Page 67 of Double Take

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Yeah, let’s have some fun.”

Mrs. Cross frowned, firmed her jaw, and headed after her husband as Steph, Keegan, and Dixon entered with grins.

“I hear we’re playing Scrabble,” Keegan said, rubbing his hands together and looking at Lainie with narrowed eyes. “I’m going to beat you this time.”

Lainie smiled. “Right. You keep that positive attitude and we’ll see how that works out for you.”

For the next three hours, they let the cares of the past few days roll off. Lainie threw herself into the fun of catching up with friends and eating cookies, and in the end, she remained the champion. But justbarely. James had been stiff competition with Dixon also winning one of the games. Then again, hewasa lawyer. Keegan conceded he’d been too confident and declared he wanted a rematch. After he studied the dictionary over the next couple of months.

Lainie helped collect the tiles and return them to the bag, while Steph and the others filtered out of the room ready to call it a night.

Lainie carried the game into the den and noted that James followed her. She set the box on the shelf and turned to find him watching her with a strange look on his face. She paused. “What?”

“You’re very competitive, aren’t you?”

A flush started at the base of her neck and worked its way up. “Um ... yes? I would think my studying the dictionary to beat you would be your first clue.”

He laughed. “True. I find it admirable and ... cute.”

She raised a brow. “Cute?”

“Is that the wrong word?”

“Admirable is good. Cute? I guess that depends on what you mean.”

“It’s...” He shrugged. “I don’t know what I meant. I guess I just never noticed that about you before and I’m not sure why. You’ve changed.”

Never noticed? But he’d noticed now? And had she changed that much? “I’ve discovered I like to win.”

“No kidding. You’re brutal. I refuse to play Scrabble with you anymore.”

She laughed at his teasing. “Don’t refuse to play, just do what it takes to get better.”

He paused. “That’s what you’ve done your entire life, isn’t it?”

Lainie frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you don’t quit. You might take a hit on the chin, but you pick yourself up and keep going, doing whatever it takes to come out ahead.”

His words resonated, vibrating within her brain, and she wasn’t sure how to respond. But was he right? “I wouldn’t say that’s true about mywholelife, but in the last eighteen months? Maybe.”

“Maybe? I’d say definitely to all your life after everything you’ve shared about growing up in your family. The last eighteen months have probably just solidified that.”

“I suppose.”

A silence descended and James shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning to go to your house, okay?”

“Sure. Thank you.”

He nodded. “I’ve asked a couple of officers to ride by here tonight on a regular basis. The house alarm is set. I’ve filled Mom in on the situation and she’s filled Dad in, so tonight we can rest. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“So ... you good?”

“For now.” Before the conversation could turn awkward, she pointed down the hall. “I’m beat. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah. Night, Lainie.”

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