Page 125 of Against The Tide

“What? No! No, Rhett would never…he’s not like that, Uncle Mike.” My heart beats hard enough into my ribs that it winds me. “He’s not like that at all.”

“I’d hate to see you go down that road again. Your father would turn in his grave if he knew the way he bosses you around. Haven’t you had enough of that?”

“That’s not fair! You don’t know him and all the ways he’s trying to protect us.”

“From what?” he counters my angry outburst with a snap.

“The mess Dad left behind! The photos and lists and…and…” I pause, realizing too late that I did the one thing I said I wouldn’t.

A long moment of drawn-out silence instills between us before he clears his throat and tells me, low and clear, “You’re going to go home and you’re going to get rid of whatever it is you’re talking about. You’ll put it out of your mind and pretend you never saw it. Ever. Am I being clear, Avery?”

“I can’t do that.”

“Who else knows?”

“Nobody,” I reply.

“You’ve seen it, he’s seen it, who else?” he barks, and while normally I would spill it all because it’s Mike, Angry Mike is a force no one likes to deal with, who everyone fears.

This time, I take a deep breath and tell him as calmly as I can, “No one. I was trying to figure it out. What it means. Why he would leave me something like that⁠—”

“I told you to leave it alone! Like I told him!” His yell fills the car, and I shiver as my blood runs cool through me. “You’re both so damn stubborn! You need to stop letting your feelings manipulate you, Avery bear.”

He hasn’t called me that in forever. It used to be his nickname for me when I was Iris’s age and completely obsessed with the Care Bears.

“I know you think you’re doing these things yourself, but…”

“Stop,” I tell him before he says anything bad about Rhett. I can sense that he’s about to. “Rhett is a good man, and if Dad were here, he would love him.”

“But he isn’t because he didn’t listen to me!”

“If you knew all this, why…how could you keep it from me? He was my dad.”

“He fucked with people he shouldn’t have fucked with, and you’re lucky I’ve protected you. So do as you’re told and just fucking⁠—”

Before he can finish, I end the call. I don’t have it in me to listen to his tirade. I feel bad enough as it is for going back on my word to Rhett. There’s a sinking feeling in my chest that’s making me feel sick. It’s only made worse when I start the car up again, heading toward the aquarium, only to realize as the Suburban starts following me again that I didn’t even tell him the agents were back.

When I park at the aquarium, I’m feeling guilty enough that my insides are a nauseated, knotted chaos that I can’t think through to get my head in order for my meeting. It doesn’t matter how many deep breaths I take, I feel as though I’ve betrayed Rhett’s trust.

Before I make my way inside, I decide to try his cell again. It goes straight to voicemail, which is odd. Even when he’s with patients, his phone is never off, and it was on charge this morning. The worst pops into my head after what Mike said, and although I never call the clinic, I dial the number saved on my phone.

Tessa, the receptionist, answers and when I tell her it’s me, she goes off on a tangent. Her nephew is in Iris’s class, and apparently he is super excited for their trip this afternoon.

“Well, let’s hope this weather holds up,” she sings. “Anyway, what can I help you with?”

“Is Dr. Reynolds available?”

There’s a baited moment of silence before she tells me, “Umm…he’s not here this morning. He called in earlier to push back his appointments this morning.”

Surprise hits me square in the chest followed by confusion and then embarrassment. It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation, and that thought starts a completely different tangent of its own that I can’t quite quell even though I try to ignore it.

“Oh, of course.” I try to laugh so that it doesn’t come across as awkward or false. “I’m sorry, I would forget my head if it wasn’t stuck on.”

“Same,” Tessa replies, sounding amused, and at least that helps settle my chagrin and worry a little. “I’ll let him know you called and make sure he returns your call.”

“Thanks.”

“Bye now!”