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“Holy shit.” Winter’s voice followed the pair as they exited the bar.
“I’m glad we got some rain last night,” Jazz chattered nervously as he buckled her into his truck. She’d been in such a daze she hadn’t even thought about the fact that her own car was sitting few spots over until they were pulling away. Things were moving so fast she felt discombobulated.
“You want to talk about the weather?” Leo’s deep voice rumbled as he turned the steering wheel to head north.
She frowned. Jazz had thought they were heading back to his place. Had he changed his mind?
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to catch Sixth Street—”
“Yeah, but we’re going to stop by the station first to drop off your cookies.” He looked over at her where she sat clutching the small cooler that she’d had with her at the restaurant.
“I can do it later. No big deal.” She patted the floral printed canvas bag. She hadn’t even realized she’d grabbed it until he’d mentioned dropping the cookies off. She’d blacked out on hormones the second she’d taken his hand. It was all a horny blur.
“I figured you’d maybe stay at my place tonight,” he suggested in a husky voice.
“Really?” She closed her eyes in annoyance when her voice squeaked out that one word.
“Yeah, really.” He reached over and let his warm hand settle on her bare thigh. “If it wasn’t for that call last night, we’d still be in bed. Tonight, I’d like for you to be there with me where you belong.”
“I’d like that.”
Leo smiled, flashing his dimple at her. “Do you go to church? I can take you tomorrow morning if that’s something you’re into.”
She was silent for a second, taken aback at the abrupt change in subject. “Ummm…I haven’t been to church in years. I remember your mom went every Sunday though. Do you go too?”
“Nah,” he answered with a shake of his head. “That was something Mom really enjoyed but I couldn’t get into it. It always made me angry when I would hear them saying one thing but doing another. Mom loved everything about church, but most of the people around her were hypocrites and she didn’t notice it.”
“Hypocrites?” There was no way she could miss the bitterness in Leo’s voice. It sounded like something he’d had personal experience with.
“Yeah, the pastor that mom spoke so highly of was not only cheating on his wife, but he also made moves on one of the girls that volunteered for the youth group. He wouldn’t leave her alone and the higher ups in the church were ignoring her complaints, so she came to me for help.” Leo rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Remember Dannie? The girl I dated for a couple months senior year? She was really quiet and always had her hair braided.”
Jazz nodded. She remembered all of the girls he’d dated, but that one stuck out because of how different she’d been from the others.
“We were really only friends, but when word got around we were together, it kept him from trying anything else. I’m pretty sure I scared the shit out of him.”
“Wow,” Jazz whispered. She knew Leonard had always been a good guy, but she’d never known any of this. “Did anything ever happen after that?”
“No, he transferred to another church down south about three months later.” Leo’s voice was full of disgust at the memories. “Dannie spoke up and the elders called her a sinful temptation while that fucker got transferred to another place where he could do it all over again.”
“Fuck.” She felt sick just thinking about it. “I guess that would sour somebody on the whole church experience, huh?”
Leo nodded. “I believe there is a higher power than me, but I doubt I’ll ever go back. I don’t need to sit with a bunch of hypocrites every Sunday to be a good person. That’s something youdo, not just talking about doing.”
“I agree.” Jazz nodded. “I haven’t been to church in years. We used to go for the big holidays like Easter and Christmas. That lasted until my parents got busier at the hospital and then it was as if it never happened. Sunday became the day that they could get errands taken care of or catch up on patient files.”
“I don’t think there is a time when I remember your parentsnotworking.” He pulled into the fire station parking lot and parked near the front. “I’m sorry—”
“No, you don’t need to apologize,” she said quickly. She knew he hadn’t meant to offend her. “My parents are the definition of workaholics. They were when I was little, and they still are now. It’s actually surprising how well adjusted I am, all things considered.”
Leo jogged around the front of the truck to help her out. With the high step, she passed down the cooler before climbing down. He held her hand to steady her as she stepped off the running boards. “You’ve become an amazing woman, Jazz.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, her cheeks warming. “Your mom was an amazing role model.”
Leo nodded. His dimple popped into place as he smiled. “Mom is amazing, isn’t she? I was lucky to have her, and looking back, I’m happy that you’re the one I was sharing her with.”
Jazz swallowed hard as the words warmed her heart from the inside out.
“You ready?” He asked, tilting his head in the direction of the station.
