public service hero?” Selena asked, glancing around at all the people in the kitchen.
Leslie nodded. “Except for grandma...and my dad.” Why had she mentioned her father? He wasn’t there. Bringing him up was just awkward and no one saying anything for a beat made it even more so.
Her gaze met Katherine’s and once more, guilt washed over her. She sent a silent apologetic look for burning down her sister’s yearly retreat and Katherine’s single nod meant she was forgiven. Her sister wasn’t big on words or emotions and she didn’t hold grudges or ill will for long. Maybe Leslie had inherited all of the spite in the family gene pool.
Sometimes she wished she was more like her siblings.
The sound of the front door opening again made her tense even more. “Who else is joining us?” She felt her anxiety rise. What part of keeping Selena a secret didn’t her family understand? Inviting the entire neighborhood to lunch was risky.
But Eddie touched her shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s Montana and Kaia and I believe they’ve already met.”
Selena’s eyes lit up. “The kid from the bar?”
Eddie smiled as Montana and Kaia entered the kitchen. “That would be her.”
Kaia was carrying a cake from the bakery on Main Street. “I brought dessert,” she said. Then, seeing Selena, she dropped the cake onto the counter and reached into her coat pocket, pulling out a stack of paper. “Eddie said you were going to be here, so I brought the script for the school play...in case you wanted to help me rehearse?”
Selena nodded. “Absolutely. What play are you doing?”
“Romeo and Juliet.”
“One of my favorites,” she said.
“Awesome. Let’s find a quiet place,” Kaia said, taking Selena’s hand and leading her out of the kitchen.
The star sent a parting glance to Levi, but he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was on Leslie. She cleared her throat. “Why don’t you all go play a card game or something? I’ll help Eddie cook,” she said.
Her grandmother nodded, obviously sensing Leslie’s need for space and fewer people, and ushered everyone else out of the kitchen.
“She’s actually really nice,” Eddie said, moving toward the stove and stirring the risotto sauce that was simmering. As he removed the lid, the delicious smell of garlic and white wine sauce had Leslie’s stomach growling.
“You try spending every minute of every day with her then,” Leslie mumbled, dipping her finger into the sauce to taste it.
Eddie swiped her hand away. “What irritates you so much about her?”
“She’s just so...oblivious to the real world. How it works...” Selena wasn’t a child, yet she seemed so sheltered from everything that she had no idea how serious her situation was. “She’s just always so perky and optimistic.”
Her brother nodded slowly, leaning his weight on his crutches. “And you think everyone should look at the world with the same bleak-colored glasses that you do?”
“No... I...I don’t know. Maybe.” She hated when her brother tried to make her feel unjustified for being practical and seeing the world as it was.
“Not everyone grew up hearing all the horrors of humanity, always prepared for the worst,” he said.
“You make it sound like a bad thing that we were cautious and Mom made us realize we had to be careful...not trust everyone we met.”
“I just think we were robbed of blissful ignorance sometimes.”
Her brother had no idea what blissful ignorance she’d been robbed of. The wake-up she’d received at such a young age that had made her grow up a hell of a lot faster. Leslie grabbed a spoon from the drawer and tasted the risotto next. “This is delicious, but it tastes different from your usual recipe.”
“It’s cauliflower rice,” Eddie said.
“You guys watching your carbs?”
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt for all of us to consume a few more vegetables, but I was actually trying to be considerate to Selena.”
Leslie sighed. “She wouldn’t starve to death, and it wouldn’t kill her to eat a grain of rice.”
“I’m trying to be a good host,” he said, opening the oven door and checking on the roast turkey inside. “Besides, you just said it was delicious.”
“It is. I’m just saying we don’t all need to cater to her. I’m keeping her alive—that’s enough.”
Eddie laughed. “You know, all of this might be a little easier if you’d ease up a little and try to get to know her.”
Leslie ignored the suggestion as she stared out into the living room where Selena and Kaia were rehearsing lines. She couldn’t get to know Selena. Protecting strangers was so much easier