Chapter twenty-nine
An hour later, after getting some work done, Lenny wandered out of the kitchen door and made her way down the road to Mark's place, hoping he'd returned by now so she could get into Kevin's truck and find her earring, if that's where it was. Her cheeks heated as she thought of how it could have come out of her ear.
Walking up past the fence to Mark's place, she smiled when she saw his bike parked up outside. Good, he was back. Her smile widened when Amy opened the door and waved at her, obviously having seen her coming along. "Hi, Amy."
"Hi. Kevin's not back yet," the other woman said, wiping her hands on a towel as she ushered Lenny into the house.
"I know, I just wanted to see if I could borrow his keys," Lenny said, walking into the kitchen and laughing when she saw Mark wearing an apron and standing at the sink.
"What's funny?" he asked, giving her an indignant glare.
"Oh, nothing....it suits you," she said, grinning.
He pursed his lips and then looked at what she was holding. "Thirsty?"
"I had a hankering for a milkshake, what's wrong with that?" she said, taking a sip from the enormous chocolate shake she had carried over there.
"Nothing, just that you've got enough there for about ten people!" he shot back, shaking his head. "Shame Kevin isn't here to share it, hmm? So, what's all this about his keys?"
"I think I lost my earring in his truck and I wanted to go look for it," she told him, watching Amy as she started making what appeared to be a cake.
Mark nodded. "I don't see no harm in that, I guess. I think his keys are in his bedroom, help yourself," he said, watching her go and then turning back to his task.
Lenny went up the stairs and found his keys on the bedside table, grabbing them and stopping to stare at his bed for second, a small smile playing around her lips. She wished she had enough confidence to just strip naked and be laying there waiting for him when he got back later that day, but she knew she would never be able to do something like that. Still, it was a pleasant little daydream, and one she was sure she would have in her head for quite a long time.
Making her way back down the stairs she rushed out of the house and went around to the garage, opening it and walking over to the large black truck. She took another sip of her milkshake as she unlocked the door, opening it to look inside, her eyes roaming over the seats and then to the floor. But it was a bit too dark in the garage to see much, so she went in search of a light switch. Once the interior was lit up a bit, she resumed her search, smiling when she saw something small glinting at her from a corner of the truck floor. So she had lost it in here, she thought, shaking her head and quickly reaching for it.
Unfortunately, the arm holding the milkshake bumped into the steering wheel, and she gave a gasp as the glass tilted, her other hand coming up quickly to try and right it again. But all she managed to do was fumble with the glass and it made the whole thing worse, sending it flying across the cab and landing on the plush leather seats. She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands, hoping that if she couldn't see it, it would go away. But when she finally plucked up enough courage to look again, she felt like crying. There was chocolate milkshake all over the seats, dripping onto the floor and also covering the dash. Her mouth fell open and her heart started trying to beat her to death as she stared, wishing it all away. Kevin was going to murder her! It didn't matter what had happened between them, this would surely make him forget all of that....he would just kill her, and he wouldn't think twice about doing it either. She stepped back and shakily shut the door. She had to fix this, and she had to do it now before he got back....before she managed to ruin the only good thing that had ever happened to her.
Walking quickly back to Mark's house she poked her head around the kitchen door and breathed a sigh of relief that Mark wasn't still in there, only Amy.
"Amy, I need your help," she said quietly.
Amy looked over at her and frowned when she saw how pale the other girl was. "Whatever's the matter?"
"I've had a little...er...accident, with Kevin's truck," Lenny told her, really starting to feel panicky now. Before, when she had done something wrong, she had fair cause to be afraid of Kevin's reaction, but she had always managed to bluff it out. Now, though, there was more at stake.
"With his truck? I don't....oh no," Amy said, looking at Lenny's T-shirt and seeing the tiny speckles on it. "Please tell me you didn't drop your drink."
