“She’s perfect, Dad!”Bella narrowed her eyes.“This is the only thing I want.I never getanythingI want!”
He almost turned into his mother for a second, the words “Join the club” on the tip of his tongue.
That wasn’t what he wanted to say, despite—for the thousandth time—feeling immense empathy for his mom all those decades ago.
He didn’t know what he wanted to say.He wanted her to stop asking about it.To stop pushing.He’d worried she would hit the roof if she caught a whiff of his feelings for Annie, but he’d never expected she’d demand he marry the woman.
What crime had Annie committed to be subjected to this circus?She laughed at his jokes.She charmed.She tested his resolve, his self-control, tests that he failed time and time again.
She’d made him fall in love with her, then she almost burned up in a fire.
It was far, far too dangerous to keep seeing her, to even humor Bella’s demands of wanting a stepmother.
“Yeah, well,” he finally said, “you can’t always get what you want.”
Her face reddened, her lips forming into a pinch.
For a moment, Miles was afraid she might literally explode.
Instead, she screamed before brushing past him and disappearing out the front door.
Miles shut his eyes.He wasn’t particularly proud of what he’d come up with, but there it was.
At least Bella hadn’t overreacted.
Twenty-nine
It took three weeks for the smoke to clear from Annie’s mind.Three weeks of lying awake in bed, staring at the wall.Three weeks of opening windows and fanning and replaying the moments of terror, stomping out the embers in her mind.
But all at once the clouds parted, and she pulled clean, crisp air into her lungs.She stared at the blackened night sky, littered with millions of burning stars.Each one was a miracle, and she was overwhelmed with gratitude and wonder.
There was a touch of terror staring back at her, too.Life was terrifying.Nearly dying was terrifying, but on the other side of that, it was an improbable miracle that any of them were here.That any of them made it on any given day.
It was the most wonderful miracle, and she wasn’t going to sit idly by, questioning herself, questioning her children, waiting on Roy or anyone ever again.
Annie was going to get answers.
Chief Hank, for all his charms, was a steel trap.He wasn’t giving her any hints about the investigation.
To be fair, there was a lot she wasn’t telling him either, but only because she wasn’t sure of the truth.With her new clarity, Annie was determined to put her fears to rest.
On Saturday morning, she asked her mom to watch the kids and texted Lauren asking for a favor.
Lauren responded quickly.“Sure, anything!”
Annie picked up coffee for them both, then pulled into Lauren’s driveway.She surveyed the house for a second.There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, except for the ostentatious Porsche sitting in the sun.
She walked up to the house and just as she reached the front door, it flung open, a mass of a man flying past her, the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.
Annie stood stunned for a second, watching him gallop down the street.She cocked her head to the side.“Alex?”
Annie turned back to the house.Lauren stood in the open doorway.“Did he say where he was going?”
Annie shook her head.“Nope.I assume he’s going for a midday run.”She paused.“In jeans and a hoodie.”
Lauren leaned out, straining her eyes down the road, her brow furrowed.“Who knows?Anyway, sorry about him.Come on in.”
Annie handed Lauren her favorite – a mocha latte – then said hello to the kids.Lauren’s parents were there, her mom washing dishes, her dad doing a craft.It was easy for the two of them to slip into the backyard for some privacy.
