Page 64 of Quiet Confessions: Part Two

“Oh, Patience, it’s just horrible,” my mother sobs, and I sit up.

“What happened? Is it Tae?” I really can’t think of any other reason my mom would be sobbing right now.

“No, sweetie, your grandpa… His plane crashed… There were no survivors,” she wails, and I’m so fucking confused. Like yeah, that’s bad, but she hated the man.

“Oh, wow, umm…”

“I know, but don’t worry, darling, I am on a plane home and I will be there with you for the funeral and the reading of the will. You won’t be alone during this.” I scoff and bite my tongue.

“Yeah, okay.” I end the call and then laugh.

“What’s going on?” Nate asks me from beside Cal, and I shake my head.

“Richard James is dead and I guess my mom is on her way home. Gave me a load of shit about our wedding being an inconvenience earlier, but the thought of her not getting anything in the will is unheard of,” I mutter, then lay back down and close my eyes.

“Holy fuck,” Cal grumbles, and I laugh. I think I’m in shock. I should be crying right now. I mean, my grandpa wasn’t always evil. At one point, I think he really loved me, but after all the bullshit and truths that have been revealed lately, the only thing I can think is thank God he’s gone.

Now my family won’t be in danger. We just need to deal with Nixen, and then maybe I’ll be able to breathe easily again.

Chapter Nineteen

“Let’s get out of here,” I suggest the next morning at breakfast. It’s still a few weeks before the wedding, and with all the fucking doom and gloom going on, I need a vacation.

“Where would we go?” Pay asks, not even questioning it.

“Where would you like to go, rabbit?” I ask and she moves closer to me. Mouse bats at her ankle and she bends down to swoop her up into her arms.

“I haven’t been on a vacation since before my dad died. It’s been non-stop business classes, karate, and etiquette lessons. My mom and Tae were always leaving, but I had to stay behind.”

“We can’t go far,” Kian adds before standing up from the table. “We have Richard’s funeral and then the wedding. Maybe we could get away for a week after the reading of the will?”

Patience sits down and places Mouse on her lap. She’s been oddly calm considering her grandpa just died, but then again, their relationship hasn’t been the best since her birthday.

“What about the cabin? I haven’t been there in so long, but I think there was someone taking care of it the last time my mom mentioned it.”

I smile at the memories of our childhood. Swimming in the lake, making smores in the fire pit outside, catching lightning bugs at night. We used to spend three weeks there every summer.

“I think the cabin sounds great,” I mutter, trying to think of the logistics of everything. I’ll probably have to call Patience’s mom and ask permission. Contact whoever has the keys to the place. Maybe I can claim it’s a bachelor/bachelorette weekend since Pay and Cal said they didn’t want to celebrate.

“I have to call my dad today anyways, so I’ll ask him about the cabin. Why don’t you, Cal, and Pay go over to Richard’s house and get the things we need for the funeral.” Ki suggests as he walks over to the door and grabs his coat and shoes.

He has a lesson today, but the rest of us are skipping classes until tomorrow. Patience says she’s fine and hasn’t cried yet, but I know she’s going to break at some point. She may have hated Richard, but at one point she loved him.

He doted on her and called her his little princess. We didn’t know about the Mafia ties, but now things make sense.

“Let me know if you need anything. I will cancel my classes,” Ki says, then grabs his keys and walks over to Pay to give her a kiss.

“I love you,” he breathes, and she gives him a huge smile.

“I love you, too.”

Ki leaves and there’s just the four of us left sitting around the table. Rooke and Cal are digging into the French toast and Pay is still petting Mouse. I finish my coffee, then stand.

“When did you want to leave? No offense, rabbit, but your grandpa’s house gives me the fucking creeps, so I’d like to be in and out before dark,” I mutter and Cal laughs.

“It’s just an old, empty mansion, bro.” I shiver at the memory of playing hide-and-seek there when we were younger. I got locked in a closet and they didn’t find me for hours. I swear that place is haunted.

“We can go after I take a shower,” Patience says and I nod. She sets Mouse down and pushes her seat back. Cal stands too.

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