So, he lifted his hand and made an X-sign over his heart.
Then she did smile, and Leo smiled back.
She rested her hand on the bike that was propped against the house.
“Do you ride your bike a lot?” he asked, wondering why that question popped in his mind.
“Almost every day,” she said. “I ride it to work when the weather’s good.”
He gazed at the bike—it was plain, white, nothing that would stand out. And yet . . . He realized he’d seen her riding her bike several times. In fact, one of his cop buddies had referred to her as the “bike lady” whenever they’d passed her. “You’re the bike lady.”
Her eyes widened. “The what?”
He probably shouldn’t have said that. “Uh, well, I’m just saying I’ve seen you riding your bike before.” He needed to change the subject before he backed himself into a corner. “Have any of your neighbors had problems with raccoons?”
“I don’t think so. Do you have any recommendations for how to keep raccoons from ravaging my trash in the middle of the night?” she asked, her tone much lighter now. “And thus saving me a phone call and you a trip to my house.”
He liked seeing the worry gone from her eyes. “You can call me any time, Felicity,” he said, and once he’d said it he realized how it must sound. Like a pickup line. But he wasn’t going to take it back.
She was studying him again, and he felt his face and neck warm. What was it about this woman’s scrutiny that had him feeling hazy-minded? He exhaled. “As for the advice about keeping raccoons out of your yard, there are locks made for trashcans. Or . . . a dog would be a deterrent too.”
She looked thoughtful. “Yeah, the more I think about getting a dog, the better I like the idea.”
“Don’t let me pressure you,” Leo said. “But it does give people peace of mind.”
She laughed. “Yeah, and it seems like I need a big dose of that. I even looked up some dogs that are listed for sale, but I really know nothing about them. I don’t like the little ones that bark all the time.”
“My family has had several dogs over the years,” Leo said. “If you want, I can go to the animal shelter with you. Give you some recommendations.” He’d tried to keep his tone neutral, but he hoped his offer might be a segue into spending more time with her—daylight time—when she was fully dressed. He kept his gaze on her face.
“Okay.”
Why her answer surprised him, he didn’t know. She pretty much said she wanted a dog and was looking for recommendations. “Great. When do you want to go?”
“When do you get off your shift?” she asked, her mouth lifting into a smile. “Oh, wait. You probably need to sleep.”
“We could go before that double-date thing with Grant,” Leo said. “I mean, if you are interested in going to that?”
Felicity bit her lip, drawing Leo’s attention to thoughts he shouldn’t be entertaining.
“I guess it would be the decent thing to do,” she said in a teasing voice.
“Yeah, I believe you’re right,” he teased back.
“Name the time, and I’ll be ready,” she said, bending to pick up an empty milk carton. Then she uprighted the trash can and dropped the carton inside.
“I’ll find out from Grant, then let you know,” he said. “The shelter closes at 5:00 on Sundays, so we’d have to go before then.”
Felicity picked up another bit of trash and said, “Does that give you enough time to sleep?”
“Yeah, four or five hours is all I need after a night shift.” He picked up a cereal box—some sort of Special K—and threw it in the trash.
“Hey.” Felicity grasped his arm, stopping him from grabbing more garbage. “You really don’t have to pick up my trash.”
“I don’t mind helping.” He picked up an egg carton, tossed it, then grabbed a couple more things.
“Feel free to put a block on my number,” she said as they worked side by side. “I mean, after I get that dog and go on a double-date-slash-blind-date with you.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like you’re making a list.”
“Oh, I’m all about lists—I work in a bookshop, you know.”
They both moved to the trash can at the same time and nearly bumped into each other. Leo reached out to steady her, resting his hand on her shoulder. She was taller than Janna, and more slender, and he couldn’t seem to remove his hand from her shoulder.
“Do you like strawberry jam?” she asked.
Leo didn’t know if he’d heard her right. Was she asking him about jam? She shifted, so they were standing even closer together, although neither of them had taken a step.
