Trusting Issues
Leah watched from the living room window as heavy storm clouds rolled in from across the ocean. Their threatening hue frightened her enough for her to close the blinds. Nick had taken Nate on a father-son outing for the day, but should have been home already. He hadn't even called. She tried to keep herself from cursing him, in case he was lying half dead in some ditch . . . Heaven forbid. But if he was all right, she was going to kill him herself when he returned home. Couldn't he at least call? She'd even thought of calling Lisa.
The front door opened and the wind blew it hard against the wall. Leah came around the corner to find Nick pushing the door closed, against the power of a strong wind gust. A heavy downpour had begun since Leah had last looked out of the window and Nick was soaked from head to toe as he stood in the entryway, dripping water on the tile floor.
"Where in the hell have you been?" She fought to keep her voice down. He hadn't been lying half dead in a gutter. Why hadn't he called? "You had me scared to death. I thought you were dead! Are you crazy, Nick? Why didn't you call me?"
Nick looked at her, guilty and sheepish . . . and freezing. He shivered and Leah immediately ran to the downstairs bathroom and grabbed a towel for him. While Nick was upstairs, changing and drying his hair, Leah lit a fire in the fireplace. She felt bad for yelling at him while he'd stood shaking in their doorway . . . but he'd put her through much worse that night.
She heard him on the stairs and a moment later he was standing in the living room, still looking apologetic. "I'm sorry I didn't call."
"I'm sorry I got mad at you." Leah stood from the couch and walked the short distance between them. "what happened?"
"On the way back from the aquarium there were like three accidents on the freeway and the traffic was terrible. Not only were we being directed around the accidents, but people always drive slow in the rain and then you have your accident-gawkers. My cell went dead and then when I finally got Nate home, I was there for another twenty minutes while Lisa yelled at me for not calling."
She bit her lip and looked away. She had to be the worst girlfriend ever. "Okay, now I'm really sorry for getting mad." She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed, feeling him holding her. "I was just so worried."
"I know, baby, it's okay. I would have called from Lisa's, but I just wanted to get out of there."
She rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "It's been a rough night, eh?" She felt him nod and a moment later he tiled his head and kissed her.
"Let's get some sleep, honey."
The next weeks passed rather uneventfully. Nick and Leah continued to put their wedding off as Nick grew accustomed to having a child. She didn't pester him about it . . . she knew they'd get married as soon as deemed right. For now, Nate was who mattered.
Leah's most difficult moments were those in which Nick was in Lisa's presence. Knowing Nick was picking Nate up or dropping him off was extremely difficult. It's not that she didn't trust Nick . . . it's that she didn't trust Lisa. Still, Lisa was nothing Nick couldn't handle. What all could she do? Make a pass at Nick and have him push her away? He would push her away, right?
Okay, maybe Leah and Nick did have some trust issues to work on.
