Risky Pleasures - Brenda Jackson [71]
“Leah? What’s wrong?”
Hearing Jocelyn ask that question opened a flood gate of fears for Leah, fears of what she could have lost. In no time she was pouring out everything to her sister while trying to keep her voice composed. Near the end, she lost her battle not to cry and ended up sobbing. “What if he’d been killed, Jocelyn? What if I had lost him?”
“But you didn’t,” was her sister’s calming words. “Reese is okay.”
Despite Jocelyn’s efforts to reassure her of that over and over, Leah’s stomach still trembled at the thought of how he could have been taken away from her.
“Look, Leah, while Reese is sleeping, you should get some rest yourself. You’re wound up pretty tight and you need to clear your mind of everything for a while.”
Leah nodded, knowing Jocelyn was right. “Okay. I do need to rest my mind and thanks for listening. How are things going in Charlotte?”
For the next ten minutes Leah listened while Jocelyn told her how she had adjusted to being Sebastian’s wife and what a loving family he had. His parents, brothers and cousins had accepted her with open arms and, although she missed everyone in Newton Grove, she loved her life with Bas living in Charlotte.
After ending the call Leah decided to telephone Reese’s mother and brother to let them know he was doing okay. She hung up the phone minutes later thinking they actually seemed appreciative for the information she had provided to them. She then threw her jeans and top into the washing machine with plans to dry them later. She noticed the time was seven o’clock as she made her way around the house, locking everything up for the night.
As she passed through several rooms, the thought that Reese had built this house with his own hands and just for her made her chest swell with love for him. Jocelyn had finally told her how he had worked for their father’s construction company in the day and then at night and on weekends he had built this home for her. At the time, she hadn’t known of Reese’s special gift because he had meant to surprise her with the home on their wedding day.
While she mused about the house, she decided to use the guest room that was closest to Reese’s room. She wanted to be close enough to be able to hear him if he woke up in the night and called for her. As she settled down in the bed, she lay flat on her back and looked up at the ceiling. She willed herself to close her eyes for just a little while.
For a moment, a really brief moment, she wanted to pretend that she and Reese were married and living in this house together, and that he was in the shower and in a few moments he would be joining her in the bed.
That pleasant thought was on her mind when sleep finally overtook her a few moments later.
Reese heard the sound of a woman calling out to him in a panicked and frantic voice. Leah’s voice. His eyes popped open and he forced them into focus. Then he heard the sound again.
“Reese! No! Don’t go!”
Jumping up he glanced around the room, remembering where he was and why Leah was in his home. When he heard her cry out a third time he raced out of the room, following the sound. Had she had a nightmare? Was she reliving that night with Neil Grunthall?
He entered the guest room to find her thrashing about in the bed. Not wanting to frighten her, he knew he had to be careful how he approached her to pull her from the throes of the tortured sleep she was enduring. Wanting her to know it was him and not Neil, he began talking to her in a gentle voice.
“Leah, it’s Reese. You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re with me and you’re okay.”
He watched as her eyes flew open and she jerked upright in bed and glanced over at him. He saw the haunted look in her eyes and it almost broke his heart. He quickly moved to her, sat on the edge of the bed and gathered her into his arms.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”
“Reese,” she said sobbing, wrapping her arms around his neck as if she would never let him go. “I thought I had lost you. I dreamed that I saw your truck go over the edge of that mountain. Oh, Reese, it was awful.”
It then