“Things are fine. I’ve got it under control.”
“So, you’re going to sell it? To some shoe guy?”
She shakes her head. “He’s no longer interested.”
“But—”
Holding up her hand, she shakes off my question. “Thanks for stopping, Chase. I mean, Ryder, but I need to get this….” She points at the cupboards in the butler’s pantry that were probably, at one time, gorgeous, but are nothing but splintered wood barely attached to the walls now.
“Lou. Let me help.”
Placing the crowbar on the floor, she turns, hands on hips. “Why are you really here?”
“You called.”
“I was drunk.”
“You still called.”
“I wasverydrunk.”
“The point is, you picked up the phone. Something compelled you to call just like something compelled me to get in my car and drive fifteen hours to get to you.”
“You drove fifteen hours?”
“From Arizona, right?” There’s some bite to her voice. I deserve it. “NotCalifornia.”
“I grew up in California, but I live just outside of Phoenix.”
“You lied and told me you lived in another state.”
“I did.”
“Yeah, well, that’s fine, because I know more about you than you probably wanted me to, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.” She turns her back on me, picks up the crowbar, and begins to work a cleat she’s got attached to the wall. I watch her struggle to get the tool beneath the edge of the wooden cleat. “Stupid wood glue.”
Raising my hand so she can see it in her peripheral view, I step closer to her, grasping the pry bar from her grip. “Let me.”
“Fine. You can try but I think I’ll need to get a Sawzall.” Releasing the bar, she steps backward out of the pantry. Waving defeat at the room, she mutters, “Have at it.”
So, I do. Or I try but I, like her, can’t seem to get the pry bar beneath the piece of wood. Glue oozed, then dried around the entire piece. “Jesus, woman. How much wood glue did you use?”
“The cabinets were heavy. The glass doors were a concern. I wanted to make sure they didn’t….” I glance back at her and watch her swallow. “I didn’t want them to get damaged.” And then a tear slips down her cheek. I’m to her in three steps. Wrapping her up in my arms, she slumps against me.
God, it feels amazing. Perfect.
Sniffling into my chest, I place my palm on the back of her head and stroke down her hair. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m so sorry this happened and I wasn’t here.”
“Why weren’t you? Where did you go? Why were you here in the first place? Did you come here because of Mona?”
I breathe in the floral scent of her shampoo. “What?” I pull back and look down at her face. “Mona?”
“There’s a photo of you with Mona. You’re shaking hands.”
“Can I see the photo?”
I watch as she retrieves her phone from her back pocket. She clicks around, then hands me the device. As soon as I see it, I know exactly what this captured. “We weren’t shaking hands. That was her dropping the coin into my palm.”
“You told me she stole it that day.” Lou growls. “She’s such a sneaky snake.”
