Page 84 of Clean Sweep
I ran a hand over my face, still bleary from the long day yesterday.
After leaving Starla in Leslie’s capable hands, I had advertising sources to follow up on and another house to clean in a different part of Jackson City. I had to turn away work without Yessica for a while, which led to low income. Another worker left and I hadn’t been able to find another replacement that could drive to all the different locations.
In a word, business was hard over the holidays.
While Celeste struggled to find something to say—at least she hadn’t started to chastise me right away—I spun over the problem.
What should I do next? Leslie clearly needed some space or time. Both, probably. That’s what I’d want. When I twisted this situation around to try to see it from her perspective, I understood it. If Celeste had done all of those things without me, I would have been pissed too.
Which was the hard part.
“I think you start with apologizing,” Celeste finally said, her voice firm. “Really, at this point, that’s all you can do. Yeah, you kept secrets from her, but you were also actively helping. If they had been in true danger, you would have let her know. But you respected that Landon is an adult and you kept an eye on him. I think she’ll see that.”
I peered at her through my splayed fingers.
“You think so?”
“I hope so. Leslie is . . . sensible, if nothing else.”
My forehead ruffled. “Sensible, yes. But bubbling under all that sensibility is a woman with a lot of emotions. I’m worried that trust is broken and can’t be regained. Sure, she’ll probably forgive me, but what will that look like on the other side?”
Celeste reached over and squeezed my arm. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Until she’d asked the question, I hadn’t let myself question the strength of my feelings. At that moment, I couldn’t have stopped myself if I wanted to. There was no denying what I felt about Leslie anymore. That stone had long been running down the mountainside, gaining steam.
Now, it might just crash, crack, and die.
My fingers itched to grab my phone and call her. Text her, even, although we didn’t do a lot of that. I preferred to hear her voice. But I didn’t.
Because each time that I almost called, I heard the hardness in her tone all over again. I didn’t want to hear that tone directed toward me twice.
Besides, she had a wedding to plan, prepare, and execute. Landon and Starla couldn’t do much to help and all her boys were home. The next couple of days would be the worst possible time to broach this. I could give her space, but it would suck for a while.
Two more days. I could make it two more days. Then I’d show up at the wedding and clear the air at the end. The unfortunate truth was clear: Leslie Hill didn’t need me.
But maybe I needed her.
19
LESLIE
The day of the wedding dawned with a crystal blue sky.
Although cold air settled onto Pineville like a crisp blanket, not even the chill could wipe away my optimistic mood. My son would marry a wonderful woman today. Their secrets were out and all my boys were here.
Plus, I didn’t have to listen to Ethan complain about wearing a dress shirt.
He was someone else’s complainer now.
After donning a gentle black skirt with a flattering, navy-blue top, I wrapped an apron around myself and set to work on a big breakfast that would get everyone through the morning.
The catharsis and familiarity of making a meal for my sons banished all the cobwebs left over from Tanner.
Tanner whom Istillmissed.
The fact that I hadn’t heard from him wasn’t making me feel any better about this situation, either. Lizbeth’s conversation still worked through my subconscious.