"I did, and it went everywhere! I have to go get it cleaned, but it means I'm going to have to take it again, and I don't want anyone to know. If Mark knows he'll tell Kevin and he'll kill me, I don't want him finding out, I have to do something to fix it....if he knew..." she babbled and Amy put a comforting hand on her shoulder, stopping the tirade.
"It was an accident, he'll understand that," she said.
"No he won't! You heard Mark when he said how much Kevin's truck means to him! No-one else is allowed to touch it, and I've just ruined the whole interior!"
"Calm down!"
"I can't....I have to take it into town, I know a place that cleans interiors and I can pay to have it done. I can get it back without him even knowing," Lenny said, chewing her lip as she thought of how much it would cost.
"Okay, so how can I help?" Amy asked.
"Kevin's coming to dinner tonight, but what if I'm not back in time? I don't want him to find his truck missing...and he'll want to know where I've gone. If you and Mark come over for dinner as well, maybe you could make some sort of excuse for me?" she asked hopefully.
"I don't know, Lenny, I'm not very good at lying....and Mark would see straight through me."
"Well, what if you just didn't say anything then? Not tell Mark anything either? Just, you know, be there and hopefully he won't notice I'm not," Lenny continued, itching to get the truck into town and get it cleaned up.
"Okay, we'll come, and I'll keep quiet, but Kevin will notice you're missing, you know?" Amy said and Lenny hugged her gratefully.
"Thank you! I'll just go tell Rachel and Sam about dinner....and I guess I'll have to tell them about the truck, but then I'll come get it. What about Mark? Will he be able to see me go? Or hear the truck?"
"No, it's okay, I'll...distract him for the next ten minutes okay?"
Lenny nodded and ran out of the house as fast as she could. Amy shook her head and sighed, hoping no-one asked her outright where Lenny was, because if she lied to Mark he would go mad, and she didn't want that. Still, this was only a tiny deception, and Lenny looked scared to death of facing Kevin, so....a bit of distraction was definitely needed, she thought, walking towards the gym where Mark would be working out.
Lenny asked Rachel if it would be okay to have dinner guests, hating giving the other woman any extra work to do what with having to deal with a small baby too, but Rachel didn't seem to mind at all, especially when she heard what had happened. In fact, she looked happy about it all. Lenny thanked her, then she rushed back to Marks house and jumped into Kevin's truck, hoping Amy was distracting him like she'd promised. Now all she had to do was get everything cleaned up and back in place before Kevin noticed anything amiss.
*********
Kevin got back from seeing Page later that day and immediately went over to see Lenny, banging briefly on the door before poking his head around it and looking into the kitchen. When he found no-one there, he walked through into the hallway, calling out hello. Sam appeared and grinned at him. "Hey, man, have a nice visit?"
"Yeah, Page's gym is pretty good," he said, glancing around. "Where's Lenny?"
"She's had to go into town, said it might take some time," Sam told him, oblivious to the other man's disappointment at that news. "Want some coffee?"
"Yeah, thanks. So you don't know what time she'll be back then?"
"Nope, but I understand you're having dinner with us. So are Mark and Amy."
"They are? Well, that's good. Will Lenny be back by then?" he persisted, wanting to see her. He had missed her over the last few hours and he wanted to have her in his arms again.
Sam laughed. "I said I didn't know, but she'll probably try her best to get back to see you," he said, shaking his head.
"What did she have to go into town for anyway?" Kevin grumbled.
"I don't know, something about shopping and I think she mentioned Amy's name. Christ, why don't you chain her to your side, then you'll know where she is at all times, won't you?" Sam said, handing him a coffee. "She'll be back when she gets back, so calm down and come and watch this home video I'm editing. You'll get to see Lenny as an awkward teenager!"
Kevin grinned and took his coffee, following Sam down the hall and into the living room. He knew he shouldn't be acting so possessively about Lenny, at least not yet, so he forced his disappointment away and paid attention to Sam instead.
