"Who else is in the house with you?"
"You. No one else is here."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" His voice crept up a level.
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. He's supposed to be my husband."
His forehead turned a bright shade of red, and his green eyes hardened to emeralds. "I haven't seen you in over a year, and the first thing you tell me is that you're married? And I have to find out because deposit money is missing. Not to mention, I got the surprise of my life to find you staying here!"
I filled a glass of water out of the fridge filter system and passed it to him. "I'm sorry that I'm staying in your house. But really it was your own fault for wanting to build those luxury apartments. Anyway, Bane and I will get out today, and it will be as though none of this happened."
With a heavy sigh, he drained the glass of water. "Where will you go?"
"Bane's been looking for an apartment to rent."
"And this was the kind of man you wanted to marry? Someone who lives in other people's houses when they're not around?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat. This was why I'd avoided my dad for two years. If there was something that could be disagreed upon, or assumed, he would find it.
"I could tell you everything, but it seems like you're being unreasonable again."
I turned and grabbed my car keys off the hook next to the fridge. "When you've calmed down, maybe I'll explain."
Heading to the door, I stopped when his quiet voice reached my ears. "Please don't go."
I paused, my hand reaching for the door.
"It's been so long."
I glanced back over my shoulder. The moisture in his eyes made me feel as though I might split in two.
Angry dad, I could handle. It was always easy to yell at someone who yelled at you. Sad and broken sounding dad? I didn't like that, because it tested my resolve and made me want to turn around and hug him and make it all better. Regardless of all the pain he'd caused me.
"Please, just tell me how you've been. How did you meet this man you're married to? I've missed you."
I nodded. Tossing my keys on the entry way stand, I headed to the living room and sat down, waiting for Dad to make his way to the recliner like I knew he would.
"I'm not married."
"But you just said—"
"There's been a little bit of confusion." I proceeded to tell him the whole story, not leaving a bit of it out. How I broke into the house and dragged Bane in. How Bane routinely insisted on making updates and keeping things running. How I told Bane I had permission from a friend to live here. How Bane had accidentally been elected HOA president. It was easier to talk to my dad than I imagined.
Two years of pent up anger and hurt feelings, and all I wanted to do was sit there and talk with him. I should want to hang on to that anger. I had the cold hard facts about the type of man my father was, but that still didn't stop the craving I had to be loved by him.
Dad nodded, "So, you've been living in those run-down apartments all this time."
"For a while, but not the whole time."
Dad ran a hand across his chin. "Why didn’t you come home?"
"You know why," I whispered.
He shook his head. "You’re as stubborn as me, but I really don’t know why."
"Riley. Why dad? Nate texted me and told me not everything was as it appeared. I would love for him to be right. I would love to know my dad didn’t stand by and do nothing while my best friend disappeared."
Dad sat silently while I erupted.
"I needed you!" I yelled. "She could be dead somewhere, and I needed my dad to take her disappearance seriously—to help me look for her! But you were so busy with your work that you couldn’t spare any time."
Twin tears rolled down my cheeks.
"I wanted to tell you." His voice cracked. "She made me promise."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and swiped angrily at the tears. "What are you talking about?"
Dad studied the back of his hands, doing his best to look nonchalant. He failed. The pinched skin on his forehead told a different story. "I talked to Riley before she left."
"What?" I scooted to the edge of my seat.
He pursed his lips, debating what to say next. "She made me promise to wait at least a few years before I told you the truth. She knew when you found out you’d begin looking for her."
"Stop being vague and tell me what you’re talking about!"
He cleared his throat. "I came to visit you at the dorm one day. I passed a man in the hall, coming from the direction of your room. I didn’t like him."
Dad had the same instant feeling about people that I did. He either liked them, or he didn’t. The instinct was always correct, too.
"When I got to your room, you hadn’t gotten back from your test yet, but Riley was there. It was her stepdad visiting. I don’t know all the details, but Riley wanted custody of her little sister. He gave her an ultimatum. I don't know all the details, but Riley told me the father was neglectful at best."
I sat in rapture. Why hadn’t he told me this before? When I’d been dying for any scrap of information of her disappearance?
"The man held a grudge. He didn’t like that Riley had made it to college and had prospects in front of her. Riley wanted to protect her sister. So she planned on disappearing with her. She'd already been working on getting custody of her, as you know. I think she's hiding her from the dad."
"But we could have helped her!" I cried.
Dad shook his head. "The courts won’t take away a child from her father. There was no physical abuse. A judge isn’t going to be quick to give custody to a twenty-two-year-old over a biological father."
Rubbing my hand against my throbbing chest, I asked, "Where did she go?"
"She wouldn’t tell me where they were going to live. Her stepfather is smart, according to Riley. I wanted to set up a bank account to help her. But she was afraid he'd be able to trace it. Apparently the jerk wanted to make her life miserable. I just can’t understand people as evil as him."
"So you walked away? And didn’t do anything to help?"
"I gave her as much cash as I could get my hands on. She’s supposed to get in touch in another year. I have a lawyer ready to help her get complete custody of her sister. After three years of being the sole guardian, it won’t be hard to get permanent custody."
