From the garden center, it was fifteen minutes out to Titus’s place, and she settled as she drove. The tension eased out of her shoulders. Between constant preparation and the mess with Dan Rutherford earlier, Leanne hadn’t realized how nervous she had been, worried about how people would react to her candidacy. Today’s speech had been the first step down a long road.

“You’re really quiet,” Trev said. “Did something happen?”

Without even thinking about it, she passed him her phone. “Play the video Mrs. Carmenian sent me. Volume on.”

He did, and she snuck peeks at the way his expression darkened. “That dirty bastard. No wonder you needed a hug.”

“What do you think? Should we put this on the internet?”

Trev paused as she turned onto the county road that led to Titus’s place. “I don’t know. You might get sympathy votes, but I think it could blow back on you as well. Certain voters might say you set him up, or they might feel sorry for him for getting jumped during a private moment. My gut says you should try to win without unleashing this.”

“That’s what I thought too. Don’t delete it, though. You never know.”

“Whatever happens, I’m here for you, Butterfly.”

When she pulled into the driveway, she spotted Danica’s car already parked. She probably won’t be sharing it with Clem for too much longer. It must be a little sad for the cousins to think about going their separate ways. Though they weren’t divorcing—Danica had simply started a serious relationship—it did still feel like the end of an era, at least to Leanne, who had been through two splits of that nature. At some point, goods got divvied up, and she’d find herself arguing about a box of crap she didn’t care about, mostly because she couldn’t say what was truly on her mind. It would make sense if Clem kept the house, gave Danica the car, then paid her the monetary difference. There was no reason they couldn’t keep working together, but there were still household goods to divide.

I hope they’ll be okay and not fall out over who gets Gram’s good tea set.

“Ready?” she asked, determined to put on her board game face.

Trev touched her arm before she could get out of the car. “You seemed so sad for a minute.”

Wow. I can’t believe how well he reads me.