Page 118 of Leave a Mark
“Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming.”
This earned him a smiled. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else. Wren’s part of the family.” In spite of the smile, her look of doubt lingered. “I hope she’ll forgive us for meddling.”
“Me, too,” Lee said honestly.
Mamaw Gigi huffed, shaking her head. “She’ll get over it. Wrennie gets fired up in a flash, but she burns herself out just as fast.” She gripped Lee’s elbow with surprising strength. “You’re doing a wonderful thing for her, young man.”
The sparkle in her eyes gave Lee a little courage. Gigi had known Wren her whole life. If she thought this was a good plan, he had to be on the right track.
Rocky frowned at Lee. “They’ll be here soon. Should we go inside or wait out here?”
“I promised Cherise we’d wait out here. She’s worried Wren will bolt if it’s just her to hold it together,” Lee told them.
They stood on the sidewalk just outside the wrought-iron gates of the Children’s Museum, and Lee watched a steady trickle of people enter. The museum had opened just minutes ago, and mothers with their strollers and clusters of playdate groups were showing up for a morning of fun.
Lee checked his watch and searched the far end of the street. They’d come down on their bikes any second now. His heartbeat shifted into high gear at the thought of seeing her again. Excitement wrestled with nerves. She’d be with him, but she’d be mad at him… at least for a little while.
Two bikes rounded the corner from Garfield Street, and Lee spotted Wren at once. Even at that distance, he knew her mood. She was covered from neck to heel, shielded from the world in a full-length boho skirt the color of violets and a black long-sleeved blouse; her clothing said she didn’t feel safe and she didn’t feel strong.
Lee’s faith in his plan wavered, but he couldn’t turn back now. Wren’s eyes had already found the four childless adults standing awkwardly outside the gates of The Children’s Museum.
She saw Rocky and Shelby first, Lee realized, and together, she and Cherise rode their bikes to the curb. Wren smiled despite her puzzled look.
“Shelby, Rock… are the girls inside?” And then her eyes lit on Mamaw Gigi. “Mamaw? What are you doing here?”
When the three she’d addressed said nothing, Wren frowned, and that was when she looked past them, and her eyes met his.
In the nanoseconds that passed, Lee wanted to step closer because her face went so white he feared she might faint. Her soft mouth fell open, but no words escaped. And then he watched her recover — or pretend to recover.
“I-is this some kind of surprise party?” she stammered. She hadn’t directed the words to him — or anyone. Instead, she faced the museum entrance, alone in her betrayal.
All other eyes fell on him. It was Lee’s turn to speak, but all he wanted to do was hold her. He couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t allow it, so, as a compromise, he stepped closer.
She eyed him warily.
“I’ve signed us up to volunteer today,” he said softly.
She narrowed her eyes, skeptical. “Oh?” Her tone arched, and Lee understood anger was beginning to replace the shock and confusion. “Is this some kind of intervention?” The accusation in her eyes was meant just for him.
Shelby came to his rescue. “We’re just going to volunteer, Wren. It’s something we all want to do.”
Wren turned to take her in, and then her eyes searched everyone else’s. Lee followed her gaze and saw concern in Rocky’s, anxiousness in Cherise’s, and warmth in Mamaw Gigi’s. When Wren made it around to him, Lee hoped what she saw was love.
Her lungs filled and emptied, and her gaze slid to the museum’s entrance again. “Fine. Let’s see what this is all about.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
LEE.
The moment she saw him — her eyes pulled to the swooped curl of his cowlick and the way his dress shirt hugged his shoulders — Wren was snared. Her body seemed to bow forward, toward him on its own.
Resisting his allure was a lot easier when she couldn’t see him, but, over the last four days, she’d still thought of him constantly. And she’d looked for him everywhere. The gas station. The drugstore. Mamaw’s hairdresser’s.
But even imagining him every moment hadn’t prepared her. The ache she felt pealed through her like a gong. So it took a moment for her to realize what was going on.
She’d been set up. By everyone. All the people she loved had conspired against her. The ache she felt at seeing Lee washed out in a cold flood of shame. At once, she knew she had to pretend, as if it was okay. As if it didn’t touch her. If she didn’t, she’d fall apart.
Words issued from her mouth, and Wren tried to push the shame aside, reaching instead for her anger. It warmed her. It wrapped a shield around her, so, by the time she walked into the museum, she was composed — and completely walled off.