A couple of hours later Kevin sat back and patted his stomach happily, loving the feeling after having a big meal like that. He loved his food and the meal had been really good, the only thing missing had been Lenny, and he regretted having left her to go and see Page. Had he stayed, she wouldn't have been out of his sight and he wouldn't be missing her now. Rachel walked into the room with little Danae in her arms, the small baby gurgling happily after having been fed, and Sam laughed when he looked from his child to Kevin and back again.
"What's funny?" Kevin asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Nothing. Just that you remind me of a baby. I'm only surprised that no-one burps you after you've eaten!" Sam eyed him with pursed lips. "Want me to get Charlene to pat you on the back? I bet she'd be really gentle."
Kevin ignored Mark's sudden laugh and Amy's small giggle, and glared at Sam. "I can pretty much manage that all by myself thanks. Speaking of which," he said, looking around the room, his worry surfacing again, "where is Lenny? I thought you said she'd be back? Do you know where she went? Is she safe?"
"I'm not sure exactly where she went, but she did say she may take some time, so I'm not going to worry just yet," Sam answered, grinning as his wife sat next to him and he could coo over his first child. "She said something about going shopping, but I thought she meant with Amy. Since Amy's here, I don't know where she's got to."
"And you're not worried?" Kevin asked, frowning slightly.
The other man shook his head. "She's an adult, she probably went shopping by herself."
"And you're telling me that you're not worried when Jack Penn is still out there somewhere? Anything could have happened to her and no-one seems to be even the tiniest bit concerned? What's wrong with that?" he asked, looking from one person to the other, wondering what was wrong with everyone.
Mark grinned at his friend and shifted Amy on his lap. "Seems to me that you're the one who's worried, Kev. Why would that be?"
"I'm not worried about her," he snapped, irritated that everyone was seeing him panicking, and he took a breath and crushed down the spark of anger that had almost ignited. "I'm just worried about what trouble she could be causing."
"Hmm," Mark murmured, smiling at his wife. "Lame excuse."
Kevin's eyes blazed as he stared at Mark. "I am not worried about her! Well....maybe a little."
"Sure," Mark replied easily, leaning in and nuzzling Amy's neck, knowing he was pissing his friend off and enjoying every second of it. It was obvious to everyone that there were strong feelings between Lenny and Kevin, it's just that the other man wouldn't fully admit it to himself....not yet. He turned his eyes back to his wife and noticed that Amy was chewing her lip and he frowned. "What's wrong baby?"
"Er...nothing," she said quietly, fixing an innocent expression to her face and shrugging.
"Don't give me that," Mark said, narrowing his eyes in a way that told her he knew she was hiding something. "You always chew your lip when something's wrong. Might as well tell me now, save yourself a whole heap of trouble," he murmured, raising one eyebrow at her guilty flush.
Amy looked quickly at Kevin and then just as quickly away, seeing the obvious interest in his eyes. "It's nothing."
"It's about Lenny isn't it?" Kevin asked, sitting forward.
"No," she said, her voice getting even smaller.
"You're lying," Mark said, lifting her chin with one finger so she had no choice but to look at him. "What are you hiding from me?"
"I'm not hiding anything from you," she said indignantly, hating the fact they were all staring at her, and she gnawed on her lip again, making him frown.
"No? Then you must be hiding something from someone else, Kevin for instance?" he asked her, gripping her chin to keep her from turning her head away, his hold gentle but insistent.
"You're keeping something from me? Why?" Kevin asked, moving to sit in the chair next to them so he could see Amy's face better.
Amy looked at Kevin once and then at her husband, her eyes pleading with him to get her out of there. "Mark," she moaned, trying to pull her face away from his hand.
Mark studied her for a few seconds and then smiled slightly. "What's Lenny got herself into this time?"
The suffusion of colour that flooded her face told him he had hit the nail right on the head, and his smile widened. Kevin's jaw tightened and he leaned forward. "Since you're hiding something about Lenny, I have to assume this has something to do with me, am I right?"
"She asked me....I can't say..." Amy stammered and then frowned at Mark. "Why can't you ever stay out of things?"
