Leesa smiled and stuck her tongue out at her. Rachel just laughed, not the least bit intimidated or put off. That was one more thing she loved about her new bff.
“That’s what I hear, too. Grandma Kate wanted them to spend some time here. I was kind of surprised they took her up on the offer.” Then she frowned. “I get the sense that Phillip is the one who was really interested in learning more about his roots.”
“What about Jason?”
“Well, I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I think he’s looking for something nefarious.” She could have sworn she saw him pour some water from his glass into a vial at the restaurant the other day. She’d come into the dining room to replace the jug of sweet tea, and she’d seen he was on his own, near the back.
She was absolutely not going to address that she’d somehow known he was there and her attention had been drawn to him. I’m playing the denial card as long as I can.
“Nefarious? In Lusty? Like what?”
Leesa hadn’t had to think about it for too long before she understood exactly what Jason was doing. I’m not going to address that one, either. “Well, you know how it’s kind of an inside joke—how folks coming to town and end up staying invariably ask if anyone’s ever had the water tested?”
Rachel’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. “Shut the front door! Really?”
“Mmhmm. He poured water from his glass into a vial so I would say, yes, really.”
“Wow. I mean I even said that line myself, but I was joking.”
“I’m sure you were. I’ve heard that nearly everyone at some point says that, too, and means it as a joke. But be honest, here, girlfriend. You did wonder, didn’t you?”
“Well, maybe a little.” Rachel shook her head. “Does he know that you know?”
“I have no idea, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed. This town is congenial and welcoming and laid back. But people here see everything.”
“Well, when you think about all that’s happened around here in the last several years, they’ve had cause to become a bit more alert than folks in another town might be.” Rachel had shared with her some of the tales of female derring-do she’d heard about, and Carrie had told her others.
“I think that’s just how it should be. People should have their eyes open.” One more thing Leesa loved about her hometown. The women here were not delicate southern belles. Mess with one, you messed with them all. And they sure as hell didn’t wait around for some man to come and fix every little thing for them, either.
She’d gone to the gun range once with Grandma Kate, Samantha Kendall, and cousins-by-marriage Anna and Pamela Jessop. Those women, not a one of them under sixty, could shoot.
“So do I, especially after what happened to Libby,” Rachel said.
Leesa would never forget the day that Rachel’s good-for-nothing ex-husband had come to town and forced her daughter, Libby, and Libby’s best friend, Bonnie Dorchester, into his car. Grandma Kate had moved heaven and earth to get Rachel’s men to her while Sheriff Adam Kendall had contacted his friend with the DPS to help get the girls back. Fortunately, that incident had turned out well for everyone except Rachel’s ex. There wasn’t a tear shed by anyone who knew him that the bastard was going to be spending many years behind bars.
Leesa brought herself back to the moment. “I’ll tell you what I am surprised at. No one has said a contrary word to Jason. He’s greeted in a friendly manner by everyone and treated with respect, just like everyone else.”
“He’s family,” Rachel said. “It doesn’t matter that he’d never stepped foot in Lusty until a week ago. His grandfather was born and raised here. He’s a part of everything, though he has no idea of what all he’s connected to.”
“You’re right. Maybe it’s also because everyone senses that he’s on a…a quest, I guess you could call it. Though I don’t think Jason realizes that part at all.”
“I think you like him—him and Phillip. I think you like them a lot.”
“We’ve only shared a few words here and there.” Though each time, she’d felt the electricity and the connection. And she’d known, deep down inside, that those men had felt it, too.
“I know you told me that you were going to do nothing to hinder or help things along,” Rachel said. “But I think—I really believe—that if what you feel is real, you need to take a chance. You, my friend, need to make the first move. You need to, as they say, step out on faith. Woman up.”
“Unlike you, Rachel, I am not femme fatale material. I’m kind of stocky and more of a tomboy than I am a girly-girl.” She held out her hands, nails up. “These are so unfeminine, it’s not funny. That’s why we’re headed to the spa next, remember?”
“I think both Jason and Phillip are attracted to you. Who says the men always have to make the first move?”
Who, indeed? The few times she’d spent time with Jason and Phillip Benedict, she’d sensed a kind of seeking within them. In their own way, each man was hurting.
Or maybe I’m just making all that shit up because of what I feel when I’m with them.
“You know which house they’re in, right?” Rachel asked.
“Kind of hard not to in this town.” She would not for the world admit, even to Rachel, that she had, in fact, driven past it the day before.
“So cook something for them as a ‘welcome to town’ gift and take it over to them. You could do that right after our lunch and time it for supper.” Rachel grinned. “Or you can go on pretending to wait for something to happen.”
Leesa tilted her head to one side. “In other words, stop wimping out.”
“You made it to sergeant in the United