"What makes this so different?"
"By the time we take him to court, it will be nearly three years of complete abandonment from the father. We’ll have a strong case."
I rocked back and forth. "I thought you didn’t care."
Dad tapped a thumb against the arm of the recliner. "You know I loved Riley. She practically lived at our house. I cared. I wish I could go back in time and tell you what was going on. She made me promise not to tell you for a while."
There was so much to process. I didn’t know what to think. Both about Riley making my dad promise not to tell, and my dad choosing to keep me in the dark.
"Why are you telling me now?"
"She hasn’t reached out to me. I expected to hear from her after she got settled in. But I don’t know where she went. I can’t help her if I can’t find her."
He stood up and came to sit next to me on the couch. "Sweetie, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything right away. I hurt you. I can’t stop thinking about the damage of keeping that promise."
I shook my head rapidly. "You care. You care. You care."
His eyebrows lifted to the middle of his forehead.
"Right now, knowing you cared, is enough."
He smiled softly. "Why don't you tell me about this Bane that you say is so much like me."
I chuckled. "Bane is, hands down, the best roommate I've ever had."
"And how long have you two dated?"
Instead of saying what I was thinking, I told him, "Oh, we're not dating. We're just trying to help each other out. Besides, he's a bit too stuffy and money conscious. You'd probabl
y love him."
There was a gleam in his eye when he said, "I look forward to meeting him tonight."
"Uh-uh. You're not meeting him tonight. I'm going to tell him that I heard the family is coming back. We'll move out, and then we'll pretend that nothing ever happened, and he'll be none the wiser."
Dad nodded. "Aha, at least I see. He doesn't know your Sebastian Mercier's daughter."
I shook my head slowly. "Or that this is your house. You don’t have a good reputation after keeping the deposits."
With a deliberate chuckle, he rested his chin in his hand. "This should be fun."
"No, not fun. Bartholomew has been so worried that he's the worst person in the world for staying here. You're not going to add to his guilt trip. You owe him that at the least."
"What was his name?"
"Bane."
"No, you called him something else."
I called Bane so many things... "Oh, Bartholomew Fox. That's his name. But everyone just calls him Bane. I like to call him Mr. HOA."
Dad spoke quietly, "I want a chance to repair our relationship, Nola. I’ll do whatever I can to fix it."
"Will you promise to not tell Bane who you are?"
"Why not tell him?"
I coughed loudly. "We might not be happy with Sebastian Mercier right now because of The Market Street Apartment issue."
"But I’m Sebastian Mercier!"
"Exactly. If you want to meet him, I need you to be somebody else."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Homeowners Association Rule #73:
Bonfires are permitted as long as the smoke doesn’t exceed three feet in the air.
Knock knock knock.
"Who could that be?" Bane asked. "I already settled another noise dispute when I pulled in the driveway."
"Maybe it's someone complaining about bringing their own towels to the pool."
Bane glared at me as he rose to get the door.
He opened the door, but all I could see was a bright red floral shirt. It was painful to my eyes, and I didn't know what to make of it.
"Hello, can I help you?" Bane asked.
"Yeah, I think you sure can," a booming voice answered.
"Oh no," I groaned.
I recognized that tone and inflection. When I was a kid, my dad would tell me stories about Miner Pete. He had a specific country twang he used for the character. And it was the same voice he was using right then to speak with Bane. Why would he wear such an awful printed shirt?
"I think you might have the wrong house," Bane said slowly.
"No, I don't. Nola! You home, Nola?" he yelled over Bane's shoulder.
I slowly trudged to the front door and slipped around Bane. Bane reached out and grasped my arm firmly, squeezing it. "Do you know this man?"
"You remember him, don't you, Bane?" I looked at him with what I hoped was an innocent expression.
"No...I don't."
"He lived on the fourth floor with me. He's an old neighbor of ours at The Market Street Apartments."
Bane studied Dad with a skeptical look, his eyes landing on the very-loud shirt.
"I think I would have remembered him if I’d met him."
I shrugged, "Well, look at how you and I barely met until we were moving out. Bane, I'd like you to meet my next-door neighbor." I turned to look at Dad. I bit my lip to hold back a grin. His eyes narrowed in warning at me. "Bane, Sally. Sally, Bane. Why don't you come in and we can chat?"
I motioned for Dad to come inside. Bane stepped between Dad and me and placed a protective hand on my back, pushing me back a little farther. "I don't know if it's the best idea. We have to get ready for that thing, right?"
That 'thing' was nothing, but Bane was trying to give us an out.
"Don't worry about me," Dad said as he kicked off his shoes and dropped a duffel bag on the floor. "I'll just make myself right at home here. You go on about your business."
He walked straight into the kitchen. I started to follow him, but Bane's hand still rested on my arm. He pulled me back close to his side. I smelled the soft hint of cologne wafting from his neck.
"What is he doing in this house?"
"He needed a place to stay?"
"Are you asking me or are you telling me that he needed a place to stay?"
I nodded. "I'm telling you, of course. I couldn't just leave him homeless."
