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Leah craned her neck to look at the door. “Probably city folk not used to such a casual, homey setting.”
“You’re from the city. I don’t recall you having a hard time understanding how Maplehaven works.”
“Leah’s a fast learner,” Heidi said. “I’ve never seen anyone adjust to a new town so quickly.”
“I think it’s more about this town than it is about me. Maplehaven is exactly what I was looking for when I moved.”
Dakota took her hand. “Maybe Maplehaven was looking for you too.”
Heidi clapped. “Wow, that was beautiful. I feel as if I watched aLifetimemovie.”
Kyle pulled her out of her seat. “C’mon. Let’s seat those city folks and see if we can’t make anHBOmovie in the supply closet.”
This time both Leah and Dakota plugged their ears, singingLa-la-la-la.
“They’re fun,” Leah said as Heidi and Kyle walked away, hand in hand.
“Yeah.” Dakota gave the Lennings one more glance before settling his gaze on Leah. “Heidi saved Kyle. He was in a bad place before she moved here.”
“He was?” Any time Leah had encountered Kyle, he’d been so upbeat and funny. She had a hard time picturing him as anything but that.
Dakota leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Both of his parents were drunks. They didn’t take care of him as a child. He was always that kid at school who didn’t have a lunch, whose hair wasn’t clean or combed, whose clothes were too small or too big.
“He was a loner too. My sisters and I were always friendly with him because he lived down the street from us. In fact, he spent a lot of time at our house, hanging around. Sometimes Noah and I would take him to the ball park and we’d do some batting practice and what not. He’s two years younger than Noah and me, so he was our little buddy, you know?”
Leah took a sip of her water, her throat stinging a little for Kyle. Everyone had their obstacles to overcome.
“Well, he didn’t stay little, as you can see.” Dakota motioned to Kyle leaning over a table where Nana and her reading group pals sat. His arms rippled with muscles, which Leah had noticed before. “He started getting into trouble in high school. Fights and stuff. He had all this anger inside him and the more muscles he developed, the tougher he got. Then he got involved with some bad dudes from Pearston, two towns over from Maplehaven. Drugs and shit.”
Leah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But he’s so successful now.”
Dakota leaned back in his seat. “That’s because Heidi moved here during his sophomore year of high school and he totally turned his life around to be with her.”
“Wow.” Leah knew Heidi was a force to be reckoned with, but she’d had no idea what she and Kyle had gone through to be together.
“Women.” Dakota squeezed her feet again with his under the table. “Powerful creatures.”
“I imagine Kyle had to have some power too in order to dig himself out.”
“True, but Heidi was his sole motivation. He didn’t change the course of his life for him. He did it for her. Because he wanted to be what she needed, what she deserved.”
Kyle laughed over something Nana had said, his booming chuckle infectious. Leah wondered if his past ever crept up on him. Had he been able to forget the years when he’d been on a dark path? Had loving Heidi and her loving him been strong enough to slay those demons?
Could a person shed the past like a cocoon and emerge as something better, something more, something different?
Something that wasn’t afraid?
****
“She’s going to choke!” Leah bent down to grab the dish of meatballs from Ginger who was currently wolfing them down as if she’d never eaten in her life. Crazy dog. Dakota knew for a fact she’d eaten half a chicken at the sawmill today, and he was pretty sure his mom had fed her scrambled eggs this morning.
He circled Leah’s waist with his arm and pulled her back against him before she could move the meatballs. With his nose to her neck so he could breathe in her wonderful scent, he said, “Ginger’s fine. That’s how she always eats meatballs and she hasn’t choked yet.”
“She’s not chewing anything.” Leah’s tensed body loosened when he kissed the rim of her ear. By the time she turned around in his hold, he knew Ginger was no longer her top concern. When she skated her hands up his arms and clasped them at the back of his neck, Dakota was certain Ginger would be allowed to enjoy her treat in peace.
And he’d be able to enjoy Leah in peace.
“I’ve seen that dog eat sticks. A few unchewed meatballs are no match for her digestive system. Trust me.” He kissed her forehead, her nose, then hovered by her mouth. “Besides, we have more important matters to attend to.”
