Page 25 of Valiant

Leanna

IwassurprisedwhenJoe asked me for a second date after driving me home this morning. On the short ride back, the conversation between us had been sporadic at best. Most of it was me giving him directions to my house. He was gentlemanly enough to walk me to my door but didn’t ask to come inside. It might have had something to do with the big, black F-350 parked in the driveway.

My heart fluttered, and my lips turned up at the thought of getting to see Carter before he left on his trip. Unfortunately, Joe thought the smile on my face was for him.

“I had a nice time and would like to do it again soon. Maybe dinner next Friday?” he asked.

“I can’t next week. I’ll be up in the Catskills for our annual family ski retreat. With the blizzards that rolled through the Northeast in January, there’s tons of powder this year.” I bounced on my toes and rubbed my hands together, excited at the prospect of getting to do some snowboarding.

“What a coincidence. I’ll be in that area for a three-day conference at the Windam Mountain Ski Lodge and Expo Center.”

“We rent a cabin up there every year, only a few miles from the main lodge. Wait! I didn’t think you liked to ski or do outdoorsy stuff!”

He laughed. “I don’t! But the conference is more about product marketing and networking for me, not skiing or snowboarding. There will be time for those kinds of activities if that’s what you’re into, but I plan to spend my time either trying out the latest games before they hit the mainstream market or in the spa getting a top-notch massage.”

“Snowboarding’s definitely what I’m into. I plan to spend as much time on the slopes with my family as possible since that’s the purpose of the trip. But if our paths happen to cross, we might be able to meet up in town for a friendly meal.”

Joe agreed. When he asked for my number, I gave him the one to my secondary line. It’s a special number I give out when I don’t want someone to have my personal line that’s meant only for family. Carter helped Daphne and I set one up as an additional measure to keep us safe. Carter knows that if I ever dial him from this alternate number, he would need to track me because I’m in serious trouble.

As soon as Joe left, I hurried inside to talk to Carter before he departed for his trip. Yet when I entered, the house was eerily quiet. I searched for a note in all the usual places but found nothing. It wasn’t until I was about to crawl under my covers and finally get some much-needed sleep that I saw it. A small, folded card and a chocolate mint rested on top of my pillow. The note only had three words, but it was enough to give me a shred of hope.

I’ll miss you.

The sun had already set by the time my alarm had gone off, giving me less than an hour to get ready for dinner at Sebastian and Marybeth’s house. I always love going over there because I get to spend time with my favorite nephew, Marcus, who recently turned nine. I called and asked Marybeth about the impromptu dinner, and she assured me that everything was fine but that I should hurry up.

“The testosterone-to-estrogen ratio is currently unbalanced, and you’re needed to help even out the scales,” she told me.

“Mom and Dad can help rein everyone in for you when they get there. They’ve always been good at keeping the peace.”

“Oh, honey, your parents aren’t coming tonight. They have Marcus for some grandparent bonding time. This is a siblings-only event, and you’re the guest of honor. It will just be you, me, and everyone under the age of 35, except for Callie and Callum. They couldn’t make it because little Bella Rae has a cold.”

I locked up the house and then unlocked my car, a cute little Subaru Impreza with all-wheel drive. It didn’t take me long to figure out that it wouldn’t be an “all-wheel” night. “What you really mean is that this is an intervention. But I’m going to have to disappoint you. I can’t make it, at least not anytime soon. I have a flat tire. Ugh.”

“I’ll send one of the guys to help,” she offered.

“How about a ride since the meeting to discuss my life is so important to you all. As far as fixing the flat, I’ll take care of that tomorrow when it’s daylight. It will be safer than fixing it while hidden in darkness.”

“Alright. Brody said he’ll be there in ten minutes.”

The rest of the night wasn’t so bad; it was just a lot of opinion-sharing about Joe. The part of the conversation I had missed while Brody and Ansel talked to him revealed that Joe has a penchant for getting whatever new shiny toy strikes his fancy. My brothers seem to think he views me much the same way—an object that he wants.

I assured my family that I didn’t have any desire to date Joe going forward and that we had very little in common. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t be friends with him. I told them about the date and about our uninvited guest.

Daphne, who had shown up halfway through dinner, asked, “Did she really say she is going to play for keeps?” referring to Melissa.

“Yeppers. It’s not so muchwhatMelissa said buthowshe said it. When she got into my personal space, it felt more like a threat.” My family doesn’t take kindly to threats, so I was taken aback when Daphne spoke her next words.

“Well, there’s no doubt she’s going to win,” my sister said bluntly.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Don’t look at me like that, Leanna! She’s going to win because you aren’t even playing the game! Right now, you’re nothing but a spectator with season tickets, watching and hollering from the sidelines! You can’t win if you don’t play. You’re like one of those people hoping to win the lottery, but don’t bother buying a ticket!”

When no one else said anything, I looked each of them in the eye. “Do you all agree with her?” Slowly, one by one, they all nodded in affirmation.

Marybeth came over and gave me a side hug. “I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but Daphne’s not wrong. Leanna, you need to make a choice soon, or there isn’t going to be one left to make.”

The last thing I feel like doing when I wake up this morning is fixing my flat tire. Usually, I wouldn’t procrastinate, but today, I want to wait until the sun is higher in the sky and my body is fully caffeinated before I get started onthatfun task.

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