Page 60 of Little Bitter Truths
“Last night,” she said.“He’s staying at the Cliffton Villas in town.”
I nodded.“Did you invite him to come for a visit?”
“No, he surprised me.We’ve been talking a lot more about seeing each other in the last couple of weeks, but I didn’t expect him to show up without talking to me first.”
“Do you think he came because he’s worried about you, like he said?”
She hesitated, then said, “Part of me thinks it’s because of everything that’s happened.He knew it might be a while before we saw each other again, and he wanted to see me as much as I wanted to see him.”
“And the other part?”
“Even though I told him about the patrol car out front, he’s worried about something happening to me.”
It explained why he’d come across as protective as he had, though I was still bothered by it.
“He also didn’t like the idea of being so far away from me, so he decided to come for a visit, hoping I’d be okay with the idea,” she said.
“Are you okay with it?”
“Because he’s not staying here, I am.”
“How long is he staying?Has he said?”
“I don’t know.We haven’t talked about it yet.”
It was a question that needed to be asked.
“Do you mind if we sit?”I asked.
“Not at all.”
We stepped onto the porch and sat down.Coco wandered outside behind Mia, settling near her feet, her tail giving a slow wag.
“In your text, you said there was something you needed to tell me.”
“I went to Paso Robles this morning,” I said.
“To see Christian?”
I nodded.
“And?”she asked.
“What I’m about to say next is going to be a little hard for you to take.”
“Oh … kay.”
“Christian is dead.”
Mia stiffened, her fingers gripping the arms of the chair.
“What do you mean he’s dead?”she asked.
“He was in a car accident two months ago.”
She shook her head.“No, that can’t be right.”
“I wish it wasn’t,” I said.“I spoke with his mother, Bernice.She was at his house when I arrived, packing up some of his things.”
