“Um…” Jasmine thought back to the order of events. Doc had had his stroke Tuesday of last week, and the next day Meg told her that Leo was coming. She’d mentioned it to Corbin over dinner on Wednesday night, but she wasn’t even sure if he’d heard her. “Yeah, I guess. Why?”
Krista’s brows lifted. “I just think that the timing of the proposal is interesting.”
Jasmine was so tempted to tell her friends that she doubted Corbin’s motives were jealousy considering the compromising position she’d found him in, but that would mean revealing more than she was ready to.
The girls all said their goodbyes. Jasmine promised them that she would meet them for a drink soon. Little did they know soon would probably be a year before she’d be able to take them up on it. And then, she’d have to find a babysitter before she could.
Last night, her biggest worry had been passing her midterm. Tonight, she was worried about starting a college fund for her unborn child. It was crazy how much things could change in just twenty-four hours.
As she got into her car, she was overwhelmed with anxiety about what the future held, and one face popped up in her mind. Not Nan. Not Meg. And definitely not Corbin.
It was Leo’s face. He was the person that she wanted to talk to about this. Which was crazy. She knew that logically. Now all she had to do was convince her emotions.
Chapter 5
Leo sat in his grandparents’ living room and stared down at his hand. His palm was facing up and he moved his fingers. They were still tingling from when he’d held Jasmine’s hands in his. He’d travelled the world, met thousands of people, and he’d never experienced anything like he had the moment he felt her soft skin beneath his fingers.
The closest thing he could compare it to was when he was a kid and he used to rub his socked feet on the floor and then touched something. He’d get a shock. The same thing had happened today, except it was pleasure and not pain that jolted through him.
And since that moment, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it, or her.
“I can’t tell you how good it felt knowing that the clinic was in such good hands today.” Leo’s grandfather, Doc, patted him on the shoulder, his face beaming with pride as he lowered down beside him on the couch. “It’s so good to have you back home where you belong.”
Leo smiled, not sure how to answer that. He didn’t want to give his grandparents false hope, but he also didn’t want to cause them any unnecessary stress. If Doc could relax and recover worry free, then Leo figured it was better he didn’t push the point that this was temporary. He’d told them both that he was only in town to help out with the clinic and to make sure they were both taken care of before he left again. In no uncertain terms, he’d stated that this was not a permanent situation. He didn’t think he needed to remind them of the conversation.
Doc leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “So, how did things go today? Who came in?”
“No!” Leo’s grandmother Kitty shouted as she came out of the kitchen, waving a wooden spoon in the air. “No shop talk. Lance and Leah are going to be here any minute. We are going to have both our grandkids under the same roof, and I don’t want to hear anything about the clinic!”
His grandpa lifted his hands in surrender, his eyes twinkling mischievously. His grandfather had always loved when his grandma put him in his place. “I was just asking—”
“I know exactly what you were just asking, Jerry Taylor.” She pointed the spoon at her husband before disappearing back into the kitchen.
As soon as she was out of sight his grandpa leaned forward again, but before he could say anything there was a knock at the door. Leo stood to answer it.
“Leo can you get the door?” his grandma called out.
“Yep,” he replied as he walked down the hall to the front door. His shoulders barely fit through the narrow passage.
His grandparents had sold their ranch-style home and downsized into this cottage about six months earlier. Leo knew the reason they had done this was for the land the shack, er, home sat on, but he worried about them being here.
Since they’d moved in, his grandmother had fallen down the stairs and broken her hip, and then his grandpa had had a stroke. The fall down the stairs was obviously directly caused by the house, and Leo was convinced the stroke was due to the stress his grandpa had been under from the move, Kitty falling, and having to run the business. The doctor said that his high blood pressure was a contributing factor.
As he made his way down the darkened entryway, Leo saw paint peeling off the walls and wondered if there was lead in it. The night before, he’d noticed that there was no hot water in the bathroom. There was zero insulation. The windows all needed to be replaced, and the floors had seen better days.
He was shocked that it had passed inspections during the sale. With winter right around the corner, he knew that he needed to get to work, and fast. He’d make sure that by the time he left, the place was safe and up to code.
Maybe if you’d been around in the first place, they would’ve never left the ranch, he thought to himself, but then quickly shook off the guilt. There was nothing he could do about the past. All he could do now was focus on the future.
As he opened the door, he had to admit he was excited to see his cousin. Lance hadn’t grown up in Harper’s Crossing. He’d lived in New York. The two cousins had reconnected on Facebook awhile back and had been in pretty much constant contact since their grandma fell and broke her hip. Lance had come to visit after her fall and in the time he’d been in town, he’d met a woman who he was now engaged to.
“Hey, man! Good to see you!” Leo said as he and his cousin did the handshake, pull-in, embrace move before Leo stepped to the side so that his cousin and his fiancée could come in the house.
“Leah, this is my cousin, Leo. Leo, this is Leah Porter, my fiancée,” Lance made the introductions.
