Avery looked over at me as he put the car into park. “No, I can’t let you do that.”
I patted his knee. “I’m your wife. Let me do this for you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” We got out of the car. “Plus, Brooke and I are women. We kinda live for this thing.”
“What thing?”
I shut my door. “Finding shit out.”
Avery stared at me for a moment and then glanced at Easton, who was grabbing his and Brooke’s bags out of the trunk of the car. Avery looked back at me. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I asked, making sure I’d heard him correctly as I made my way around the hood of the car.
“Yeah. My heart can’t take all of this anymore. I thought we were coming to California to identify my parents and then bury them. I had no idea they were living some sort of a secret life.”
“Okay. We’ll go to Edna’s and see if she has a VCR. You and E—”
Avery walked to the front door, but then stopped and spun around. “Don’t watch the tape without me.”
“But you just said—”
“I know what I said.” He turned back and slipped the key into the lock, unlocking and opening the door with a groan. “My head’s fucked up. I don’t know what I want.”
I glanced back at our friends real quick and then back at Avery before walking into the house. “Okay. Brooke and I will see if Edna has a VCR, and ask her about the mystery man. But first we’ll try to get into your mom’s phone so we can text people about the viewing.”
“And bring us back In-N-Out?”
I balked. “You’re hungry?”
“No, but we will be,” he clarified.
“You have tacos.” I held up the bag.
He took it from me. “I’ll eat them now, but I’ll still be hungry for In-N-Out in a few hours.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Fine, we’ll get you your In-N-Out after we find out all the info.”
“Good.”
My lips met his for a quick kiss. “We’ll be back.”
“Where are we going?” Brooke asked as I grabbed her wrist and started to go up the stairs.
“We have a mission.”
“A mission?” Brooke followed as I dropped her wrist.
I went to the end of the hall and grabbed Avery’s mom’s cell phone. “First, we have a phone to crack.”
“And then?”
“Then we’re going across the street to Edna’s because if anyone were to have a VCR, it has to be her.”
“And then?”
I looked up from the phone as it turned on. “And then hopefully we have answers and not more questions.”
Brooke stepped closer and lowered her voice. “I hate to say this, but this is kinda fun. I thought we’d be sitting around crying the whole time.”
“Avery’s only cried once since we’ve been here,” I whispered back.
Her brown eyes widened. “Really?”
“Would you cry if your mother died?”
She blinked and thought for a moment. “Now I would.”
“But before you made amends?”
“I …” Brooke hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“We all grieve in our own way, right?”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I can tell he’s grieving just from the aggressive swings in the batting cage.”
“I know.” I sighed. “We’ll get through this.”
“Yes, you will.”
I sat on the edge of the bed. “Okay, so if Avery’s birthdate doesn’t work to unlock her phone, I have no idea what to do.”
“I’m sure we can find out on Google how to jailbreak a phone.”
I looked up at her. “Let’s hope this works though.”
“Well, try it.”
After taking a deep breath, I put in Avery’s birthday as the six digit code. It worked. “Oh, thank fuck.”
“Oh good. Now you’re just going to text all of her contacts?”
“Do you have a better idea on how to tell their friends about their viewing?”
“Nope.”
I started to compose a text to the last person she sent one to. It was a woman named Martha.
“Are any of them to Avery Senior?”
My gaze darted up to Brooke. “Shit.”
“What?”
“What if he shows?”
Brooke shrugged. “Then Avery Junior might get some answers.”
“Right.” I sent the text and looked through Denise’s contacts.
“Anything?”
“No, unless she has him as a code name.”
She sat beside me. “Then just send a text to everyone, and if some guy shows up named Avery, we’ll hold him hostage until we get answers.”
We both laughed. “I’m glad you guys came.”
“Me, too.” Brooke smiled.
I sent the text to everyone in Denise’s contacts, excluding Doug. There weren’t that many people, maybe fifteen or twenty. Just as I was about to set the phone down on the nightstand, it occurred to me that there wasn’t an entry for my Avery.
“All right. We have a movie to watch.”
The house was quiet when Brooke and I walked down the stairs. I took that to mean the guys were in the backyard, but we didn’t bother to check. Instead, Brooke followed me out the front door, and we walked across the street. It might be weird to go to a stranger’s house and ask to use their out-of-date VCR, but if Denise trusted Edna enough to be the only one who knew about her will, then we could trust her too. Plus, we had no clue what was even on the tape.
“This is the lady who brought you Avery’s mom’s will?”
“Yep.” I knocked on the door.
Edna answered a few moments later. “Nic—ole,” she stuttered when she saw I was with Brooke and not Avery.
“Hey, Edna. This is my friend Brooke from New York.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Brooke greeted and stuck out her hand.
“You too, dear,” Edna replied, and they shook hands.
“We just came over to see if you had a VCR,” I explained.
“A VCR?” Edna questioned.
“We found a VHS tape in Denise’s safety deposit box.”
“Oh?”
“Doug and Denise didn’t even have a TV, let alone a VCR,” I went on.
