Page 27 of Hyde

“Fine. Let’s play twenty questions,” she retorts, and I shrug considering that to be her most harmless request. “You first.”

“What are you going to study at college?” I ask, assuming that she plans to start in the fall. At least until she squeezes her eyes shut.

“Ugh. I’m going to get my real estate license and work with Amy for a while. I did promise Mom I would take some business courses though.”

I raise an eyebrow at that bit of news, always figuring she’d get some crazy advanced degree. The last I heard, Connal, Jake, and Charlie’s daughter was in pre-med and trying to decide between neurosurgery or something else extremely specialized.

“Where was your favorite place you visited?” she asks me, seemingly eager to change the subject.

“Alaska, hands down.” I don’t have to think about that answer. “How about you?”

“Italy. Not to live, but we went there a couple of years ago and it was just awe inspiring.” The little smile on her face, tells me she’s picturing it; at least until it turns and she looks somewhat sad. “What happened to the charm I gave you?”

“The chain broke during a fight,” I answer her, and see the disappointment flash across her face. “I know how important itis to you, so I stayed after they cleared the bar out and swept the floor until I found it.”

Leaning to my side, I pull my wallet out of my back pocket. Inside, I open a little pouch and I drop the charm out onto my palm.

The look on Leslee’s face makes my heart skip a beat. And try as I may to picture the adorable little waif she was, all I see is the woman in front of me.

“Do you want it back?” The words escape me before I realize that counts as my question.

“Not now. You can keep it safe for me. My question: how many times have you been in love?”

And here we go. I take my time putting her charm back into its rightful place. “I don’t know that I have been.”

“Not even Trinity?”

“Wait your turn,” I playfully reprimand her, eager to get a read on her personal life, but dreading the moment she asks about her postcards. “How many boyfriends have you had?”

She bursts out laughing and when she opens her mouth to answer, the only word that I’m able to make out is ‘Dad’.

Leslee finally stands up, crossing to the sink to get some water. “Dad said I couldn’t date, Mom said I could when I turned sixteen, but since Dad had basically threatened everyone’s life, no one’s manned up to ask me out.”

I grunt, knowing damn well she’s clever enough to sneak around if she had any interest in doing so.

“Not even Trinity?” she probes me about the last answer I gave her.

“At the time, I thought I was. Looking back, I know she was never honest with me about who she was or what she wanted. If you don’t truly know someone, you can’t possibly love them.”

“Only the idea of them,” she whispers and I look into her eyes, slowly nodding my head.

She tilts her head and I wonder if she’s considering what I just laid out for her. That it’s entirely possible she only loves the idea of me, one that she created as a child and has hung onto all of these years.

“I think I’m going to go check out the tunnel,” Leslee tells me, and I turn away from her to check how much light is left today.

“Let me get you a walkie talkie, and I’ll meet you at the far end,” I concede, happy she’s willing to stop this game and not opposed to getting to stretch my legs a bit.

I pop open the entrance to it and hit the light switch; hanging from a hook on the wall are some wind-up flashlights. I grab one for her, making sure it works before I turn to see she’s got her hiking boots back on, the walkie talkie clipped to her waistband, and her water bottle in one hand. She’s going to be severely disappointed with the length of the tunnel if she thinks she needs water, but that’s not worth bringing up.

“I want you to pop the panel back into place behind you, so you’ll know how to do it if need be. Any cave-ins or rumblings that make you nervous, you call me on that,” I instruct her, pointing to the radio. “Then make your way back here. Otherwise, I’ll try to get to the other side before you.”

“You know where it is?” she asks a very important question.

“It’s been a while, but I think I do. If I’m not there, just stay at the exit and call me, so we can walk back together.”

With that, she disappears into the tunnel.

I shake my head in amusement, her curiosity will always win out when it comes to things like a secret passageway. Christ, when she readThe Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, she spent months checking out people’s closets. Granted, she was about eight at the time.

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