“Nothing… it’s nothing. Just junk?—”
She steps past me, opening the box. “I thought you said you weren’t going to clean out the?—”
Shelby stops, her words dying in her mouth when she opens the top and sees what’s inside. Unlike me, she seems to realize what the books are the moment she sees them.
“Dad’s journals,” she says after staring at them for several beats. Then, she looks at me, something shining and unreadable in her eyes. “Where did you find these?”
For a second, I don’t want to tell her. But I have the sense that she might figure it out, might already know exactly where I found them without me telling her.
“My closet,” I admit, “he must have stashed them there, where he knew nobody would look for them.”
Shelby pops a hand on her hip. “Jake.”
“What?”
“Don’t be dense.” She rolls her eyes and puts the lid back on the box, staring down at it for a moment. “As much as I want to read these, it’s obvious that Dad meant for you to find them. He wantsyouto read them.”
The laugh snaps out of me harsher than I mean for it to. “Yeah, well, he should have thought about the fact that I don’t give afuckabout what he wants.”
“Jake.”
“What? I don’t owe him anything. And the fact that he stuck some box in my closet doesn’t change that.”
Shelby’s face hardens, and she shakes her head, taking a step back from the table. “You know, Jake, you and Dad are a lot more alike than you think.”
“Shoot to kill, Shelb,” I try and make light of the situation, but it doesn’t land, and she shakes her head again as she backs toward the door. “Read the journals, Jake,” she says. “I’m gonna go so you can take some time with them.”
But the moment she closes the door, I grab the box, heave it back up the stairs to my room, and shove it into the closet where it belongs. I’m not reading them, and if it weren’t for Shelby, I’d take them out to the pit in the yard and set fire to them right now.
I pull out my phone to check the time and find a text waiting for me on the home screen.
Lara:Can’t wait for tonight :)
I know it’s not a date, but that text makes me feel like it is. I’m not staying in Wildfern Ridge, and Lara has made it clear that she’s not leaving. It doesn’t make any sense for it to be a date.It doesn’t make any sense for me to think about wowing her, about showing her the house and seeing if she can understand my vision for it.
Shaking my head, I text her back and turn for the bathroom I’ve left intact, planning to shower and run to the store so I can grill something up. The kitchen might be demolished, but it’s a nice night, and I know just the thing to make.
Jake:Come over early, then.
CHAPTER 19
LARA
The thought of going to Jake’s place early is nice, but just not realistic when I have three little employees to try and manage beforehand.
“We’re going to Gran and Gramps’ house tonight?” Aster asks for the third time. He’s wearing a little blue shirt with a dinosaur on it, his backpack firmly on both shoulders.
“Yes, silly,” Daffy says, hip popped, her bag slung over one shoulder. I give her a look, and she sighs, pulling it onto both. I know enough about posture and weight distribution that my kids will always wear both straps.
“That’s what Mommy said,” Chrys supplies matter-of-factly, looking up at me for confirmation.
“Yes,” I say, dropping down in front of them. “Aren’t you excited?”
“Yes,” Aster says, while Chrys says, “No.”
“Oh.” I stop in front of her, hand pausing midway through brushing her hair back over her shoulder. “Why not, honey?”
“I thought we were going to stay here tonight,” Chrys says, and for a second, I think about calling the thing with Jake off, staying home with my babies. But then, she adds, “Plus, Gran is makingspinachfor dinner.”