"I just can't, honey. Why would you even attempt to hide something from me? You know I'll always get it out of you, one way or another," he said, giving her a sultry look that made her gulp. "Now, be a good little girl and tell me what's wrong."
"I can't do that Mark," she whispered, darting another glance at an increasingly impatient Kevin Nash. "You shouldn't worry though...she's okay, she's not in any kind of trouble," she said quickly.
"Yeah, but she's done something and you're not telling us what. Did you promise, is that it?" Mark asked her, knowing she didn't break a promise, although she had bent one on occasion. His arms soothed her as he held her close to his chest, resolutely ignoring the sighs if frustration coming from the other chair.
"No, but..." Amy started, but Kevin cut her off.
"If you don't tell me, I'll find her and get it out of her hide. And I won't be gentle!"
"Hey, that's my sister remember?" Sam protested, briefly pulling his attention away from his family to glare at Kevin. "I'm not going to let you hurt her!"
"You don't know what she's done," Amy muttered, feeling sorry for Lenny when Kevin found out. She bit her lip hard when his head swung in her direction, and she realised she'd spoken too loudly.
"So she has done something then? And it has something to do with me? What?"
Amy squirmed in Mark's lap, wishing she was anywhere but there, and Rachel gave a small sympathetic smile. "Come on, let's take the baby upstairs," she said to Sam, and the two of them left the room, closing the door with a quiet click.
"Right, now you'd better tell us what she's done, or things are going to get unpleasant," Mark said, his eyelids coming down so he was staring at her through slits. She recognised the look and gave a slight shudder. If she didn't tell him she would find herself over his knee, and she didn't want that to happen again, ever.
"Please don't make me tell you," she whispered, dropping her head into the crook of his neck so she didn't have to look at either of them.
"Nuh-uh, honey, you know me better than that. Tell me now, and I won't have to punish you will I?" he said, rubbing a hand up and down her back with a smile at Kevin.
"She was looking in his truck for something and she had that drink in her hand and..." she mumbled, hoping Kevin wouldn't hear her, but when he stood up abruptly she knew her hope was futile.
"My truck? She was in my truck? But she knows not to touch that....Goddamn it, I knew I should have sorted her out after the first time!" he bellowed, running his hand through his hair as all his feelings of worry became concentrated and turned abruptly into anger. He froze for a second. "I suppose she thinks that now we're....that I won't...she had a drink?"
Amy risked a look at him. "Yes, but she only took your truck to go and get it..."
"She took it? Again? My God! What..." he broke off and swallowed, thinking of his immaculate truck. "What sort of drink and what happened to it?"
"A chocolate shake, and it...well....it was an accident," she said, biting her lip again.
"Oh my God," Kevin said, almost struck dumb. No-one messed with his truck and taking food anywhere near it could prove fatal to the person involved. His teeth gritted as he pictured Lenny, unable to decide what he wanted to do to her - kiss her or slap her. "Where is she?"
"I....I don't know," she said, then yelped when he moved closer and suddenly dropped down so his face was level with hers, making her press closer against Mark's chest, her legs curling up on his lap.
"Tell me!"
"I don't know, I promise, I....Mark!" she said, almost climbing over him to get away from Kevin.
"Calm down, man, she doesn't know," Mark told him with a hard glare, cuddling his wife's small body protectively.
"She was going to have it cleaned, I don't know where," Amy offered, not looking at the other man, but breathing a sigh of relief when she heard him slam out of the room. "He's scarier than you," she said to her husband in amazement.
"Think so?" Mark asked her, cocking one eyebrow and giving a grim smile. "Let's go home and have a little talk about hiding things from me, shall we?"
Amy stared at him in consternation and then let her shoulders slump. She was going to have to be really honest and convincing, otherwise she knew she wouldn't be sitting down for some time to come. She spared a brief thought for Lenny as Mark led her back towards their own home.
****Hope that was okay? Thanks for all the reviews so far!****
