, did we? Let’s talk to Piper after you’ve seen the names.”
“Wait,” Leefe suddenly stood. “You asked if I could live with that. What do you mean?”
“Could you put up with me, here with you next year? I’m game if you are.”
Leefe was suddenly in her lap, her eyes wide. “Next year?”
“Let’s give it a try. We don’t have to live together if you don’t want. I mean, you have Devi now and—”
“Are you kidding?” The happiness on Leefe’s face was blinding, and she jumped up. “I can’t believe this. It’s almost too much and I love you.” She slapped her hand over her mouth.
They stared at each other, the moment loaded with unspoken words and finally, heart beating hard, Clary stood and pulled Leefe against her. “I love you too.”
“I’ve never said that to anyone.” Leefe said against Clary’s ear.
“Then say it a lot. I will too.” Clary sat and pulled Leefe back into her lap for another kiss, and they both took a drink of water. Clary started to laugh. “I don’t think there’s much else to say about that, is there?” She looked at Leefe. “Except, forever,” and kissed her one more time for good measure. “Here, I’ve been meaning to show you something on the computer.” She swung the laptop around and brought up Facebook.
“Look at all those photos.” Leefe leaned closer. “This is Facebook?”
With a mischievous laugh, Clary went to her home page. “This is my class from last year. See the book we put together?” They spent the next hour laughing over the comments and the photo of the almost-naked woman Kaye had posted on Jesse’s wall.
“They show those pictures?” Leefe said, shaking her head.
“That and more but it’s fun if you don’t let it take over your life.” Clary shut the computer down. “Let’s go to bed before we wake Devi.”
They held each other in bed, whispering and still laughing. Clary smiled, eyes closed, as she heard Leefe’s breathing settle into sleep. Thank God she’d come home.
Chapter Thirty-three
August
Clary inhaled the light breeze that hinted of the lake and sand as she opened her car door. It was a true August on Lake Michigan. She brought the remainder of the groceries into Leefe’s house, putting things away as she went.
This would be their first night alone since Clary returned from Iowa, and she was looking forward to every minute. She’d insisted on cooking Leefe’s favorite meal, spaghetti with her homemade sauce, and a green salad and bread to dress it up. Howie’s wife was picking up Devi for a movie and a sleep-over. Their girls had adopted Devi as a little sister and were rapidly expanding her life. “Not to mention her vocabulary,” Clary said under her breath.
With a final check of the refrigerator, Clary went to their bedroom. She stepped out of her heels and hung the dress she’d worn. The novelty of the hammock had worn off, and Devi now slept in the bed in Leefe’s book room. Clary had secretly gloated over the return to the hammock. She loved the view from the round, nautical windows over the lake at night, and the way the hammock gathered Leefe closer while they slept.
The last weeks had been hard, and they’d struggled. She’d made the trip to Iowa, met with the school, and said good-bye to a whole lot of people she truly cared for. The duplex had been pure luck. A new teacher had needed a place to live, so Jean would not be left with an empty rental. She’d sold most of her furniture outright to the new teacher, and left feeling as if she’d taken care of business.
This afternoon, she’d signed her South Port Public Schools contract. She’d be teaching at Breakers, which was weirdly ironic to her. This year she’d teach eighth grade, but next year she would launch a new pre-school program at Southside Day Care, Ephron Jackson’s brainchild. A committee led by Uncle Joe was in charge of the funding. If it worked, they could incorporate all the shelters in town that had children, but that was a couple of years down the road. That meant a lot of night school for Clary. The money from Robin would pay for her classes. Anything left over would go to the beach kids that Jesse and Howie had organized.
Amongst the things she’d brought back from Iowa were the bedspread now on Devi’s bed and the little bureau. Both had been Hannah’s once. They’d promised to paint the bureau any color Devi wanted, and Leefe would put her art skills to work. Devi was intrigued by dragons, and Leefe had taped some drawings on it to give Devi a choice.
She took her contract into the living room and put it into her desk. It was one of the few pieces of furniture she’d shipped home from Iowa. The big L-shaped desk was in the corner, snuggled by the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves Andy had built for her. Her work PC was up and running with the laptop and iPad off to the side. Andy had also rewired the house for the new electrical load and the TV she’d brought from Iowa. They’d already watched a couple of the original Star Wars films, a collection that Clary had picked up over the years. Andy had made sure her old VCR was still in working order.
Leefe had seen few movies, especially nothing like Star Wars with all the action and sound effects. She’d been as intrigued as Devi, even forgetting the popcorn. Clary laughed, remembering. She’d made out like a bandit with the popcorn.
Clary heard a car stop outside and then heard voices.
“Yoda. Where are you?” Leefe called from the kitchen.
Clary laughed. She was in danger of a nickname. “In here,” she called.
“Rebecca Bishop gave us a ride,” Leefe said, holding a large envelope in her hand. “They finalized the search up north, for my family.”
“You’re early. Where’s Devi?”
“On the deck, waiting for lemonade.” She got some out of the refrigerator and went outside. Clary leaned over the envelope, studying the writing.
