Prologue
Chloe squealed with glee as Courtney blew a raspberry on the little girl's neck. After having a kidney transplant given by her father, the little girl was thriving. Damon was doing well and recently went back to work with Jace, his best friend, at their construction firm, J.D.'s Construction.
She had heard from Leslie that Daisy, Jace's wife, had had her baby right before Christmas. Even though the little boy had been born about a month early, he was healthy.
She avoided Damon as best she could. That was a mistake of epic proportions, and Courtney was having a hard time understanding why his wife, Leslie, put up with her at all.
Leslie and all her friends were kinder to her than she deserved, but she was grateful. Not that she ever told any of them. As soon as anyone showed up, Courtney tried to make herself scarce. There was always an AA meeting or work to get to, anyway.
Idle hands are the devil's workshop. At least, that is what her grandmother had always told her. It turns out she had been right.
Her good-for-nothing high school boyfriend had gotten her hooked on drugs at sixteen. He had her spiraling so far out of control that she used said idle hands to steal from her elderly grandmother, the one person on the face of the planet who had loved her unconditionally. Her way of showing gratitude was by taking her Social Security checks.
She didn't know what had happened to the jerk and didn't care. He used and abused her, and she was thankful to be rid of him.
Her hands constantly trembled, and she felt the constant need to move. She needed medication for ADHD but was afraid to take anything more substantial than Tylenol. She placed the little girl back on the floor, and Chloe toddled away, heading toward the back where her mother was.
That was like a dagger to Courtney's heart every time the little girl called Leslie that. More words were being added to the little girl's vocabulary every day, and she had no clue what she was supposed to call Chloe or what Chloe was supposed to call her. Right now, she felt like a stranger in her own daughter's life. Not that she deserved anything more. Or anything at all.
The doorbell rang, and Leslie hollered from the back and asked her to answer the door. She scooped Chloe up, placing her on one hip, and walked to the door. As she swung it open, the breath froze in her lungs.
A broad-shouldered man with dark hair stood in the opening. She bit her lip to keep from spewing out how hot he was. Her motormouth needed to hush up. His eyes narrowed at her. "Is this Leslie James' residence?"
Courtney nodded in response.
"Is she home?"
"Yes—um, wait—stay here, please. Just stop. Just stay there." Courtney shut the door in his face and briskly walked down the hall to Leslie's room. She never went in there, but couldn't explain the nervousness settling into her gut and the need to flee immediately.
"Hey, who was it?" Leslie asked as she slipped a hoodie over her head. A loose thread caught an engagement ring next to her wedding band, and she worked it loose. She looked up at Courtney, expecting an answer, and was met with silence. "Courtney?"
"Oh." She shook her head and tried to get her thoughts together. "Sorry. I don't know. Tall dude. Very good looking. Very handsome." She needed to shut up. "Asked for you."
Leslie scrunched her brow at her, and Courtney followed her back to the living room. Leslie went and opened the front door. "May I help—Landon!" She launched herself into his arms. He immediately stiffened. His arms still hung by his sides when no effort was made to hug her back. She let go, stepped back, and tried to keep the hurt look off her face. "Um, do you want to come in?"
He walked in and scanned the room, his eyes landing on Courtney. "I can't stay long. I'm on my way to Mom's. Where's your husband? And who are you?" he asked Courtney.
"No one...here," Courtney answered and handed Chloe to Leslie and grabbed her jacket off the back of the couch. Landon watched her hands shake as she grasped her phone in her other hand. "I'll see you, Leslie." She closed the distance between them and squeezed Chloe's foot. "Later, sweet baby," she said softly, and Landon heard a slight wobble in her voice. She turned, kept her head down, and marched past Landon and out the door.
The door clicked shut behind her before Landon turned back to Leslie. "Wow. That child looks just like that woman. Are you and your husband into threesomes?"
"What the hell, Landon? What is wrong with you?"
His eyes darkened, and his jaw clenched shut. "I need to go. I'll see you later."
"Wait! You just got here. Don't you want to get to know your niece?"
"Later," he grumbled and walked out, leaving Leslie staring after him, her mouth hanging slightly open.
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