“I think I might have one in the garage, but I have no clue where it would be.”
“Would you mind if we take a look?” I asked.
“No, not at all. Let me open the garage door for you.”
“Thank you.” I smiled.
Brooke and I stepped off the steps and walked over to the two-car garage. A few seconds later the big white door started to roll up.
“Take as long as you two need. Would you like some lemonade?” Edna asked from the door that I assumed led into the house.
“Sure, but just lemonade this time,” I replied. Brooke looked over at me with her eyebrows furrowed. “She put vodka in them last time.”
“Oh.” Brooke chuckled. “Yes, just lemonade. We have to go on a burger run soon.”
“Lemonade it is.” Edna walked back inside, leaving Brooke and me in the garage. There was a Mercedes on one side and boxes upon boxes on the other.
“Shit, we have our work cut out for us,” I indicated.
“You know, when we were flying here this morning, I had no idea I’d be put to work.”
We laughed. “Think of it like a scavenger hunt.”
“It totally is a scavenger hunt.”
At least the boxes were labeled.
Edna came back a few minutes later, gave us each a glass of lemonade and a pair of scissors, and then left us to continue rummaging through the boxes. The more we looked, the more I thought Edna needed to have a garage sale or donate all of this stuff to charity. She had a ton of boxes, and I was starting to worry we wouldn’t find what we were looking for.
“I found one labeled electronics,” Brooke finally stated.
“Oh!” I exclaimed and went to her. “Open it.”
She grabbed the scissors and ran the blade across the tape. I opened the flaps and peered inside. Right on top was a VCR as well as the cords needed to hook it up to a TV. It honestly felt as though we’d found a treasure chest filled with gold.
“Now, let’s get the guys and make them set it up while we do a burger run.”
“Set it up here, right?” Brooke questioned.
“Yep. Easier than bringing a TV across the street,” I joked. Seriously, what did Doug and Denise do at night? They didn’t even have books or an e-reader around.
So fucking weird.
I was nervous.
Fuck, I was so nervous.
Easton and I had set up the VCR Nic and B found in Edna’s garage, and now we were waiting for them to get back with our dinner.
“Here.” Edna put a shot glass in front of my face. “You look like you could use this.”
I smiled up at her from where I sat on her couch. “I do?”
“From the way your leg is bouncing up and down, I’d say you do.”
I reached for the glass with a clear liquid—probably vodka. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes,” she stated a matter-of-factly. “Would you like one too?” she asked Easton.
He smiled at her. “Sure.”
Edna went into the kitchen and came back with a shot for both Easton and herself.
“Here’s to answers,” I toasted, and we clinked glasses before downing our shots. Yep, it was vodka. “You know, I didn’t take you for a shots kinda gal, Ed.”
She grabbed the shot glasses from us and walked into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “When you get to be my age, you just don’t give a fuck anymore.”
We all chuckled. Hearing her drop an F-bomb actually didn’t surprise me because she did seem like the type to not give a fuck. I mean, she was making sure to liquor me up every chance she got. Hell, maybe she was some sort of alcoholic. She didn’t look like one, though, and I knew my fair share from being a bar owner over the years. I wanted to know more about her. She seemed cool and actually, she reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place her. Edna was the one my mother had trusted with a secret will, and that was maybe why I trusted her too.
“And how old are you?” I asked.
She came back into the living room. “Avery, you never ask a girl that question.”
“Well, you don’t look a day over thirty.” I grinned.
“Does that mean you want to go clubbing with me tonight?” Edna teased.
“Santa Barbara have any good clubbing spots?” I inquired, joking as well.
“I see you get your humor from your mother,” she replied, patting me on the shoulder.
I looked at Easton and then over at Edna. “I do?”
She smiled and sat in her recliner next to the couch. “You do.”
“I don’t really remember her being funny,” I stated.
“What do you remember?” she asked.
I sighed. “Honestly, not a whole lot.”
“That breaks my heart.” Edna leaned forward and touched my knee. “Your mother was an amazing woman.”
“Breaks my heart too,” I admitted.
“If it makes you feel any better, Edna,” Easton said, “Avery’s like a brother to me, and my parents consider him like a son.”
“That does make me feel better,” she replied. “But I wish you would have had a relationship with Denise.”
“Me, too,” I whispered.
There was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.” Easton stood, moving to the front door. As soon as the ladies entered, I could instantly smell the burgers and fries coming from the greasy bag. “Still smells the same,” Easton stated.
I grinned. “And tastes the same too.”
“Everyone ready for dinner and a movie?” Nic asked.
I glanced over at Edna to see her smiling. “This makes me happy,” she beamed.
“Yeah?”
“I never had kids.”
“You didn’t want them?” Nic asked.
Edna’s smile slipped slightly. “Just wasn’t in the cards. What about you four?”
“I have a daughter,” Easton replied.
“Oh?”
“From a previous marriage,” he clarified.
“And will you two have any together?” Edna looked between him and Brooke, who was handing him his double cheeseburger and fries.
