Leesa’s heart ached for her new friend. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. It was really hard. We lost Rick just four years after we lost my father, and I have three younger siblings. It was tough.” She pulled her shoulders back and smiled a resilient smile. “But we made it, and I’m glad Nate came back.”
“I lost my father when I was twenty-five. I know how difficult it can be to try to move on.” Sharing her life with the girls came easily, and as each of their faces filled with empathy and a collective aww surrounded her, their emotions were as genuine as an embrace.
“How did your mom take it?” Tempe asked.
“I’ve never known my mother. My father raised me. It was always just me and him.” She felt the familiar thickening in her throat, remembering how alone she’d felt for the longest time after she’d lost her father. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d reached for the phone to share something that had happened with him. And when she’d been accused of touching Andy, she’d wished he was there to tell her everything would be okay. It was one thing to hear it from friends, but her father had always been her rock, and ever since she was a little girl, if he said something would be okay, she’d believed him. Even now the emptiness inside her was like an arid well she visited often, hoping for a miracle. Her miracles came in the form of memories, and she cherished each and every one.
Shannon reached out and hugged her. “No one should be without a mother.” She drew back and smiled at Leesa. “We’ll just have to share ours with you.”
Leesa laughed and Tempe smiled. “You laugh, but she’s serious. Once she hears about your parents, she’ll start to mother you like she does everyone else she thinks needs comfort in their life. It’s one of her strengths.”
“Or weaknesses, depending on who you ask,” Shannon said. “When I was a teenager, she was super nice to even the creepiest boys.”
“You only thought they were creepy because they all wanted to go out with you,” Tempe said. “And you were too busy in the science lab to worry about them.”
“Well, your parents have both been really kind to me,” Leesa said as she glanced down at Cole again. He was sanding the deck of the boat, working head-to-head with Nate. “Your whole family has been wonderful. I love that you’re all so close.”
“It’s kind of sickening, isn’t it? Like a real-life Brady Bunch.” The glint of mischief in Jewel’s blue eyes told Leesa she was kidding.
“So, tell us about your plans, Leesa,” Tempe said. “Mom said you moved from Towson. What did you do there? And do you miss it?”
Leesa’s stomach clenched. She already felt comfortable enough with the girls that she couldn’t imagine lying to them, but she was still nervous about sharing the truth, so she started small. “I’m not sure moved is the right word. I’m feeling things out right now, figuring out my next move. But I do miss the Girl Power group I ran.”
“You taught Girl Power?” Tempe’s eyes widened. “I’m a music therapist, and one of my patients was asking me about it. She said they have them all over Maryland but not here.”
“What’s Girl Power?” Shannon asked.
“It’s a group for girls,” Leesa explained. “Our focus was helping girls gain self-confidence and boost their self-esteem, which we did through group activities and friendship. Our meetings usually began with catching up on the good things that happened to each of the girls between meetings, and we talked about anything they were concerned about or had difficulty with. We usually did a bit of fun exercise, like take a walk, jog, play basketball, or other activities. We went on outings and basically tried to build the girls up about themselves and help them with the tools to handle whatever came at them.” Thinking about the girls in the group made her miss them even more. “I ran the group with my friend Patty. Girls came and went—you know how that is. Girls could join at eight years old, and their interest waxed and waned as they got involved in other things, but we always had at least six or seven members.”
“I wish they’d had that when I was growing up. Not that I would have had time for it, but it would have been fun to have a group of girls to do something productive with,” Jewel said. “My younger sister Krissy would probably love that. Would you consider starting a group here? She’s a total social butterfly. If only we could get her to focus on her schoolwork as much as her dance lessons and social calendar.”
Leesa bit back the urge to offer to help Krissy with her studies. She’d been so wrapped up in getting over the pain of what had happened that she’d pushed away the ache of no longer teaching. She missed it.
“I could help you set up a group,” Tempe said.
