Page 149 of The Complete Truth Duet
Yes, I absolutely, with my whole heart, wanted that asshole dead.
But I didn’t want Drew going down for it.
I shot Cora an appreciative smile, lifted our joined hands to my lips, and kissed her knuckle.
She was actually there.
A few days earlier, having her at my side again was more than I’d ever hoped for.
Though I’d never once considered bringing her to this house. Much less bringing all of them.
“Holy crap,” River breathed from the back seat.
Which was followed by Savannah saying, “Daddy, I’m going to need a bathing suit. Stat.”
Isabel giggled, but much like during the entire trip down, she didn’t say anything. The kid was quiet. Eerily so. But then again, when you had to compete for oxygen with the likes of River and Savannah, it was a wonder she could find the air to giggle.
Drew suddenly appeared at my window, making the universal roll-down-your-window cranking motion. He and Catalina had followed us down in my Audi. I’d assumed only one of them would make it through the trip alive, but I caught sight of Catalina folding out too.
“What?” I snapped when I got the window down.
“We gonna camp out here or are you planning to actually drive inside?”
I glanced back at the house. I hadn’t been there in years. The day I’d left, I’d sworn I’d never return. There were too many ghosts.
Lisa and I had been married for a few years when we’d renovated that house. We’d bought it as a foreclosure when the market tanked and then gutted it. We’d customized every inch of those six thousand square feet, from windows to walls, including a massive home theater over the garage. There was no way for me to walk back through those doors without seeing Lisa everywhere.
But, thanks to Cora, that part was manageable. After so many years of not even being able to utter her name, I’d smiled more than once when Cora had told a story about her old friend Lexy.
The ghosts waiting for me inside those four walls were the memories of me on my knees in our bedroom, watching her take her final breath on the screen of my phone. I remembered those twenty-nine minutes all too clearly. Lisa hadn’t been in that house when she died. But I had. And I hated it because it was all I could think about after I’d lost her.
Those memories had ruined any happiness I’d felt in that house. Like how she’d decorate the whole damn thing, top to bottom, every nook and cranny, at Christmas each year. Or how, at Easter, she would force me to stay up with her all night long, stuffing a million plastic eggs with candy to hide up and down the beach for the tourists and locals alike.
No, those weren’t the memories that had hit my stomach the minute that house had come into view.
Blood.
Carpet.
Screaming.
I hadn’t been able to sell it though. It was all that was left of her.
But I also couldn’t live there. I had caretakers who made sure it stayed clean and repairs got done on time. I’d called and given them a heads-up that we were coming into town. I think they were just as shocked by that phone call as I was.
But there I was. Cora at my side. My heart was in my throat as I sat in the driveway, unable to drive through the gate.
I looked at Drew. “Honestly, I’m not sure yet.”
“Okay, well, you mind if we go inside? Cat needs to use the bathroom. I’ve been listening to her complain about it for the last hour.”
“Oh, me too!” Savannah said, tapping on my seat. “Let me out.”
“That’s a great idea,” Cora said, climbing out to open the back door. “All of you, go with Drew. Penn and I will be up in a few.”
“Can we go down to the beach?” River asked excitedly.
None of them had ever seen the ocean. It was the only part about that trip I wasn’t dreading. I got damn near giddy each time I thought about Cora’s face when I took her out to the water. The girls’ too.
“Wait on me for that,” I answered. “There’s a pool out back that you can hit up while you wait.” I reached back and caught Savannah’s arm before she had the chance to slide out. “Wear shorts and a tank top until we get you a bathing suit—none of that panty-and-bra shit.”
She grinned, her green eyes sparkling with trouble. “Make it two bathing suits and you got a deal.”
I arched an eyebrow. “One bathing suit of my choosing. No panty and bra shit. And twenty-four hours with no television.”
Her mouth fell open. “That’s not a better deal!”
“Then maybe you should stop trying to make deals with me and do what I say.”
“Penn, a bathing suit of your choosing is going to be a bathrobe.”
