by Beth Yarnall
“You told him about the night Ethan died?”
“Yeah. I hadn’t intended to, but he came to my house with mom and said he was putting his foot down. He was taking control of the situation. He said that when mom choked me something changed in him. He realized he needed to grow up and take care of his family. I’m really proud of him. That night he brought over a list of hospitals he’d checked into. He really took the initiative.”
“How did Jason take the story of the night Ethan died?”
“He didn’t back down. He said it didn’t change anything. He wasn’t going to take anymore chances of me getting hurt and that no matter what happened to him, he wanted me to have my life back. He even told me to, and again I’ll quote him: Go make up with that asshole, Lucas, if he’s who you want.”
“Yeah? I guess that kid’s not half bad after all.”
“No, he’s not. He’s really coming into his own. He visits mom a lot and talks to her doctors. He won’t let me do anything other than visit with her. I feel guilty for being relieved about that.”
“Don’t. You’ve paid your dues and now you need to let him take over the responsibility for a while.”
She laughed. “That’s what he says.”
“So are you?”
She paused, the bottle part way to her lips. “Am I what?”
“Making up with this asshole.”
She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again, resting the bottle back in her lap. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left the hotel room without saying goodbye.”
Oh, shit. He’d read her visit all wrong. “I understand.”
“I owe you so much. I want to thank you for what you said to Jason that spurred his turn around. And for convincing me to tell him everything. My life has changed in so many ways. It’s taken me a while to get a handle on things, but now I go out with friends a couple of times a week. I started seeing a counselor, which was something my mom’s doctor suggested. I feel really good. I’m getting happy and I have you to thank for that.” She raised her bottle in toast. “So thanks.”
“You’re welcome, although I can’t take all the credit.”
“You have to take some.”
He remembered the file on his desk. He supposed it would be his parting gift to her now instead of the entry back into her life that he’d hoped for. “Wait here. I have something for you.”
Walking the short distance down the hall to his office, he tried not to think, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other until he was sitting back down next to her. “Here.” He handed her the file.
“What’s this?”
“The information Malcolm gathered on Ethan’s death.”
“Oh.” She looked as though she didn’t want to take it.
“There are copies of all the reports. It doesn’t look like foul play was ever suspected although there is a note on the police report I think you should read.” He flipped through the pages until he came to the one he wanted to show her. “Right here.”
“My father had a sister? Oh, my God. I never knew that. My mom never told me.”
“I did a little more digging. I hope you don’t mind.” He pulled a piece of paper from the back of the file. “Her address, email, and phone number. She lives in Oregon with her husband. They have three kids and two grandchildren. She’s expecting your call.”
“I don’t know what to say.” And she didn’t need to say a thing. The look on her face was worth the effort and more. “Oh, Lucas. Thank you. Thank you so much. I owe you more than I could ever repay.”
“No. You don’t. I was glad to do it.” Here it was, the goodbye she hadn’t given him in that downtown hotel room. He could feel in coming, like the low rumble of a Humvee in the distance. He rubbed at his thigh.
“The answer’s yes by the way.”
“The answer to what?”
“To making up with this asshole. If you’ll let me.”
He could hardly think for the pounding of his heart. He wanted to pounce on her, smother her with kisses, but she was still talking.
“—to come here free of all my problems. That’s all I had when we started before. I mean, let’s face it. I was a mess. I’m less of a mess now and you already know all my secrets. I still have a few things to figure out, but I’m here and I want to try again.” She paused. “If you want to.”
“We’ll try again as what? Fuck buddies?” Idiot! What was he saying? He’d take her as anything she wanted, any way she wanted.
Pressing her lips together, she set her beer down on the table next to his. “If that’s all you want then… no.”
“Good because I want so much more from you than that, querida.”
She let out her breath, her words coming out in a whoosh. “Oh, thank God. I was so afraid I’d lost you. I love you, Lucas.” She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him, tasting of beer and that indefinable something that was all her.
He pulled back to look into her amazing eyes, falling for her all over again, drawn into her invisible force field. “Te amo, querida. Te amo siempre.” I love you. I’ll always love you.
Acknowledgments
Writing is a solitary endeavor, but without the help and support of my friends and family I would never have realized my dream.
Alison Diem, Charity Hammond, and Debra Mullins are the greatest critique partners ever. They’ve been a part of this book from the first glimmer of the idea to The End. They’ve helped me become a better writer, picked me up and dusted me off more than a few times, and managed to convince me that I was not writing drivel when I was absolutely positive I was. Thanks ladies.
When published authors take the time to help an unpublished author it is a true and rare gift. Thank you Vicky Dreiling and Susan Squires for your invaluable help. My undying gratitude to Debra Mullins and Shannon Donnelly, I’ve learned so much about story telling and writing from both of you. I promise that one day I will master the semi-colon.
My thanks to M.A. Taylor, who helped me with my law enforcement questions. Any errors are mine, not hers.
A special thank you to my husband and sons for eating lots of frozen pizzas and fast food and for making it possible for me to pursue my dream. I’m working on that swimming pool for you boys.
Award winning author, Beth Yarnall, writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and the occasional hilarious blog post. A storyteller since her playground days, Beth remembers her friends asking her to make up stories of how the person `died' in the slumber party game Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board, so it's little wonder she prefers writing stories in which people meet unfortunate ends. In middle school she discovered romance novels, which inspired her to write a spoof of soap operas for the school's newspaper. She hasn't stopped writing since.
For a number of years, Beth made her living as a hairstylist and makeup artist and at one time owned a salon. Somehow hairstylists and salons always seem to find their way into her stories. Beth lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their rescue dog where she is hard at work on her next novel. For more information about Beth and her novels please visit her website- www.bethyarnall.com.
Copyright © 2013 Beth Yarnall
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