No, not that way.
Leri is proving to be an interesting injection into the narrative of Luke and Stef.
On the one hand, she is certainly a dynamic force that is making the Rowdens re-think certain things in terms of sooner rather than later.
It's also fun, as the author, to write a second female protagonist for Luke who shares characteristics with Stef, but is not 'Stef lite'. Moreover, not only is it fun to write Luke's differing responses to the two women, but that those two women are also best friends adds a certain frisson to every encounter because, as we all 'know', women talk.
However, my subconscious seems far too willing to give Leri her head and come up with all kinds of scenarious that could work, but that would derail the plans set down for the remainder of Book One. To make matters worse, it's not that the ideas are bad per se, but they would mean the remainder of Book One would head into some of the territory that was being held back for Book Two. Or just new territory altogether.
The solution for this, which works for plot and internal coherence even if it is an authorial cheat, is that she's away for the weekend, able to reach the Rowdens by phone, but she's not there.
Going forward into Book Two, I can see her arc will need to be plotted down carefully, carved into stone, set in iron, and then encased in bullet-proof glass to stop her from acting up, disrupting, and distracting.
Don't get me wrong, I like the personality I have created for her and I fully understand her utility in terms of the narrative, but she is also a very seductive perspective to take.
As a friend observed when discussing the process of writing with them, there is a sometimes staggering amount of thought, sweat, and sheer hard work that goes into writing a story. In Leri's case, times two.
Ah well, at least the back-breaking draft of chapter thirteen is done. A day or two off, a day or two editing, then to the proof-reader ahead of publication, likely the middle of next week. As for the content of chapter thirteen, beware of dancing in a rainstorm.
CH