Page 63

Leah

The past month had been the best that Leah had felt in a long time.

She and Nova were almost as close as they used to be.

The only challenge they had was Skye, and that was only because they both loved her so much.

Whenever Skye stayed with Nova and Martha, Leah missed her more than she thought she could.

The house didn’t feel right without her daughter’s presence.

Of course, Leah and Quinton found creative ways to pass the time.

Being an empty nester wasn’t going to be so bad after all, they eventually learned.

Skye was with Nova for the weekend, so Leah and Quinton took an impromptu road trip.

Leah couldn’t believe it herself. They woke up Saturday morning, and Leah said, “Let’s take a road trip.

” She didn’t plan it weeks in advance or anything.

It was spontaneous, and she only had a mini panic attack after the words left her mouth.

She had a slightly bigger one when Quinton agreed.

A part of her hoped he’d suggest waiting until another weekend, which would’ve given her the proper time to plan, but oh well.

“Where should we go?” Quinton asked once they were both up and dressed for the day.

That was a great question. It was the first week in December and seventy-one degrees in Baton Rouge, but wherever they traveled could be colder, or warmer depending on the direction they took.

Leah had a thought, but she wasn’t sure how receptive Quinton would be to her suggestion.

It didn’t hurt to try, though. He’d surprised her once by agreeing to the road trip.

There was no harm in pressing her luck for a second time, right?

“How about Houston?” she said.

“Houston?” His forehead wrinkled. “Why Houston?”

She was pretty sure he knew why that was her suggestion, but if he needed her to say it, then she would. “Well, first, because I love going to Houston, and we haven’t been in a while. It’ll give us a chance to shop at the Galleria.”

“And?” he said, confirming that he already knew her motives.

“And we can stop by and visit with Renee for a little while.”

“So, not a fun trip then?” he asked.

“Okay, we don’t have to go to Houston. But you did say that you’d like to go into the new year with a fresh start. I thought this would be the perfect time for you to visit with your mom and tell her everything you’ve said to me.”

Quinton leaned against the wall next to the walk-in closet. “I don’t know if I’m ready to have that conversation with her.”

Leah walked over and pressed her body against his. Quinton wrapped his arm around her waist. “Then we won’t go to Houston. Or we do go and skip the visit. It’s your call. I’m riding wherever you’re going.”

He stared away from her, then lowered his head to meet her eyes. “The truth is I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready. And you’re right. I did say I didn’t want to take any unfinished business into the new year.”

“So, we’re going to Houston?” Leah asked.

Quinton’s deep and passionate kiss was her answer.

Leah checked the temperature and saw that it was pretty close to theirs, which made packing much easier. Leah hadn’t pulled out any of her winter clothes yet because when it came to Louisiana’s weather, she might need them, and she might not.

“Ready?” Quinton asked while zipping up his overnight bag.

“All ready,” Leah said, zipping her last one.

Quinton shook his head at the three bags she’d packed. “We’re staying two nights, Leah. That’s it.”

“I know.” She lifted one bag and left the other two for him, since they were the heaviest.

After calling Skye to tell her they were leaving and stopping for gas and road snacks, they were finally ready for the four-hour drive.

Leah loved that Quinton always insisted on driving.

It was probably because he didn’t trust Leah’s driving.

He said she had a lead foot, but it only felt that way because Quinton drove like a grandpa.

Leah hated driving, especially out of town, so his insistence on it worked for her.

Leah couldn’t help but laugh when Quinton found his favorite talk radio station.

“What’s so funny?” He turned the volume down.

“The night of the sleepover. You remember that night, right?” Leah joked.

He narrowed his eyes and shot her a quick look. “How could I forget?”

Leah realized that she and Quinton talked about the bad part of the night, but that part seemed to erase all the fun they had before Leah dropped the bomb to Nova about their marriage.

Now that things were better, she could fill him in.

“Before the night was shot to hell, Nova was telling Skye about your taste in music back in the day, then Skye told Nova what you listened to now, and she was shocked.”

“Really? Why?” Quinton asked, obviously not getting the humor in that statement.

