“I gave a false statement to the police, went home, packed a few necessities, and we left town the next day.”
“So there was no abduction? No amnesia?” Kellen asked, his voice flat.
“No four kids?” Nick added.
Sesame went to her brother and reached for his hand. “No,” she said softly. “I’m sorry, Kelly. I was afraid if you knew the truth you wouldn’t forgive me, and we had to stay away until the statute of limitations expired. I couldn’t let Tommy go to jail. None of our dreams would come true with him behind bars.”
Kellen slowly removed his hand from hers. “Mom is never going to forgive you,” he said quietly.
Riley squeezed Nick’s knee until he put his hand on top of hers.
Sesame took a deep breath and looked her brother square in the eye. “Kelly, Mom knew.”
Kellen slammed his palms down on the table. “Knew what?” he shouted.
“Easy there, Weber. This isn’t an interrogation room,” Nick reminded him.
“Maybe it should be,” Kellen snapped. “What did Mom know?”
“I told her I was leaving. I told her I was in love and that I didn’t want to be without him anymore. I didn’t say anything about the fire, but I figured with all the soot on my face and the fact that my hair smelled like that time Dad set the carport on fire grilling, she’d figure it out.
“She told me I was dead to her. No Weber woman would defile herself by living in sin. I was a disappointment. I was damning myself to hell, blah, blah, blah.”
“Get. Out.” Kellen said the words looking at the table.
“That’s exactly what she said!”
“And now I’m saying it. Get out of my house, Beth. And take your criminal husband with you.”
21
3:13 a.m., Sunday, October 27
“Thank you again for letting us stay with you,” Sesame said to Riley as Nick dumped Sesame’s third suitcase and overnight bag in the corner.
“It’s no problem,” Riley said as she stretched the fitted sheet across the bed.
“Oooh! Look at the glitter on the bedding. Tommy, we need to get glitter bedding!” Sesame opened the door to the Creepy, Smelly Closet and peered inside. Burt pushed past her and went snuffling around.
Riley hoped that the mystery smell was less noticeable now.
“Hmm,” Sesame said. “I’m not sure if this is going to be big enough. But don’t you worry. I’ll make do.”
“I’m hitting the shower. Sorry for tackling you while you were naked, Tommy,” Nick said, then left the room abruptly.
“Thanks for not killing me,” Tommy called after him.
Riley winced. They hadn’t had a chance to talk on the way back from Kellen’s. Not with Sesame and Tommy making out in the back seat.
“Don’t mind him. The wallpaper makes him ragey,” Riley explained, pointing at the pink roses. That and his girlfriend lying to him. She had no idea how he felt about running in to save Sesame from a bad guy only to find her having sex with the husband she hadn’t told them about.
Hell,shewasn’t sure how she felt about it. With no powers to deploy while she was awake, she felt adrift.
“Let me do that,” Tommy offered. He snapped the top sheet open and expertly floated it over the mattress.
“Thanks,” she said, impressed. “If you guys are hungry, help yourselves to anything in the kitchen.”
“What I’m hungry for is right here,” Sesame said, eyeing her husband as he did something cool and professional-looking with the corners of the sheets.
