Miles let out a squeal of outrage. “Dad! Why did you do that? They had the big candy bars.”
“I don’t care what they’re giving away. Just go to the next house, okay?” Nick turned back toward the house and glared at the man standing in the doorway. Nick’s stance reminded her of a boxer preparing for a fight. Miles stomped his foot and ran ahead, turning around to shoot Nick an angry look. But Nick didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy staring down the man in the yellow house.
What in the world is going on? Had she missed something? Had the man tried to hurt Miles?
“Nick, what’s wrong?” Harlow asked, her eyes glued to his frenzied expression.
Nick didn’t seem to hear her. He was in a zone where he seemed to be focused on only one thing. “Nick! Are you all right? You’re scaring me.”
“It’s him,” Nick said, jerking his chin in the direction of the man doling out Halloween candy. “He’s the man who killed my wife.”
Chapter Twelve
What the hell?Frank Baker, the man who had killed his wife, had been handing out candy to trick-or-treaters as if he had a right to be part of the Mistletoe community. And his own son had been at his door accepting the candy he was doling out! It was incredibly messed up.
Nick had seen everything through a red haze as he walked back to the house with Miles and Harlow. Miles had been upset with him about his outburst, but Nick hadn’t wanted to tell him why he’d been so upset. Why should a nine-year-old have to hear such a terrible truth on a night meant for fun? He simply didn’t have the words.
Nick paced back and forth across his hardwood floors in his living room. He hated this feeling of rage that he couldn’t seem to extinguish. He wasn’t a big fan of violence, but he’d been tempted to punch Baker in the face. He longed to make him suffer the way everyone who’d loved Kara had been tortured by her senseless death.
The light tread of footsteps sounded on the stairs, edging ever closer to his location. Seconds later, Harlow stood in the doorway. Even though he’d told her to go home, she hadn’t listened to him. She had stuck around to make sure he was doing okay and to help out with Miles.
“Are you all right?” she asked, quickly closing the distance between them in a few strides.
He clenched his teeth. “Not really,” he admitted. “Is Miles in bed?”
“Yeah. Zeus is sleeping at the foot of his bed. He went out like a light. Must’ve been all the carbs from today.”
“Thanks for seeing to him and for dealing with Van. I’ll explain things to Miles later.” Nick said, “I’m sorry, Harlow. Tonight was supposed to be fun.”
“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Nick. Seeing him blindsided you. It’s totally understandable.”
Nick ran his hand over his face as he let out a ragged sigh. “I should have kept my cool. I hate that Miles saw me like that. He doesn’t understand why I acted that way.”
Harlow walked toward him and sank down on to his comfy couch. She patted the spot next to her. “Stop pacing, Nick. Come sit down. Seeing Baker was nightmarish. You had a human moment. It happens.”
Nick sat down on the couch and Harlow pressed against him, then pulled him into a hug. “I felt you needed that. You’re still shaking.” Harlow reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. “I know you’re upset that Miles witnessed your reaction, but I think as long as you’re straight with him, he’ll be fine.”
“What do I tell him? That’s really heavy to lay on a kid.” He wouldn’t do it. Couldn’t do it. His son had been through enough.
“So what have you told him so far? About Kara’s death?”
Nick made a face. “Only that his mom died in a car crash.” He hadn’t had the heart to weigh his son down with the terrible knowledge that Nick carried around with him. A kid could understand an accident, but Miles wouldn’t know how to process the fact that someone was responsible for taking his mother’s life.
“Nick, you don’t have to tell him everything, but I do think you should try to explain why you were so angry tonight. He’ll get it.”
Harlow was right. He didn’t have to tell Miles everything about why he’d been so upset. But, in order to make sure his son wasn’t fearful about the incident, Nick needed to be as straight with him as possible. “You’re right. I’ll definitely talk to him tomorrow. I want him to understand that even though I was angry I didn’t let things get out of control.”
“You did the right thing by walking away,” Harlow said.
“This time,” he said, gritting his teeth. “I’ve thought about paying him a visit to confront him. I’ve thought about doing a lot of things.” How many times had he fantasized about tracking Baker down and dealing with him? It wasn’t like him to be a vengeful person, but Nick was making an exception this time. He wanted Baker’s world to fall down around him.
“You can’t let this consume you. As awful as it is—”
“Awful doesn’t even begin to describe it.” He spit out the words. She didn’t understand, hadn’t walked in his shoes. How could she comprehend what he and Miles had been through? Although the ache of loss wasn’t as razor sharp as it had once been, he still struggled with the notion that someone had ended Kara’s life and taken her from them.
“Unless you’ve been through it, you wouldn’t get it.”
As soon as the words slid out of his mouth, Nick saw the shock on Harlow’s face and the hurt brimming in her eyes. He hadn’t meant to lash out at her, but all of his emotions were riding on the surface. He’d thought all of his anger had been extinguished, but with Baker’s release, everything inside him had been stirred up again. Embers had blazed into an inferno.
