Free Dangerous Alterations by Elizabeth Lynn Casey Page B

was talking with him on the way to your place after the circle meeting with the intention to simply hand you the phone when I got to your house. But then, when I got there, and I realized you were talking to Jeff … and I heard the awful way he was talking … I guess I turned the phone so Milo could hear, too.”
    “You shouldn’t have.” She took another bite. “It wasn’t your place.”
    “That man was making you doubt yourself. I wanted it to stop.”
    “His actions two years ago made me doubt my worth. It made me question myself. His being here now has finally enabled me to see the facts.”
    Leona set Paris on the picnic table and tented her manicured fingers beneath her chin. “Such as … ?”
    “Well, first of all, his cheating had nothing to do with me and everything to do with him.”
    “Haven’t I been trying to tell you that since we met?”
    She shrugged. “I guess I needed to figure it out for myself.”
    “Will you accept Milo’s proposal now?”
    It was the same question she’d asked herself again and again throughout the night. Would she? Could she?
    Something resembling pain flickered in Leona’s eyes. It was fleeting, and she tried her best to hide it, but Tori caught it nonetheless.
    Seconds later, Leona dropped one of her hands and patted Tori’s. “Whatever you do, dear, don’t let a man like Jeff keep you from someone as wonderful as Milo. You will regret it one day. You truly will.”
    She studied Leona closely. “You had a Jeff once, too. Didn’t you?”
    A few beats of silence morphed into a combination head nod and mumble.
    “He’s why you establish the upper hand in relationships and never stay in one for long, isn’t he?”
    A second nod.
    “And he’s why you despise Chicago, isn’t he?”
    Leona looked down at the silver link watch on her wrist. “Oh, would you look at the time? Paris and I have an appointment. Leeson’s Market just got a new shipment of carrots this morning and I promised him he could have one if he wore his bow tie like a good boy all day.”
    She watched as her friend rose to her feet. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
    “There’s nothing to tell, dear.” Swooping forward, Leona lifted Paris into her arms. “We’ll see you Friday, yes?”
    “Friday?”
    “The trip to the mountains, dear.”
    “Oh, that. Yes, I’ll be there.” She looked from Leona to her half-eaten candy bar and back again. “I’m sorry. For the heartache this man caused you, Leona.”
    “Then heed my advice, dear.”
    And with that, Leona was gone, her off-white pumps making soft clicking sounds against the sidewalk as she made her way toward the center of town, her beloved Paris clutched protectively in her arms.
    She couldn’t stay mad at Leona. She just couldn’t. For as infuriating as the woman’s actions could be at times, there was something always bubbling beneath the surface hinting at softer edges and genuine feelings. Everyone knew it. Even, perhaps, Leona herself.
    Looking back at the remnants of her candy bar and the secondary bar still housed in her lunch sack, Tori couldn’t help but sigh. Sugar wasn’t cutting it. Not at the moment, anyway. Instead, she gathered up her belongings and headed toward the sidewalk, determined to wake herself up once and for all. Besides, it was the first day below a hundred degrees in weeks—a fact that only strengthened the merits of a brisk walk.
    She tossed her wrapper into a nearby trash container and strode toward the sidewalk that would, eventually, lead her around the town square. But three steps into her quest for exercise, her feet rooted themselves to the ground.
    Two years may have come and gone, but the three prior to that were enough to commit Jeff’s shape to memory. A shape she’d recognize anywhere, anytime. Including at that very moment—a moment that saw her ex-fiancé, clad in black running shorts and a Chicago Cubs T-shirt, taking his afternoon jog right through the center of Sweet