Fuck all of this.I need to keep my mind on the job and my priorities straight. And that's keeping my family safe, not throwing that sexy temptress up against a wall and showing her what happens when I’m fully unleashed.
Chapter Twelve
Harlow
Jacinta leaves me alone to finish my shower, and when I get out, I find a pair of black yoga pants and a cami laid out on the bed for me. No underwear, but that’s okay. Towel drying my hair, I pull on the clothes which fit well despite Jacinta being a little shorter than I am. A quick study of the room makes me realize it’s a match to the one in the other wing. A shaky smile crosses my face at the thought that they’d made me up two rooms just in case. Let's face it—the siblings were never going to let me be comfortable on this side when I first arrived, but things feel different now. For the first time, I really think everything is going to be okay.
Hanging the towel back up in the bathroom, I wipe the steam from the mirror and peer at my reflection. Dark rings circle my red eyes, and I look exhausted. Rummaging around in the drawer of the cabinet, I find a hair brush and pull it through my blonde locks, calling it good when it looks neatish.
My stomach rumbles with hunger after the long day, so I decide to go and find some dinner, planning to pass out the second I’m done scarfing down some food. I’m not even going back to my room on the other side of the house. In fact, doing my best impersonation of an ostrich sounds like the perfect choice. I'm going to stick my head in the sand and pretend not to have seen it. Tomorrow is soon enough to deal with it.
When Jacinta first brought me to the room, I wasn’t in the right state of mind to pay attention to my surroundings. With my head now a bit clearer and in full ostrich mode, I look around and figure out that I’m on the same floor as Kai, my new room opposite his.At least I’ll know where to run back to once I grab some food. Eating alone sounds perfect.
But when I get to the kitchen, I find that I’m not going to be able to do that. Everyone is gathered at the table while Mrs. Heyton bustles around, setting out hot dishes.
“Harlow, I spoke to Detective James, and he's sending out the crime scene unit to dust for fingerprints. But I'm afraid everything you own has been destroyed. We will of course replace it all as soon as possible,” Dad tells me as soon as I walk into the living area.Fuck! Everything?Not wanting to face that just yet, I act as though he hasn’t just talked to me.Head in the sand, Harlow. Get the food and get back to that room.
“Where’s Oliver? And did Holden get home okay?” I ask, looking for anything to distract myself from the reality of the situation.
“Oliver is keeping Holden company upstairs,” Nana says. Her eyes are filled with sympathy as she pats the chair next to her. “Come sit down. Have dinner with us. The company will be good for you. Gretchen is going to take a tray up to both of them in a minute.”
“Actually, if you don't mind, I think I might take a tray too? I’d like to see Holden. I haven't had a chance to yet, and I really need to apologize.”
“You don't need to apologize, Harlow,” Dad tries to reassure me, but I just get angry.
“But I do, Dad,” I snap at him. “None of this would have happened if I wasn't here. It’s all my fault.” Dad's eyes are filled with concern, so I ease off on the attitude. “Let me do this,please.” While I’ve managed to push down the frustration, I think that last word reveals entirely too much of a different nature. This time, his eyes soften as he nods in understanding, a barely perceptible sigh escaping with the movement.
“Okay. Just give me a minute and you can go.” Dad gets up and leads me into the lounge area, sitting me down then claiming the spot beside me. The sadness in his eyes does nothing for my currently fragile nerves, sending my heart racing. “Detective James says he doesn't need to talk to you because you haven't even been here, but he did ask me to pass on to you that he spoke to the detective in Hartford. The toxicology report is back, and there’s something a little weird about the results. They're running some more tests, but they’re going to start investigating your mother’s case as a murder instead of an overdose. Things just aren't adding up. They've questioned some of the trailer park residents, and she was overheard arguing with another woman the morning she was found. Apparently, it got quite heated.” My stomach lurches as a wave of nausea hits me. “Though he did say her body was ready to be released for burial or cremation, whichever you've chosen.”
I can feel everyone's eyes on us, and though I should be able to feel the heat of a blush burning across my cheeks, I’m frozen. My mother was murdered. Sure, she was never a nice person or a good mother, butmurdered? That's another thing. Why? My mind is reeling, and Dad reaches out to get my attention. “Do you mind if I tell the others? They’ve all been on edge too, and they’ve been really concerned about wanting to keep you safe.”
“No, that’s fine.” With a shake of his head, he gets up and goes back to the table. I can hear him murmuring to them, but it's all background noise to the chaos in my mind. What am I supposed to do with this information? Who would she have been arguing with? She didn't have any female friends; she had managed to scare all of them off by flirting with their significant others. Honestly, she didn't have friends, period. They were just all marks she could scam something from.
“Harlow…. Harlow.” I look up at Thomas, blinking in surprise. He must have been calling my name for a while.
“Would you like me to deal with your mother’s remains? Did you have a preference?”
Blinking again, my mind is a muddle. I haven't thought about any of those details. In fact, I’d forgotten about them completely. Fuck, I’m a bad daughter. Just because she was a shit mom doesn't mean I have to do the same thing.
“Uh, cremation, no service, and I don't need the ashes.”
“All right, I’ll make those arrangements so you don't have to worry about it. Did she have any other family that might want the ashes or need to know?”
I shake my head. “I don't know, none that she ever mentioned to me. Melinda might know. I was going to call her tomorrow, so I’ll ask.”
“Okay, well, I’ll do that once you let me know what Melinda says,” he replies, smiling gently.
“Thank you, Thomas.”
“Harlow, if you want to stay home instead of coming to Hawaii with me, I'll understand. There’s a lot going on at the moment, and I wouldn’t blame you if you’d rather just hunker down here and get a little time away from the world. Once Dad gets the rest of the security here, this place should be a fortress. There won’t be a way that asshole will get in here again.” And there it is, one of the reasons I need to go. Kai is just so kindhearted, and even though the disappointment in his voice is giving away how he really feels, he’s making this offer nonetheless.
“NO!” I blurt out.Nice, Harlow, scare the man off.Try it with a little less yelling this time.“No, I just want to get away. I know that seems like I’m running away, but I need the distraction. Please,” I plead, looking over at everyone at the table. None of them look like they’re judging; in fact, they look like they agree with me.
“Are you okay with me tagging along, Harlow?” Jaxon sounds a little nervous, which is understandable. With everything that’s passed between us, I know Dad wouldn’t give me a hard time if I said no, but I don’t have the urge to do that.
I shrug my shoulders, indifferent either way. And I actually think I really do feel that indifference. It’s not even ostrich Harlow making that decision; at this point, things with Jaxon need to either sink or swim, and I’m leaving that outcome in his hands. “It’s your plane. Who am I to tell you that you can’t come?”
He frowns, yet somehow the man still looks beautiful. It figures that even though I’m in some sort of shock from my room being trashed, my brain still makes the effort to remind me of just how good-looking Jaxon Summers is. “Harlow, it’s yours too,” he says. “You get as much of a say as any of us.” Dad beams at Jaxon like he’s won a Nobel peace prize, and I guess to Dad, he has. Them including me in the family is everything he’s dreamed of since he found out about me. I can’t say it isn't nice, but my feelings toward these men arenotfamilial.That’s a whole other mess to figure out.