Shannon laughed. “You don’t exercise other than using your delicate fingers to strum a guitar or play the piano.”
“I could help in other ways.” Tempe pulled a notebook from her purse.
“Here she goes.” Shannon rolled her eyes. “She’s going to write a song about Girl Power.”
Leesa was too busy trying to figure out how to tell them she couldn’t start a group to enjoy their teasing banter.
“No, I’m not,” Tempe said. “I was going to make a note to look into it.”
“Seriously, Tempe is super organized,” Shannon said to Leesa. “If anyone could help you start something like that, it’s her.” She smiled at Tempe and said, “She could also write a kick-ass song about it, though.”
“Do you really think the girls around here would be interested? Aren’t they more focused on hitting the beach every afternoon?” The thought of working with kids again was terrifying. She hoped they told her she was right and that it was a silly idea. She felt like a transient hiding from a torrid past.
Shit. Her past. She had to be honest with them; otherwise she’d feel like she was abusing their trust. With her gut tangled in a knot, she knew she had to suck it up and come clean.
“Definitely,” Tempe said. “They all want beach bodies, and everyone knows that girls need their confidence to be grounded in more than just their looks. I’d love to take part. I’m not at all athletically inclined, but I’m great with kids. I could, I don’t know, talk with the girls, help organize. I would just love to be a part of it.”
“You could be the water girl,” Shannon suggested. When Tempe made a face that Leesa read as, Very funny, Shannon added, “I’m serious. Everyone loves you, Tempe. You’re great with kids and adults, so the parents would probably feel good knowing that you were part of the group, too.”
“Then it’s settled.” Tempe wrote something in the notepad. “We’ll start a Girl Power group! I’m excited.”
Oh shit. She had to nix this. She didn’t even know if she was here to stay or not. She had to push past her fear and tell them the truth, but she was scared shitless. They’d only just accepted her into their inner circle. What if this changed everything? Her eyes slipped over each of their excited faces, and she realized that even if it meant losing her new friends, she couldn’t lead them on.
“You guys are really great, and this all sounds really exciting, but I’m not even sure how long I’ll be in Peaceful Harbor.”
“Oh.” Disappointment filled Tempe’s voice.
“I have to tell you guys something.” All eyes were on her. The anticipatory silence magnified in her ears, as if it had a pulse all its own. She explained to them what had happened in Towson, and when she’d told the whole story, including the part about losing Chris, she sat back and awaited judgment.
The look on their faces was something between empathy and disbelief. Leesa held her breath, unsure if that disbelief was about her or the situation.
“He left you?” Shannon said with a heated gaze. “What a dick.”
“Yeah, he’s a definite loser,” Tempe said. “But more importantly, how are you now? Being accused of something so horrible must have made you feel awful. Especially after your boyfriend ended the relationship. And without your dad there to support you?” The sadness in her voice cut straight to Leesa’s heart.
> “I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through. It was. It was worse than losing my father, because at least when he passed away, I could grieve. There’s healing in grieving, as you probably know all too well,” Leesa said to Jewel.
Jewel and Tempe both nodded in agreement.
“But with that whole mess, I couldn’t grieve for my job or the students I had to stop working with. I was too busy trying to keep my head above water.”
Shannon reached for her hand. “But you did, and you’re here now, and that’s what matters.”
“Yes, now you can start over with a new support system,” Tempe said. “Maybe moving here is the right thing to do. Your best friend is here, and I can help you get a job as a tutor with some of the kids I do therapy with.”
Leesa’s eyes dampened at her generosity. She glanced down at the marina, her eyes immediately finding Cole. Their parents must have done something right, because she’d never before met such accepting, supportive people. She looked at Jewel and felt an instant kinship from having experienced similar losses. Her future had begun feeling less bleak and lonely when she was with Cole earlier in the day, and now it seemed to bloom in the company of these amazing women.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready to jump back into tutoring again, and I have a teaching job waiting in the wings back in Baltimore,” she explained. “But thank you for offering. To be honest, I’m still watching my back, waiting for someone to call me out. I’m trying not to get too comfortable or to let my guard down.”
