Page 120 of What Started In Deception

Lydia chuckled as she looked back at Everly fast asleep in her booster seat, then at Maverick in the backseat mirror as he cooed at one of the toys hanging from his car seat. “She’s still out cold.”

Mac smiled as she drove them closer to the compound in her Range Rover. “I have a feeling that this was her nap for the day. As soon as we unbuckle her, she’ll be ready to go again.”

Lydia grinned, thrilled that they’d had a blast on their morning adventure to see the animals, minus mermaids and unicorns. Mac seemed far more relaxed and much more like her usual, happy self after their mini getaway. “Maybe I can convince her to have another dance party with me in the pool. Another round of sunshine and fresh air will have her asking to go to bed tonight.”

Mac took her eyes off the road long enough to toss her a look of deep skepticism. “We are talking about Everly, right? Because my daughter has never asked to go to bed.”

Lydia laughed. “It’s a dream I have for you.”

Mac laughed this time as she slowed and turned onto the estate property. “How about you have a talk with the chatty mister who currently has his back turned to us. If I could get him to sleep for three hours in a row, that would be a dream come true.”

Lydia batted her lashes at her. “He and I will have a conversation.”

Mac chuckled as she pulled up to her usual spot at the garage. “And we’re back.”

Lydia opened her mouth to respond but frowned when she spotted Ty with Uncle James’s golf bag on his shoulder, heading toward the Duffys’ property. “What is he doing?”

Mac shrugged. “I don’t know.”

And then she heard it—the horrible, rhythmic thumping sound that occasionally haunted her dreams.

A rush of adrenaline suddenly surged through her body as a wave of pure terror clutched at her stomach, making it hard for her to move, but she hurried out of the SUV and started running as she watched the helicopter land on the large empty space on the Duffys’ side lawn. “Ty!”

He kept moving toward the death trap, dressed in his snazzy golf shirt and shorts, clearly not hearing her.

“Ty,” she screamed again, picking up her pace as he moved closer to the door and the wind from the rotor. “Ty!”

Finally, she caught up to him, grabbing his arm.

He whirled.

She clutched at him now, pulling on him as Will got out of the cabin. “What are you doing? Where are you going?”

He walked her backward several steps. “The tournament’s on Martha’s Vineyard.”

She adamantly shook her head as she yanked harder on his wrist, trying to pull him even farther away. “You can’t get in.”

He settled his hands on her shoulders, rubbing his palms up and down her arms. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to be all right.”

She shook her head again as her chest constricted—as she fought to breathe. “You don’t know that. You can’t know that.”

He cupped her cheeks now. “I have to do this, Lyd. I have to go.”

She shook her head again. “No, you don’t.”

He nodded. “Yes, I do. And I’m going to be just fine. I’ll text you as soon as we get there.”

She struggled not to burst into tears, seeing that his mind was made up. “Please don’t go,” she tried again.

He pressed a long kiss to her forehead. “I’m going to be okay. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Her teeth chattered now as she turned away, trying to run on watery legs to the pool house.

She made it to the door, trying three times before she punched in the right combination, then let herself inside, sinking down the glass to the floor as she remembered waving to her family as the helicopter left the ground.

It had taken her years to be able to look up the media coverage about her family’s fateful flight. If she allowed herself to think about it, she could see the mangled mess of the aircraft far too clearly. And Ty had just gotten into one.

She pressed her forehead to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut as she listened to the helicopter lift off. “Be okay. Please, be okay.”