“Guess what else?” Leefe said, hurrying back inside. “There’s a letter in there from my aunt, my mother’s youngest sister. I have nieces and nephews, uncles, and aunts. Rebecca said there are photos as well.”
“I’ll bet one of these documents is your birth certificate. Your real one, not the certificate they forged for the adoption papers.”
Leefe pulled the papers out, and there it was. The birth certificate from the Shawano hospital.
“Look at your name. Your real name. Leefe Erin Kelly.”
“I weighed six pounds, four ounces and had blue eyes, and black hair. I was born in the morning of May third, nineteen seventy-six.” Leefe looked at Clary, a little dazed. “I’m thirty-eight years old.”
Clary was reading ahead. “Your father was John Dorin Kelly, age thirty when you were born, and your mother was Erin Leefe Donahue, age twenty-six, both from Green Bay. They were married in April, nineteen seventy-four.”
/> “Look, four photos.” Leefe bent over, her voice cracking with emotion. “It’s them, my mother and father. That’s how she looks in my dreams, and see how tall he is.”
“To new beginnings,” Clary said and held up her water bottle, toasting Leefe’s first sight of her parents. “They’re beautiful people. Look at that full-family photo. I’ll bet those are your Grandparents. Have you read the letter from your aunt?”
“I’m saving that for after dinner, but guess what?”
“What?” Clary couldn’t resist the sparkle around Leefe, and put her arms around her.
“Rebecca said my aunt’s a second grade teacher.”
Devi ran inside with Jacob, both of them yelling. “Andy’s here,” Devi announced.
“Hey, girls. Could you eat some hamburgers and French fries?” Andy walked into the room with a big sack. “I stopped at Mojo’s and got us all dinner. We’re celebrating my new status as a foster parent.”
“Your call,” Clary said to Leefe.
“I guess I have to wait a day for that spaghetti. We’ll eat burgers tonight. Thank you, Andy, and congratulations.”
They sat on the deck and ate. They had an hour or so before Howie’s wife came. Clary laced her fingers with Leefe’s when they’d finished. They couldn’t stop people from becoming homeless, but they could help them in this little corner of the world. She felt a huge swell of love for Leefe and Devi. Hannah would have a special part of her for the rest of her life, but these children, all of them, needed love too. She’d give it everything she had. The children finished and ran down the beach, scaring up flocks of seagulls.
“Look at those kids. I remember you at that age,” Andy said and smiled.
Clary reached for Leefe’s hand. “Someday, we’ll say that too.”
About the Author
C. P. Rowlands was born in Wisconsin but raised in Iowa. She attended college in Iowa and lived in the Southwest and on the West Coast before returning to Wisconsin. She is an artist in addition to having worked in radio, sales, and various other jobs. She and her partner of twenty-five years, Gloria, have five children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Three cats round out the house. She has published four books with Bold Strokes Books and is currently working on a sequel to the Lambda nominated Jacob’s War.
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Hardwired by C.P. Rowlands. Award-winning teacher Clary Stone, and Leefe Ellis, manager of the homeless shelter for small children, stand together in a part of Clary’s hometown that she never knew existed. (978-1-62639-351-6)
Death’s Doorway by Crin Claxton. Helping the dead can be deadly: Tony may be listening to the dead, but she needs to learn to listen to the living. (978-1-62639-354-7)
No Good Reason by Cari Hunter. A violent kidnapping in a Peak District village pushes Detective Sanne Jensen and lifelong friend Dr. Meg Fielding closer, just as it threatens to tear everything apart. (978-1-62639-352-3)
Romance by the Book by Jo Victor. If Cam didn’t keep disrupting her life, maybe Alex could uncover the secret of a century-old love story, and solve the greatest mystery of all—her own heart. (978-1-62639-353-0)
Searching for Celia by Elizabeth Ridley. As American spy novelist Dayle Salvesen investigates the mysterious disappearance of her ex-lover, Celia, in London, she begins questioning how well she knew Celia—and how well she knows herself. (978-1-62639-356-1)
The 45th Parallel by Lisa Girolami. Burying her mother isn’t the worst thing that can happen to Val Montague when she returns to the woodsy but peculiar town of Hemlock, Oregon. (978-1-62639-342-4)
A Royal Romance by Jenny Frame. In a country where class still divides, can love topple the last social taboo and allow Queen Georgina and Beatrice Elliot, a working class girl, their happy ever after? (978-1-62639-360-8)
Bouncing by Jaime Maddox. Basketball Coach Alex Dalton has been bouncing from woman to woman, because no one ever held her interest, until she meets her new assistant, Britain Dodge. (978-1-62639-344-8)
Same Time Next Week by Emily Smith. A chance encounter between Alex Harris and the beautiful Michelle Masters leads to a whirlwind friendship, and causes Alex to question everything she’s ever known—including her own marriage. (978-1-62639-345-5)
All Things Rise by Missouri Vaun. Cole rescues a striking pilot who crash-lands near her family’s farm, setting in motion a chain of events that will forever alter the course of her life. (978-1-62639-346-2)