“Well, that’s no way to live,” Tempe said.
“What’s the worst that happens? Someone says they heard about what happened and you explain that the accusation was unfounded.” Shannon leaned back in her chair, her eyes and tone serious. “In today’s day and age, false accusations like that seem to happen way too often.”
“What happened with the boy who accused you?” Tempe asked.
Leesa shook her head. “I haven’t seen him since that last tutoring session. I wanted to go see him, because he and I are the only ones who really know what happened, but my attorney and my boss advised me not to. I worry about him a lot, though. I can’t believe that he would have done what he did if he ever thought things would go so far. He’s just not a mean-spirited kid.”
“With what you said about his parents, who knows what he faced once he made the accusation,” Tempe said. “Given what you said about him, I’m sure it’s affecting him in some way. It’s a shame that it happened at all, especially to someone as nice and caring as you.”
Leesa soaked in her compliment, but she didn’t want to wallow in what shouldn’t have happened, because there was no changing the past. There was only moving forward. And the hope of somehow building a new life. Her eyes sought Cole again and found him heading up the hill with Nate and their father. He had a shirt in his hand, and as his gaze met hers, he waved. Leesa watched as he pulled his shirt over his glistening body, covering up all those muscles that made her belly go a wonderful kind of crazy. She noticed Ace’s limp again, and her heart ached for what he must have gone through when he’d lost his military career. She wondered again about the tightness in his brow as he climbed the steep incline, and when she realized the girls were watching her, waiting for a response, she brought her attention back to the conversation.
“It is a shame, but it’s done, and I’m ready to focus on a more positive future. I’m not ready to start a Girl Power group here, because I don’t even know how long I’ll be here.” Her stomach clenched again at the thought of walking away from Cole and her new friends. “Maybe we should wait a few weeks, just to be sure?”
Tempe waved a dismissive hand. “Life is way too short to spend waiting to be sure of anything. I think we should at least talk about it. In case you stay. You’ve got us behind you.”
Cole stepped onto the patio, his eyes on Leesa. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, his hand settling on her shoulder as he said, “Hi, beautiful.”
“Hi.” She heard the breathiness of her voice and wondered if everyone else did, too.
“Looks like you’ve got Cole behind you, too,” Shannon said with an approving smile.
“She sure does.” Cole squeezed her shoulder.
Nate leaned down and kissed Jewel. “Hey, babe.”
Jewel reached up and stroked his cheek. The love between them was palpable. Then again, the love between each member of this family was evident.
“It’s nice to see all my girls together,” Ace said as Maisy came out the door and reached for his hand, pausing only to touch Cole’s back and blow a kiss to Nate.
“How’s the boat coming along?” Maisy asked.
“She’s getting there,” Ace said. “The boys got hungry.”
Maisy’s eyes moved between Cole and Leesa, and an approving smile reached her blue eyes. “Sit and chat. I’ll grab some sandwiches.”
For the next hour, they talked and laughed like old friends while the men ate lunch. By the time Leesa left, she and Tempe had made arrangements to meet Friday to discuss putting together a Girl Power group even though she wasn’t interested in doing it right away, and she and Cole, through hand-holding and stolen glances, had become impossibly closer.
Chapter Eight
WHEN COLE ARRIVED to pick up Leesa for their date, he was surprised to find her sitting on the front stoop of Tegan’s house. She rose as he approached, looking sexy as hell in a white spaghetti-strap dress and a pair of sandals.
“Hi.” He placed a hand on her hip and kissed her softly. “Everything okay?”
The bangles on her wrist slid up her arm as she pressed her hand to his chest and smiled. “Yeah, fine. I was just too nervous to wait inside.”