“I love strawberry jam.”
“Good,” she said. “Then I’m making you some.”
“Okay . . .”
She smiled, then moved away to gather the last couple bits of trash.
Leo stood there, watching her. She put the trash can lid back on, then brushed her hands, and turned to him. He’d been caught—staring at her. But she didn’t seem to mind.
She only smiled. “There are three things I can make well. One of them is strawberry jam.”
“What are the other two things?”
Her smile broadened. “I can’t give away all my secrets in one night, can I?”
He shook his head. Even though they’d both been picking up trash, and the night was only getting colder, he wanted to grasp her hand, link their fingers, and . . .
A dog started barking somewhere in the neighborhood.
“Raccoons?” Felicity asked.
“Maybe.”
They both laughed, and the neighbor’s back porch light went on.
Felicity shushed him, and said, “People are going to wonder why there’s a cop car on our street.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What are you going to tell them?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
Leo smirked. “Good luck with that. I’m going to my car now, and I’m sure that neighbor who turned on his light will see me.”
Felicity sighed and folded her arms. “Fine. I’ll own up to it, if someone asks.”
“Good girl.” He took a step toward the gate, because he should probably go. Really soon. Right now. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Thanks again, Leo.”
Her voice was soft, and it made him want to stay longer. But he continued moving toward the gate, and said, “You’re welcome, Felicity.”
When Felicity opened her eyes, sunlight streamed through her bedroom window. It took her a moment to realize that it was Sunday, and she hadn’t overslept and missed work. Today was her day off, and . . . then she remembered the events of the night before. She groaned. Had she really texted Officer Russo in the middle of the night to come and scare away raccoons from her yard?
She groaned again. Looked at the clock. It was 11:00 a.m. She was glad she’d fallen back asleep, but she’d probably put Livvy into a panic. Sure enough, when Felicity grabbed her phone from the night table, there were two missed called from Livvy and three texts. Felicity quickly texted back that everything was fine. I have a story to tell you!
Then she opened up the next text strand. There was a single text from Leo: Just got off my shift. I’ll call you when I wake up. Hope you get some sleep too. –Leo
Goose bumps dotted her arms. He had texted her. She remembered what Livvy had said about him. That he hadn’t dated in over six months, and now he was texting her. The text was completely platonic, but it still had an intimate feel to it. And he’d signed his name, as if she didn’t know who was texting her. Kind of sweet.
And then she remembered: strawberry jam. She needed to get strawberries and start making the jam. Or should she wait until after the double date? Make sure it wasn’t a colossal disaster? But, tomorrow she worked most of the day, and as usual, she’d be tired when she got home. Maybe she could do some of the prep today and the canning portion tomorrow night. If she didn’t give the jam to Le
o, then her neighbors would have a nice treat.
Deciding to do the prep today, she showered and dressed, then went outside to get her bike. She didn’t exercise other than riding her bike around town, and she supposed that if Leo biked, it was probably a little more intense. The day was warmer than it had been all week, and the temperature was perfect for riding her bike.
At the store, she found that she was shopping with a smile on her face. Well, it was a beautiful day, she reasoned. Again she made sure her two grocery bags were about the same weight before she started off for home. She supposed she could get a basket for her bike.
Her phone rang in her back pocket when she was still a couple of blocks from her house. Thinking it might be Leo, she braked to a stop and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Leo’s name on her screen. She was surprised he was calling so early—she would have thought he would sleep a lot longer . . . unless he was cancelling on her for some reason.
This thought only made her heart pound harder.
“Hello?” she answered, not able to hide her rapid breathing.
“Are you running or something?” he asked.
If her heart hadn’t been racing before, it was now at the sound of his voice. “No . . . well, I’m riding my bike home from the grocery store.”
“You ride your bike to grocery shop too?” he asked. “Don’t you have a car?”