"Are we going to become the house for all The Market Street Apartment residents?"
"Well, you have to admit that this is a pretty big house, don't you think?"
"That's not the point!" Bane lowered his head to mine, our foreheads nearly touching. "You can't just live with strangers."
"You're right. But it seems like I find myself married to one."
He grunted and his eyes narrowed. His grip tightened.
I jerked my arm out of his grasp. "He needed a place to stay. I can vouch for him. He's not going to murder us in our sleep." I raised my voice enough that Dad could hear me from where he was trying to nonchalantly eavesdrop in the kitchen. "You should probably lock up your valuables, though. Sally likes to take things."
"Excuse me!" He popped the lid on a can of iced tea. "I don't steal things."
I raised my eyebrows. "Exactly what someone who steals things would say."
"This is a bad idea," Bane cut in.
"You're absolutely right," I agreed with him. I glared at Dad.
"Okay, okay. I promise not to steal anything. I just need a place to stay while I look into a...personal matter." His eyes hardened as they landed on me.
With a sigh, Bane stepped around me and went into the kitchen. He pulled open the junk drawer and pulled out the file where he kept track of all the expenses. "All right. Sally, if you're going to live here, you are going to have to help with rent. We've been keeping track of the rent and HOA fees that are owed."
"And who's the head of the HOA?" Dad asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"Bane is," I said when I saw Bane's embarrassed look. "He's my own Mr. HOA."
"What are the fees for?"
"The money goes into the HOA fund where we pay for the maintenance of the streets, the pool, and the green space. We also pay for the security guard who makes his rounds here."
"I didn't notice any security guard."
"He only works nights."
Dad nodded. "Good to know HOAs do something useful."
"I don't know if you would call Harold useful," I added.
Bane nodded at me. "Nola's right. Honestly, we like to steer clear of Harold. He takes himself a little too seriously. He'll probably run a background check on you once he meets you."
"Why? Did he do that to you?"
Bane smiled. "No. I'm the HOA president. I don't need a background check, because obviously I have the wellness of the community in mind."
I shifted from foot to foot, trying to ignore the tension in the room.
"What are you really doing here?" Bane asked quietly.
Dad kept the belligerent look plastered on his face. "Just passing the time until I find something. Now, which room is mine?"
I wanted to lay down and cry. Or laugh. Dad was like a bulldozer ruining our perfect roommate and marriage situation.
Only this time, he’d met his match. Bane handled him with diplomatic ease for the rest of the evening.
But the look in Bane’s eyes promised he and I would be having a reckoning the next time we were alone.
I flopped onto my bed, facedown. It had been a long day. Helping a new kid settle in was always emotionally exhausting for everyone involved. Then to come home to Bane with his HOA problems—which still made me laugh—and then my dad making himself at home in his own house. I smiled into my pillow at the thought of naming him Sally. His face had been priceless.
A knock sounded at my bedroom door. There'd been a lot of ominous knocking lately—all from my dad.
"Go away."
"Are you decent?"
Not my dad—Bane.
"What is it?"
I flipped my head to the side, so I wasn't talking into my pillow anymore.
"Does your door have a lock on it?"
"Yeah, it's locked right now."
The handle turned, and Bane stepped into the room. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants that hung low on his waist and a cotton t-shirt. He frowned at me as he tested the door handle. "Doesn't feel locked to me."
"Oops, my bad." I turned my face away from him. I was too tired to listen to a lecture about locking doors from Safety-Jo.
"This door doesn't have a lock on it. You said it did."
"I assumed all doors had locks. It wasn't an intentional lie." I groaned. Why did he have to look so good in sweats and a t-shirt? I looked like frumps-ville wearing my oversized sweatshirt and spandex shorts. I looked like something that got tangled up and stretched out in the washer while he looked all suave and charming in those charcoal sweats.
"You can't sleep here tonight." His voice filled the room.
"Excuse me? I'm the one who got us into this house. Maybe I'll kick you out."
"No." He sounded closer. "You can't sleep in a room without a lock. Not with a strange man in the house."
"What about the strange man in my bedroom?" I kept facing the wall away from him, knowing if I looked at him too long, I might start drooling, and that would ruin my chances of pretending platonic roommated-ness was all that I wanted.
"Nola, I don't think I count as a strange man anymore. We're married, after all."
"Hardy-har. I'll see you in the morning, Bane."
Something thumped before he spoke next. "I'm serious, Nola. Something's not right with that Sally guy. I don't care if you know him or not. He's not telling the truth about something, and I don't like thinking of you sleeping on the other side of the house."
"What are you proposing? We become literal roommates?"
"Yes. I want you to move into the master suite. There's a lock on that door."
I would have laughed, given the fact that it was my dad that he was worried about, but he sounded gravely serious. With great effort, I turned and looked at him. His arms were folded across his firm chest.
"Bane, I'll be fine. You should practice worrying less. That scowl is going to give you wrinkles."
He unfolded his arms and leaned forward to plant his hands on the bed as he bent down to speak to me. "You. Are. Not. Sleeping. In. Here."
Mr H.O.A Page 15