He lifted her hand from his chest and kissed her knuckles. “I was nervous, too. It’s been a long time since I’ve been nervous about going on a date.”
Her long lashes swept over her green eyes as he laced their fingers together. The front door swung open and Tegan joined them on the porch. The physician in him did a quick visual assessment of her gait.
“Hey, Doc. How’s it going?”
“Great, Tegan. How’s your ankle?”
She lifted her walking boot and wiggled it around. “Almost good as new, thanks to the best doctor in town and a best friend who makes me do those physical therapy exercises. You guys make a great team.”
Cole glanced at Leesa. “Thanks. I think so, too.”
Tegan shooed them off the front porch. “Go on, get out of here. Bring her back late, or not at all, please. She needs to have some fun.”
“Tegan!” Leesa laughed.
“Sorry,” Tegan said to Leesa, then mouthed, Late or not at all, to Cole.
They all laughed as Tegan went back inside and he and Leesa walked to the car.
“You look gorgeous tonight.”
“Thank you,” Leesa said as he opened the car door. “I wasn’t sure where we were going, so I hope I’m dressed okay.”
“I’m not really sure where we’re going either, so I hope I’m dressed okay.” He waved at his jeans, then went around and settled into the driver’s seat. “Hungry?”
“Always.”
“Really?” He leaned across the console and kissed her, slowly at first, gauging her reaction. She tasted minty and sweet, and when he deepened the kiss, she wound her hands around his neck and met every stroke of his tongue with an eager stroke of her own.
“I could kiss you all night,” he said against her lips.
“Sounds like a good plan.”
He sealed his lips over hers again and felt himself getting lost in her as lust coiled inside him, thick and eager. When they drew apart, they were both breathing hard.
“Does this feel like a first date to you?” He pressed his lips to hers again before she could answer. He’d been thinking about her all afternoon, and the cold shower he’d taken before their date hadn’t done anything to temper his desire to strip her bare and feast on every inch of her beau
tiful body. It took all his focus to stop kissing her again.
“We’d better go or Tegan’s neighbors will start talking about the fogged-up windows.”
She laughed, and it was a sound he wanted to hear over and over again. He’d hated hearing about all she’d gone through and wished he could have been by her side when it had occurred. The irrational anger he’d felt toward her ex-boyfriend lingered. He started the engine and drove down the street, pushing that anger away so he could focus on Leesa. “I thought we’d go to Nate’s restaurant and grab some dinner.”
He drove to the old train station that Nate had renovated for the restaurant, and on their way inside Leesa looked up at the sign and laughed.
“Tap It? Really? That’s what he named it?”
Cole laughed. “He and Jewel’s brother, Rick, came up with the idea before Rick was killed. That’s what you get when you have two twenty-five-year-old guys planning a business together.” He pulled her against him and kissed her, slow and deep, until he felt her body grow weightless and melt against him. God, he loved the way she felt. He reminded himself that she hadn’t agreed to go out with him to be kissed senseless every few minutes and pried his lips away. The lustful look in her eyes made him think she was fighting the same intense attraction.
He held the door open, and they stepped inside the crowded restaurant. He had forgotten it was Sunday night, and now that they were there, he realized he should have taken her someplace much quieter. Weekend nights brought crowds in the tourist town. Music and chatter filled the bar area off to their right.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Cole said.
“Hey, Cole!” His brother Sam waved them over to the bar.
Cole lifted his chin, acknowledging that he’d seen Sam. “Sorry. I can’t believe I forgot it was Sunday night. Usually the weeknights aren’t bad, but weekends are another story altogether.”
“That’s okay. We can eat at the bar with Sam if you want.”
“Is that one of those answers a woman gives a guy because she doesn’t know how to tell him she doesn’t want to do it?” He pressed his lips to hers again and then said, “We can go someplace else.” Although this was probably safer than where he wanted to take her, which was right back to his place to be alone with her.
Surrender My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens): Cole Braden Page 8