Her head snapped up, and her eyes went wide. Quickly, she pressed a hand to his mouth, and with her free hand, she delved beneath his shirt. Trev tried to speak through her fingers, but she seemed genuinely frightened until she found the necklace she’d given him. Then she slumped forward suddenly enough that he wrapped an arm around her in support.

“I suspect that was a joke, but you’re closer than you realize to the truth. Have you mentioned this to anyone else?”

“I might have asked Dante what he’d do if his wife had a secret,” he admitted, feeling strangely guilty.

That feeling intensified when he felt the shudder that went through her. Her breath came in unsteady gulps, and she sat back, twisting her hands together, but even that wasn’t enough. Leanne jumped up to pace, seeming not even to see him.

“This is fine. It’s… Everything will be fine. Gladys said…” Then she quickly snapped her lips together, more agitated than Trev could ever recall.

“Just so you know, I’m trying not to freak,” Trev said. “But it’s not easy.”

“I’m sorry. This must be so confusing.”

“You could say that. But I promised to give you three weeks. I hope everything makes sense when you’re allowed to loop me in.”

Leanne’s smile seemed to contain more than a little tension. “I hope so too.”

“Does this have to do with—”

“No further questions,” she interrupted.

Trev laughed because she sounded so pro, every inch the city councilwoman. It sucked, but pushing wouldn’t get him anywhere. Thankfully, his personality permitted him to back off and just…avoid thinking about the issue. In fact, that was his preferred coping mechanism. He used to ward off bad thoughts with weed and video games. Now he rode his bike when the noise in his head got too loud. There were a few edibles in the house, but he didn’t lean on them as much as he had, mostly because he was afraid of causing problems for Leanne.

“Fine, let’s watch some TV.”

She picked the program, and they cuddled for a few hours. He went to bed when she did because he wanted to make up for the past few weeks. In the morning, Leanne said, “I heard from Junie. She’ll be over around two on Christmas.”

“With her roomie?”

“Looks like it. She asked if she can bring a friend named Noodles along with Blair. Apparently, the three of them were planning to eat canned soup and watch the Hallmark Channel all day. Hopefully our place will be a step up.”

“The food will be. There’s a spiral ham in the freezer, and I’ve got a recipe for mashed potatoes to try out.”

“You need a recipe for those?” Leanne teased.

“There are different schools of thought. I’m trying these without dairy.”

“Almond milk?” she guessed.