“Leo the Saint.” Leah spoke slowly as her eyes scanned him up and down. He’d had his fair share of women check him out, but this woman was different. She wasn’t doing it in any sort of flirtatious way. She was sizing him up. “The man. The myth. The legend.”
“Excuse me?” Leo had no clue what she was talking about.
“Your reputation precedes you.”
“It does?” He’d been gone from this town exactly as long as he’d lived in it, eighteen years. He still had friends here, but he doubted any of them had much to say about him.
“Let’s just say, that you are Kitty’s favorite subject, and she has a very high opinion of you. No offense, babe.” She patted Lance on the chest.
Lance smiled widely, clearly not at all offended. “None taken. That’s a lot to live up to.”
The trio made their way into the cozy front room and after everyone said their hellos, Kitty announced, “Dinner is served.”
They all took their seats, with Kitty and Doc taking the opposite ends as dual “heads” of the table, Leah and Lance on one side, and Leo directly across from his cousin. It was weird, because they’d never been here before, but it felt familiar to Leo. He had a deep sense of déjà vu…and of family.
“So, did you grow up here?” Leah asked as she passed Kitty the rolls.
“Yeah, I did.”
“How is it being back?” she followed up.
“Great,” he lied.
A single brow lifted on Leah’s forehead and Leo knew immediately that she could see right through his bullshit answer.
“I’ve been getting messages from people all day that were so excited to see you at the clinic!” His grandma beamed with pride.
“Hey, now!” Doc objected. “You said no shop talk.”
“That wasn’t shop talk! That was talking about how happy people were that our Leo was home. And let me remind you, Jerry Taylor, who made this dinner you’re eating. I’ll say whatever I please at this table.”
Leo’s grandpa’s eyes lit up the way they did every time his grandma challenged him. Even after being ma
rried for fifty plus years, it was easy to see that he thought she was the cutest thing in the world, especially when she was being sassy. “You think I’m scared of your hissin’, Kitty?”
She gave him the same response she’d given him every time he asked her that question. “Keep it up, and we’ll find out.”
“Oooh, will we, now.” He smiled widely, clearly enamored by his wife. His bushy gray brows wiggled up and down. “That might be kind of fun.”
She gave him the same look that she always did when he got that look in his eye. “Jerry Taylor, you behave.”
“Behaving’s no fun.”
“You two are seriously the cutest ever.” Leah smiled. “I hope one day when we’re old and gray having dinner with our grandchildren that Lance still looks at me like that.”
Never one to miss an opportunity to bring up the subject of babies, Kitty not so subtly commented, “You know, to have grandchildren, you have to have children. I’d like to have dinner with my grand and great-grandchildren one day.”
When Leo saw the look that passed between his cousin and Leah, he thought that his grandma might not need to wait too long for that to happen.
Leah gave Lance an almost imperceptible nod and his cousin took a deep breath. “Now that you mention it, Leah and I have some news.”
“No!” Kitty’s eyes filled with tears as her hand flew to cover her mouth.
Lance’s smile grew even wider. “Leah’s pregnant.”
Both of their grandparents sprang from their seats and threw their arms around Lance and Leah.
“How far along are you?” Kitty asked as she cradled Leah’s face.
“Twelve weeks.” Her smile grew bigger. “We wanted to wait to tell everyone until we were past the first trimester.”
As Leo watched the soon-to-be parents field questions about gender preferences to what they were going to name their child, all Leo could think about was that Jasmine was going to go through all of that alone. She wasn’t going to have anyone rubbing her back the way Lance was rubbing Leah’s. She wasn’t going to have anyone to share secret nods with about revealing the news. She wasn’t going to have a partner with her during one of the biggest changes in anyone’s life.
She was going to do all of that alone.
It just didn’t sit right with him. Not that he wanted her to stay with the man that’d cheated on her. He absolutely did not for a lot of reasons—the main one being that she shouldn’t share a life with someone that was certifiably insane, which Corbin must be to cheat on a woman like Jasmine. There was no other explanation.
And that asshole didn’t deserve to have moments like that with Jasmine. But that didn’t mean that Jasmine should go through everything alone.
His brain flashed forward to all the challenges that she’d face raising her child. And not only the difficult times, but also the victories, the first steps, first words. Who was she going to share those milestones with?
“Oh, Leo,” his grandma interrupted his thoughts, while apparently simultaneously reading them. “I was gonna ask you how Jasmine is doing.”
“What?” How did his grandma know that Jasmine was pregnant? Had news travelled that fast?
“Jasmine, she’s the afternoon vet tech.” Kitty clarified. “I heard that she was late today, which is not like her, and then got sick during a procedure.”
Apparently some news had travelled that fast.
“She was late, and sick? Is she okay?” Leah seemed equally, if not more, concerned than his grandma did.
“Oh, she’s…um fine. I mean…she seemed fine.” Leo rarely stumbled over his words. But something about Jasmine made him feel unsure of himself. He was worried they’d be able to see what he was feeling and thinking.
“Oh good.” His grandma’s shoulders dropped. “Well, I might just pop over tomorrow and bring her a care package. Some soup, maybe. God knows that Corbin won’t lift a finger to take care of her.”