“Are you serious? Nova said you listened to rap music and at one point thought you were a rapper.” Leah waved her hand toward the radio as if presenting it to him for the first time. “That’s a lot different from this, wouldn’t you say?”

“Well, yeah, but I’m a lot different than I was at seventeen. This is an improvement, wouldn’t you say?”

Leah knew her face shouted, “No, I wouldn’t say,” but she rearranged it before Quinton looked at her for an answer. “Um. I’m not sure if ‘improvement’ is the word I’d use. Maybe more mature. Yes, that’s it. It’s more mature.”

Quinton’s mouth flew open. “What? You said you liked listening to talk radio and jazz. What changed?”

“Nothing. Other than the fact that I lied. I don’t like it at all, but you do, so I went along with it.”

“What? You lied to me? Who are you? I don’t even know you anymore,” Quinton joked. “Okay, you choose. How about that?”

That was a huge change. Leah and Skye knew that the number-one rule when riding with Quinton was that the driver controlled the music.

That was the only part about not driving that Leah hated.

It didn’t matter too much, though, because she always had an audiobook loaded on her phone for times like those.

Leah changed the station until she landed on one playing Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time.” She and Quinton sang at the top of their lungs.

After that was a Prince song, followed by a Whitney Houston song, all the greatest who were gone too soon.

The mini concert went on for hours and helped Leah to forget about the anxiety that she’d felt ever since they left home.

The visit to Renee was needed, but Leah hoped Quinton didn’t feel pressured to do it.

More than anything, she wanted him to be ready for whatever came from that meeting.

This led Leah to conjure up a list of things that could go wrong, the main one being Renee dismissing Quinton’s feelings.

A commercial came on, giving them a break from their singing and giving Leah a chance to do a quick check. She didn’t want to kill the mood because it was great, and they hadn’t had that much fun together in years, but it would help her if she knew Quinton was okay.

“Hey, you know just because you said you wanted to do this before next year doesn’t mean you have to, right? Like I said, we can spend our time in Houston doing other stuff.”

Quinton didn’t respond at first, and Leah thought he was about to agree that maybe he shouldn’t do it now, which she would’ve supported 100 percent, but he didn’t say that at all.

“No, I’m actually happy I’m doing this now.

Having that conversation with Nova and Lance made me feel so much better.

I believe the same will happen with my mom. ”

“But you understand that this conversation may not go the same way the one with Nova and Lance went, right? That one involved you admitting you were in the wrong. This is you telling Renee how she wronged you.”

“I get that, but no matter what, I know I’ll feel better when I’ve said it.” He flashed Leah a smile, then winked. “I know you’re concerned, but don’t be. I’m a big boy, I’ll be okay.”

“I know you are, big boy,” Leah said seductively, which she didn’t pull off too well, and once again she and Quinton laughed, which definitely lightened the mood that Leah had temporarily dampened.

The four-hour trip took close to five hours between Quinton’s cautious driving, construction, and bathroom breaks.

When Quinton pulled into the driveway, he sat for a few minutes.

Leah held his hand until he was ready to get out.

They’d called Renee when they made it to Houston to see if she was home and up for company.

As usual, Renee was excited to hear from them and said she couldn’t wait to see them.

That was because she didn’t know what the visit would entail.

Leah did, though, and that didn’t make her feel any better.

Since she didn’t know the history and how Quinton really felt about being sent to live with his grandparents, she didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward Renee.

As far as Leah knew, her mother-in-law was a wonderful, loving mother who worked odd hours day and night, and had no choice but to send Quinton to live with his grandparents so he wouldn’t be home alone so much.

It wasn’t safe. It all made sense to Leah, and Quinton certainly benefited from his mom’s hard work with all the new clothes and shoes she sent.

Leah hadn’t realized those clothes and shoes might have been bought out of guilt.

Quinton and Leah continued holding hands while Quinton knocked on Renee’s door. He fidgeted with the keys, and Leah could tell he was nervous. Quinton looked over at her and smiled.

“We got this.” Leah winked.