Riding Passion by D. Jackson Leigh. Mount up for the ride through a sizzling anthology of chance encounters, buried desires, romantic surprises, and blazing passion. (978-1-62639-349-3)
Love’s Bounty by Yolanda Wallace. Lobster boat captain Jake Myers stopped living the day she cheated death, but meeting greenhorn Shy Silva stirs her back to life. (978-1-62639-334-9)
Just Three Words by Melissa Brayden. Sometimes the one you want is the one you least suspect. Accountant Samantha Ennis has her ordered life disrupted when heartbreaker Hunter Blair moves into her trendy Soho loft. (978-1-62639-335-6)
Lay Down the Law by Carsen Taite. Attorney Peyton Davis returns to her Texas roots to take on big oil and the Mexican Mafia, but will her investigation thwart her chance at true love? (978-1-62639-336-3)
Playing in Shadow by Lesley Davis. Survivor’s guilt threatens to keep Bryce trapped in her nightmare world unless Scarlet’s love can pull her out of the darkness back into the light. (978-1-62639-337-0)
Soul Selecta by Gill McKnight. Soul mates are hell to work with. (978-1-62639-338-7)
The Revelation of Beatrice Darby by Jean Copeland. Adolescence is complicated, but Beatrice Darby is about to discover how impossible it can seem to a lesbian coming of age in conservative 1950s New England. (978-1-62639-339-4)
Twice Lucky by Mardi Alexander. For firefighter Mackenzie James and Dr. Sarah Macarthur, there’s suddenly a whole lot more in life to understand, to consider, to risk…someone will need to fight for her life. (978-1-62639-325-7)
Shadow Hunt by L.L. Raand. With young to raise and her Pack under attack, Sylvan, Alpha of the wolf Weres, takes on her greatest challenge when she determines to uncover the faceless enemies known as the Shadow Lords. A Midnight Hunters novel. (978-1-62639-326-4)
Heart of the Game by Rachel Spangler. A baseball writer falls for a single mom, but can she ever love anything as much as she loves the game? (978-1-62639-327-1)
Getting Lost by Michelle Grubb. Twenty-eight days, thirteen European countries, a tour manager fighting attraction, and an accused murderer: Stella and Phoebe’s journey of a lifetime begins here. (978-1-62639-328-8)
Prayer of the Handmaiden by Merry Shannon. Celibate priestess Kadrian must defend the kingdom of Ithyria from a dangerous enemy and ultimately choose between her duty to the Goddess and the love of her childhood sweetheart, Erinda. (978-1-62639-329-5)
The Witch of Stalingrad by Justine Saracen. A Soviet “night witch” pilot and American journalist meet on the Eastern Front in WW II and struggle through carnage, conflicting politics, and the deadly Russian winter. (978-1-62639-330-1)
Pedal to the Metal by Jesse J. Thoma. When unreformed thief Dubs Williams is released from prison to help Max Winters bust a car theft ring, Max learns that to catch a thief, get in bed with one. (978-1-62639-239-7)
Dragon Horse War by D. Jackson Leigh. A priestess of peace and a fiery warrior must defeat a vicious uprising that entwines their destinies and ultimately their hearts. (978-1-62639-240-3)
For the Love of Cake by Erin Dutton. When everything is on the line, and one taste can break a heart, will pastry chefs Maya and Shannon take a chance on reality? (978-1-62639-241-0)
Betting on Love by Alyssa Linn Palmer. A quiet country-girl-at-heart and a live-life-to-the-fullest biker take a risk at offering each other their hearts. (978-1-62639-242-7)
The Deadening by Yvonne Heidt. The lines between good and evil, right and wrong, have always been blurry for Shade. When Raven’s actions force her to choose, which side will she come
out on? (978-1-62639-243-4)
Ordinary Mayhem by Victoria A. Brownworth. Faye Blakemore has been taking photographs since she was ten, but those same photographs threaten to destroy everything she knows and everything she loves. (978-1-62639-315-8)
One Last Thing by Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou. Blood is thicker than pride. The final book in the Elite Operative Series brings together foes, family, and friends to start a new order. (978-1-62639-230-4)
Songs Unfinished by Holly Stratimore. Two aspiring rock stars learn that falling in love while pursuing their dreams can be harmonious—if they can only keep their pasts from throwing them out of tune. (978-1-62639-231-1)
Beyond the Ridge by L.T. Marie. Will a contractor and a horse rancher overcome their family differences and find common ground to build a life together? (978-1-62639-232-8)
Swordfish by Andrea Bramhall. Four women battle the demons from their pasts. Will they learn to let go, or will happiness be forever beyond their grasp? (978-1-62639-233-5)
The Fiend Queen by Barbara Ann Wright. Princess Katya and her consort Starbride must turn evil against evil in order to banish Fiendish power from their kingdom, and only love will pull them back from the brink. (978-1-62639-234-2)
Up the Ante by PJ Trebelhorn. When Jordan Stryker and Ashley Noble meet again fifteen years after a short-lived affair, are either of them prepared to gamble on a chance at love? (978-1-62639-237-3)
Speakeasy by MJ Williamz. When mob leader Helen Byrne sets her sights on the girlfriend of Al Capone’s right-hand man, passion and tempers flare on the streets of Chicago. (978-1-62639-238-0)
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