“Kitty.” His grandpa rarely took a harsh tone with anyone, especially his wife. But when Kitty “meddled,” he called her on it.
“What? It’s the truth.” His grandma doubled down, lifting her pointer finger in the air. “Name one thing he’s ever done for her. That girl works round the clock and he sits around playing video games.”
Leo was a little shocked to see his grandma have such harsh feelings toward someone. She was so welcoming and kind. She saw the best in everyone. If Kitty Taylor couldn’t find something nice to say about you, then there was something seriously wrong with you.
“He doesn’t work?” Leo asked, wanting to get a little more info on a man he hadn’t even known existed before today.
“Ha,” Kitty scoffed. “If you call mooching off other real estate agents’ commissions work, then yeah, he works really hard.”
“Corbin’s father is the owner and broker of the real estate office. He lives off of the bonuses that everyone in the office gets,” Doc explained.
“I still don’t get it! What does she see in him?!” Leah shook her head as she cut up her pork chops. “I can’t believe they’re getting married.”
“What do you mean they’re getting married?” Kitty dropped her fork.
“He proposed. Last Friday.”
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” His grandma made the sign of the cross as tears filled her bottom lids.
Leo was shocked at the way she was reacting to the engagement news. Kitty did usually cry whenever there was engagement or baby news, but they were tears of joy. These were not joyful tears.
His grandpa made a clicking noise with his tongue. “Now there, Kitty, don’t you go upsetting yourself.”
“That poor thing.” His grandma sniffed, bringing the napkin to dab beneath her eyes. “As if life hasn’t been hard enough for that girl.”
Leo wanted to ask what she’d been through, but before he got the chance his grandma offered up the information.
“Her momma was incarcerated when she was two and she got put in the system. Then she spent ten years in foster care, moving from place to place, group home after group home, before a lovely woman named Nanette adopted her and moved her here to Harper’s Crossing. Nan’s the only real family she’s ever known.”
“I think that’s why she stays with Corbin,” Leah chimed in. “She wants a family, and they’ve been together so long he probably feels like family to her. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. Because, honestly, it’s either that or he’s brainwashed her.”
“Do you think she’d notice if I wore black to the funeral, I mean wedding?” His grandma teased.
Or at least he thought she was teasing. Not that he’d find out because he didn’t think there’d be a wedding. It felt so strange to have more information about someone that he’d just met than people who were closest to her had.
“Speaking of weddings, we set a date.” Lance changed the subject.
“You did?!” His grandpa’s hand slapped against the table, obviously excited to hear more good news.
“When is it? What are your colors? Have you picked out the flowers?” His grandma shot the questions in rapid fire.
While Leah filled his grandma in on the details, his cousin leaned over toward him. “Since you’re in town, I was wondering if you’d want to be my best man.”
“Of course!” Leo smiled. “I’d be honored.”
As talk continued about the wedding and the pregnancy, Leo’s mind kept wandering back to Jasmine.
Was she okay?
Had she confronted Corbin about what she’d witnessed?
Had he convinced her to stay with him?
How was she feeling?
Had she gotten sick again?
Did she have anyone to take care of her, or was his grandma right?
He didn’t have any of those answers, and until he did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about her.
Who was he kidding? Even if he did have those answers, he wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about the girl with huge haze
l eyes and a smile that had imprinted itself on his soul.
And he had no idea what he was going to do about that.
Chapter 6
Jasmine stared at the clock on the stove as she waited in the darkened kitchen. Each minute that passed felt like an eternity. Corbin had been due home thirty minutes earlier. Normally, when he was late, she barely noticed.
Tonight, her mind was racing thinking of what he was doing…or more importantly, who he was doing. She picked up her phone to see if he’d texted and she’d missed it. He hadn’t.
There were no messages from him today at all.
She realized, as she sat at the very kitchen table that he’d had Jessica laid out on earlier that day, that he hadn’t even checked to see how her doctor’s appointment had gone. It’s not like he’d have any idea that she was pregnant, but he’d known how scared she was of doctor’s offices and hospitals. She’d asked him to come with her, and he hadn’t even texted to see how it went.
She began scrolling through their messages and two things stood out to her like a neon sign in a black hole. First, she was always the one checking in, asking how his day was going, what he wanted for dinner, if he felt like going to a movie or staying in for date night. There was not one text here from him asking how her day was, if she wanted to go to the movies or stay in, or if she needed anything from the grocery store.
His messages were all him canceling plans, telling her he was going to be late, explanations of why he had to bail on things. Which was the second thing that stood out to her. As she scrolled up she couldn’t help but notice that it was incredible how many times he’d said he had to work late, or unexpectedly take a client out to dinner, or meet an appraiser at a house after seven p.m.
Some might say unbelievable, in fact.
She went back months, then years, and there wasn’t even a happy birthday text from him.
How had she never noticed that before?
Now that she was looking at the proof in black and white through the lens of what she’d seen today, she wondered how she’d ever been so blind.
Just One Touch - Leo & Jasmine (Crossroads Book 16) Page 5