Page 9 of Butterfly Sisters
Leon gave him a loaded look. “Perfect. Thicket’s on the way, ain’t it?” Leon’s easy, friendly way with Colton hit her hard—a stark contrast to the rejection she’d gotten from her superficial friendship with Julie back at work.
Colton turned and eyed the dog that was still resting on the open window of the Ford. The dog raised its head at its master. Then it looked past him into the store as if it understood. Colton shrugged at the hound, who let out a loud sigh and sat up.
“Thank you,” Leigh said, allowing her gaze to finally meet Colton’s as she joined him at the door, her breathing shallow, taking in those dark-brown eyes.
“For what?” he asked. He set the six-pack of beer on the hood of his truck with a clunk and reached into the bag, opening the box of milk bones and pulling one out. He tossed it through the open window to the hound, the dog catching it in midair.
“For showing me the way.”
By the look of fondness with a hint of that sting she’d seen in his eyes that day so long ago, she was absolutely sure right then that he knew exactly who stood in front of him. “Did I say I was?”
She narrowed her eyes. “No, but your dog did,” she said.
The dog raised its ears.
“Look at him.” She walked over to the truck and reached in through the window. “You wanna take me to Thicket Lane, don’t you?” she said to the dog, scratching his head. “What’s his name?”
When she said that, it was as if Colton had a hundred things to tell her, but he wouldn’t allow himself. He stared at her almost in disbelief. But then he seemed to slide back into the present moment. “You talk a lot,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
“I only asked his name,” she said, trying to deny the flurry of exhilaration that filled her because he’d remembered their first meeting too.
“Elvis,” he replied, to which the dog turned toward him.
Leigh nodded, amused. It would be just like Colton to have a dog named Elvis. His whole young life, he’d sworn that Elvis had been the most talented singer of all time, something that had created heated debates with Meredith whenever she tried to argue that the Beatles should hold that title.
“You have a…newtruck,” she said, taking in the faded paint on the Ford.
“Yep,” he replied, not elaborating. Colton picked up the bag and his beer and went around to the driver’s side of the truck, getting in and starting the engine. Then he leaned across Elvis to address Leigh through the window. “You gonna follow me or just watch me go?”
Her heart ached for more time. She wanted to talk to him properly, tell him that she’d thought about him over the years. But maybe it was better that she didn’t try. They were clearly different people now.
He pulled off, leaving her there. Leigh hustled over to her rental car and hopped in.
The old Ford continued down the road in a cloud of dust, as the gravel ground beneath its tires. Leigh put the car in gear and pulled off behind him.
FOUR
When they arrived at the lake house, Colton threw a hand up to Leigh out the window, but he didn’t stop the truck. She jumped out of her car to say thank you, but having already gone too far down the lane to hear her, the truck continued on and rounded the curve in the road. Leigh watched him go.
She put her hands on her hips and breathed in a deep breath of southern air to steady her pounding heart. Not ready just yet to face the cabin, she closed her eyes and took in another calming breath. The scent of spruce from the nearby pines and the heady aroma of the lake water that lapped onto the shore behind the cabin filled her lungs. The windchime on the porch tinkled in the breeze. Leigh’s mother’s brown sedan was parked in the drive.
The screen door squeaked open and then clapped shut behind Leigh’s mother, Katherine, as she stepped down the three steps to the stone path leading to the driveway. Her bob of gray hair and makeup were both done, and she looked like she’d lost some weight.
“Hey, Mama,” Leigh said, wrapping her arms around Katherine, her scent of rose and powder instantly taking Leigh back to her childhood. She wanted to curl up in her mom’s lap and tell her everything that had happened to her, but instead she pulled back and gave her a big smile.
Her mother kissed her on the cheek. “How was the trip?” she asked, as she followed Leigh around to the trunk of her car to help her retrieve her suitcases.
Leigh yanked on the handle of the largest bag, pulling it out of the trunk. It landed with a thud in the gravel at her feet. “It was good—a nice, short flight.”
“Any word from Meredith?”
“Other than the call where she said she’d come, nope.” Leigh got into the passenger seat and grabbed another bag. “I did tell her I was coming today.”
“She’ll be here then.” The look of uncertainty on Mama’s face made it pretty clear that she was nervous, too, about whether her younger daughter would come.
No one ever knew if Meredith would actually show up or not. Sometimes she would, but other times she’d call with an hour-long reason why she hadn’t been able to make it. Knowing her sister, she was probably saving money by driving from California to Tennessee, so it could be days before they saw her. There was nothing wrong with saving money, and it was good of Meredith to know she needed to. Leigh just hoped she had her own car and wasn’t hitchhiking across the country.
“Did you remember how to get all the way here? I almost got lost—it looks so different now. The trees and brush have grown up so much, I could hardly find it,” Mama said, carrying two of Leigh’s bags up the steps and holding open the screen door for her.