His tone of voice was mellow, almost lazy. Not the tone of urgency that someone might have if they were calling her to cancel plans. Felicity hoped it was a good sign and relaxed a little. “I have a car. But this is such a cute, quaint town that it’s more fun to ride a bike through it.”
Leo chuckled, and the sound made Felicity feel warm all over.
“You’re probably right,” he said. “Although it seems that everyone is always in a hurry. I like that you make time for riding your bike.”
“I’m all about the leisure activities, I guess,” Felicity said, finding that she was smiling. “Remember I work at a bookshop, trying to sell books to people to read—which is a leisure activity in today’s world.”
“Right. Because not many people read for pleasure—they’re too busy trying to make money.”
Felicity started to walk, pushing her bike forward with one hand while she stayed on the phone. “I guess I like the simple life. You know, eat, read, and sleep.”
Leo chuckled again.
“I thought you’d be sleeping all day,” she said. “Unless you’re one of those five-hour-energy-drink junkies.”
“Nope,” he said. “No energy drinks for me. I’d rather take a nap if I get too tired. But it’s hard for me to sleep during the day, even when I work a night shift. I guess my body thinks it should be awake with the sun.”
“Do you work a lot of night shifts?”
“Once a week,” he said. “I have a bit of seniority, so I can be more selective.”
“Ah, so you have the easy part of police work,” Felicity teased. “I mean, aren’t most crimes committed at night? Except for shoplifters, that is.”
“Yeah, I’m really missing out on busting the middle-of-the-night raccoon trespassing population.”
“Ha. Ha,” she deadpanned. “I’m trusting that you’ve kept my secret safe.”
“I did cross my heart,” he said in a low voice.
Felicity grinned at no one in particular. She’d reached her house, and she walked her bike to the gate. “If someone asks me about it, then I’ll know who to blame. Except I’ll probably have to tell Livvy.”
“Livvy Harmon?”
“Yeah, do you know her?” Felicity was very curious about the women Leo knew . . .
“Not really. I know who she is because she’s dating a friend of mine.”
Felicity rested her bike against the side of the house. “You know Slade?”
“He was a couple of years older than me in high school, but we played sports together. And he’s my doctor.”
“Does he talk about Livvy?” Felicity said.
Leo went silent.
“Sorry, that was kind of personal,” Felicity said. “Never mind. It’s just that he cancels on Livvy a lot, so she wonders if he’s really interested, I guess.”
Leo still wasn’t saying anything.
“Forget I asked,” Felicity said, grabbing the grocery bags with one hand. She felt hot with embarrassment. All of these people who grew up in Pine Valley had a history together, and their friendships weren’t her business.
“No, it’s okay,” Leo said at last. “I mean, he talks about her as if they’re regularly dating, so I assumed they were. I can ask him—”
“That’s okay,” Felicity said. “I don’t want to put you in the middle. I don’t want to be in the middle either.” She shut the gate and headed to the front porch. “I’m just her friend, and I don’t have great advice on relationship stuff anyway. You talking to Slade will probably put her in an awkward situation.”
“Why don’t you have great advice?” Leo asked.
Felicity set the grocery sacks on the porch, then unlocked the front door. “Because I haven’t been in a long-term relationship before.”
“You’ve never had a boyfriend?”
How did they get on this topic? Felicity tried not to groan. It wasn’t like they were even dating, yet he was asking her about relationships. Well, she had brought it up in the first place. “Not really.”
“Huh.”
That was it? Huh? She picked up the grocery sacks and carried them to the kitchen. “Well, it’s true.”
“What’s the longest you dated a guy?”
Here it was. The question she hated to answer. Only Livvy knew the down-and-dirty truth. Felicity set the bags on the kitchen table, then went to lock the front door, knowing that she was stalling. Apparently, he was fine to wait patiently for her answer. Maybe it would be good for him to know she wasn’t really the commitment type. After all, he’d practically married his last girlfriend, so he and Felicity were opposites. “Um, about a week.” Six days. Three dates in six days. And that was her record.