“Maybe,” Brooke answered. “I’ve had cancer twice, so we’re not sure if it’s in our cards either.”
Edna frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you …” She trailed off.
Brooke smiled and handed Edna her food. “I get a scan every year to check to see if the tumor has regrown. So far so good.”
“I’ll keep you in my prayers,” Edna stated.
“Thank you,” Brooke replied.
“And you two?” Edna took a sip of her vanilla shake.
I let Nic answer as I unwrapped part of my double-double and took a bite. “We lost our first one,” Nic said solemnly.
Edna gasped. “Oh my. I’m so sorry.”
“It was a miscarriage, and the baby was unplanned,” Nic went on.
I squeezed Nic’s knee, briefly thinking about everything we’d been through. I didn’t know what our cards held either, but I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.
“You four have been through a lot,” Edna stated.
We all looked at each other and smiled tightly. Life had dealt us a shit load of heartache, but that was what had bonded us and made our friendships and relationships stronger. I just hoped it was all in the past and we could move forward with whatever we wanted to do in life. I wanted Nic pregnant with my baby, and I wanted her to carry it to term. I wanted to be a father and prove to myself that I wasn’t like Douglas Scott.
“All right.” Nic stood. “Who’s ready to see what’s on this?” She held up the tape, twisting it for show.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready. After reading just one love note from a guy with my name, I wasn’t sure what would be on the tape. Then a horrid thought came to me. “What if it’s a sex tape?”
Easton choked on the fries he’d just put into his mouth. “Dude!”
“Oh shit,” Brooke breathed.
“Oh my,” Edna sucked in a breath.
“What if?” Nic asked as she stared at me.
“If I see a bed, I’m out,” I stated, shaking my head and rolling my shoulders as the thought alone was enough to send a shiver through me.
Nicole put the tape into the waiting VCR. My palms started to sweat, my leg bounced up and down again, and my heart felt as though it was going to beat out of my fucking chest. If I saw my mom’s boob, I would die here on sweet Edna’s couch, and tomorrow they’d have to have a viewing for me too. But as Easton pressed play on the remote, the screen changed, and there was no bed in sight. Children were playing in my childhood backyard, and there were multiple colors of balloons tied to trees, a cake on a table in the distance, and Easton’s dad, Jimmy, was manning the grill to the side.
“Is that you?” Nic asked, pointing at the boy that was me. Back then, my blond hair was long like a surfer’s even though I was anything but.
“Yep.”
“You were so cute.” My wife beamed.
“And that’s me.” Easton pointed to where he was running next to me, both of us with Super Soakers. “I don’t know who the other kids are though.”
“Probably Jake and Matt, if I recall.” More kids came running into view with water guns.
“Whose birthday is it?” Brooke asked.
“Mine,” I stated. “That’s my old yard.”
“And your dad is barbecuing, E?” Nic asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t know why,” he replied. My friends and I were still running around, shooting each other with water. “I don’t get it. Why was this in the safety deposit box?” Easton asked.
Then we heard it.
They weren't on
screen, but my parents must have been standing behind the rolling camera …
“I don’t give a shit, Denise. He’s not even my son.”
“You were there when he was born. You’ve been—”
“That doesn’t make me his father.”
“You are his father.” It sounded as if she were crying.
“He doesn’t have my blood flowing through his veins.”
“You two need to stop,” Easton’s mom clipped. “This is Avery’s birthday.”
All of us in the room looked at Easton as though he knew all the answers because it was his mom. He shrugged, and our attention went back to the TV.
“Avery.” My dad laughed. “If I had known you were a whore and got knocked up by another man, I would never have agreed to name him after his real father.”
There was the sound of someone being slapped. I felt everyone in the room look at me, but I couldn’t look away from the screen. It was as though everything around me stopped and my only focus was this one piece of the puzzle. I wasn’t sure I’d heard correctly. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
“See what you did?” Jane hissed. “Now your wife is crying and running off at her son’s birthday party. This is supposed to be a fun afternoon.”
“I don’t give a shit,” my dad spat.
“You two need to get it together,” Jane ordered. “That sweet boy knows nothing, and you two made it that way. You chose to stay together because of your little society bubble you live in. You need to either cut the shit or tell that boy the truth.”
“He’ll never know the truth.”
“Why not?”
“Because—”
“Because you care what other people think, and you’re willing to live a lie to keep up the image that you have a perfect marriage?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know more than you think. We’ve been friends—”
“Fuck off, Jane. Go deal with Denise, and leave me the hell alone.”
“Fine, but know this.” There was a slight pause, and she lowered her voice slightly. “That sweet boy will find out one day who his father really is.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“No, but secrets can only stay buried for so long, Doug.”
My dad chuckled sarcastically. “And so can Avery Moore.”
The living room was silent as I watched my dad walk in front of the camera and toward Jimmy at the grill. Jimmy said something, and they both laughed. Dad grabbed a beer and twisted off the cap before taking a swig as though he didn’t just have an altercation with Jimmy’s wife and my mom. But …
The Halo Series Boxed Set Page 91