“Trust me, I’m keeping my distance from him regardless.” And Poppy. A part of me wanted to believe my father wouldn’t hurt me. But the more I learned about Poppy, the more it seemed like she didn’t like me. “Could you also check out Poppy Cannavaro? I think she might have been involved too.”
“I’m already on it.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing all this for a friend of Kennedy’s that you don’t even know.”
“Yup, anything for my best friend.”
We both just stood there for a moment, staring at the house.
Even the air here smelled like Miller, and it was destroying me. Which meant walking into the house would probably be the death of me.
“I’m right here with you,” Tanner said.
I just nodded. “How long did it take to get here? Shouldn’t it be dark? It’s a long drive to the city…but it’s still daylight.”
“You’re procrastinating.”
I was. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious about how fast we’d been driving.
“Come on,” Tanner said. “I’ve got you.”
I let him guide me up to the front door.
I remembered the first time I came here. The snow had been falling and I’d been worried sick that Miller had moved on. I’d chosen him. I’d finally decided to put him first. Why had I waited so long? I’d missed out on time with him.
Tanner slowly opened the door.
I was right.
Inside was worse.
Miller was everywhere.
And I wanted to cry with relief and heartache at the same time. He was here. It was like I could still feel him. Like I’d turn around and he’d be walking in behind me. Wrapping his arms around me and telling me everything would be okay. I felt like I might collapse without him holding me up. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t breathe this air. I couldn’t keep going without Miller.
Tanner pulled me into a hug.
And I clung to him. He held me and Jacob until I stopped gasping for air. Until my tears subsided. Until I was completely numb and Jacob started to wake up.
Jacob looked up at Tanner.
“Hey there, little man.”
Jacob just stared at him.
“We’re here to pay tribute to your father,” Tanner said. “To start letting your heart heal. We’re not saying goodbye to him, we’re just…”
“No hablo inglés,” Jacob said.
I put my hand on his back. “Jacob…”
“No hablo inglés!” he screamed and jumped out of Tanner’s arms. He ran away from us and pushed open the back door.
“Jacob!”
I ran after him, the screen door slamming shut behind me.
Jacob was running toward the dock.
