He tilted his head to the side, as if listening for signs of anything inside. “Is this normal?”
“For Kevin to leave the door partially open? I don’t think so. Should we call the sheriff’s department?”
“And tell them what? The door opened and no one came to greet us?” Lane asked. “I doubt they’d take that too seriously, especially with everything else going on right now.”
She nibbled her bottom lip. “Maybe he went for a walk or something and just didn’t pull the door closed all the way.”
“Maybe.” Lane shifted to stare out on the expansive yard to the side of the house. “You could call him. Check to see where he is. He might be inside and just not have heard us out here.”
Doubt scratched her mind, but she snatched her phone from her pocket and scrolled to Kevin’s contact information. Finding his name, she pressed the Call button and waited for him to answer. The line rang in her ears until his voicemail message picked up. She disconnected and apprehension twisted her insides. “He didn’t answer.”
Lane frowned. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
“He could be hurt.” Just because he wasn’t her favorite person didn’t mean she wished him any ill will. “We should check.”
“I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”
“Then it’s a good thing I didn’t ask for your permission.”
Stepping by him, she walked into the house and a punch of nostalgia almost doubled her over. Memories of picking out the perfect shade of blue for the dining room and pouring over rolls of wallpaper for the guest bathroom brought tears to her eyes. She dashed them away, sniffing back the unexpected wave of emotion.
“You okay?” Lane didn’t touch her, but he stood close. His presence enough to offer support she didn’t know how to ask for.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice a bit shaky. “I haven’t been here since the night I packed my things and left Kevin. There are a lot of memories wrapped up in this place. Good, bad, and everything in between. I couldn’t help but remember the hope I had for our future—the way I’d pictured our lives would unfold. It’s sad it had to end the way it did.”
Lane’s silence spoke volumes.
Wincing, she rested a palm on the hard muscle of his chest and dipped her chin so their eyes met. “I don’t regret that it ended, or I wouldn’t have Parker. I didn’t mean?—”
He gave a tiny shake of his head and covered her hand with his own.
Heat shot up her arm. Her brain warned to run from his touch, but her heart told her to stay. To accept. To welcome any scraps of care she could from him.
“Don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t make excuses for your emotions. I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to justify anything to me, to tiptoe around the shitty parts of our past. None of what’s happening right now can be easy, and it’s only natural it would bring up baggage.”
“Thank you,” she said, finally slipping her hand out from under his. “Let’s find Kevin then get the hell out of here.”
“I’d like nothing better.”
She tried not to look at the vaulted ceilings in the living room with the meticulously decorated fireplace mantle and photographs of times long gone. She kept her head down, gaze trained on blue and cream-colored runner that led to the gourmet kitchen. “We’ll check in here first, then head to the basement. If he didn’t hear us, makes the most sense he was down there.”
“Or the shower,” Lane said.
She glanced over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose. “I’ll let you check there.”
The pungent stench of stale beer assaulted her senses. Empty beer cans littered the counters. Wadded up trash scattered the ground and half-eaten food attracted flies on the table. She fought the urge to tidy the space as she took it all in. “This place is a disaster.”
“He always live like this?”
She shrugged. “Didn’t use to be, but there was a lot I didn’t know about him.”
“Well, he’s clearly not in here,” Lane said. “Where are the stairs to the basement?”
She walked over to the closed door and switched on the light before heading downstairs. Nothing but silence and unused gym equipment waited for them. Climbing the stairs, dread weighed down each step. The house was big, but there were only so many places Kevin could be.
She held her breath as she crossed through the kitchen again and went to the opposite side of the house. The master bedroom was at the end of the hallway. The thick rug muffled their footsteps. When she reached the closed door, she hesitated.
“Let me.” Lane banged on the door before testing the handle. It turned, and he shoved aside the barrier and hissed out a breath. “Shit. Celine, back up and call the police. Now.”