Leo laughed. Of course he’d find it funny. Or maybe pathetic? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh.”
“Laugh away, Officer Russo,” she said.
“I think you’re interesting, Ms. Miner,” he said, his tone rumbling through the phone. “And, well, I’m sure you’ve been asked out a lot. Do the guys find some major flaw and run?”
“I guess you’ll have to wait to find out, Officer.”
She could hear the smile in his voice when he replied, “In that case, ma’am, can I pick you up at 3:00?”
Despite her hesitation, her own smile bloomed. “Is that when Grant’s double-date starts?”
“No, but it should give us enough time to check out the animal shelter.” He paused. “That is, if you’re still interested in getting a dog.”
“I’m interested,” she said simply.
“Great. I’ll be there around 3:00.”
“Okay.”
“See you soon, Felicity.” He hung up before she could respond.
She leaned against the front door where she stood, liking the way he’d said her name in that deep voice of his. Closing her eyes, she replayed the entire conversation in her head. She had to agree with Livvy—it seemed Leo was interested in her. But what did he see in her? And why her out of the other women in the town Livvy had said were definitely vying for his attention? Why had his six month no-dating streak come to an end?
Because of a favor to Grant?
That’s what Felicity had to tell herself to believe, since the alternate reason would give her too much hope. She could definitely see Leo Russo as a guy she’d want to be around more than a week. And that reason alone should make her turn down any date with him.
Leo knocked on Felicity’s front door twenty minutes after 3:00. Music came from inside the house, and he wondered if she heard him knock. He was later than he’d planned because he’d stopped by his mom’s and t
alked to Angelo. By all that he could see, his cousin seemed to be doing well and was excited to start his new job in the morning. Leo’s dad had been his usual self, not talking much, but interested in the game show on television. This was expected behavior since his dad’s stroke. His mom had tried to talk Leo into staying for dinner, but when he finally confessed he had a date that evening, she was full of questions. He answered as few as possible, then promised to call his mom later.
So, here he was, standing on Felicity’s porch. The afternoon had turned cool after a warm morning, and he wondered if he should have brought a jacket. He wore a long-sleeved, button-down shirt, but he had a sweatshirt in the trunk of his car, though it probably smelled like the trunk.
He lifted his hand to knock again just as the music turned off. Then he heard the lock slide open.
Felicity opened the door, and the first thing he noticed was that she looked like she’d been exercising or something; her face was flushed pink, and she had a sheen of perspiration on her forehead.
She blinked her green eyes as if she’d come out of a dark hole and was seeing the sun for the first time in days. “It’s 3:00 already?”
Leo fought a smile. “Three-twenty. Did you forget?” He glanced at her attire, and although she looked fine, more than fine, he didn’t think she intended to wear a fitted tank top splotched with pink stains, and black leggings, on their date. No glasses, and she was barefoot.
Felicity rested a hand on her hip, gazing right back at him, as if she was sizing him up. “I guess I lost track of time. I was planning on prepping the strawberries, then I decided I could get one batch done before you got here.”
He stared at her in wonder. “You’re making strawberry jam right now?”
Her lips curved into a smile, and the sight of her half-smile made his pulse thrum.
“Do you want to come see?” She opened the door and turned to lead the way to the kitchen.
Leo watched her walking away, then shook his head to try to regain his focus. He couldn’t remember ever being slack-jawed around a woman before. He closed the door and continued to the kitchen, where the counters were filled with the makings of strawberry jam. The air was warm and humid, so that explained her flushed cheeks. A row of empty glass jars ran along one side of a counter, next to a large bowl of what he assumed to be mashed strawberries. On the kitchen table sat six jars of bright red jam atop a yellow dishcloth.
Finding Us (Pine Valley Book 5) Page 7