Page 10 of Stone Cold Sinner

“I don’t know, Dev. You’re not like us, and I mean that in the best possible way,” Nash said, speaking for all of them. “You don’t have to stay here. You don’t have to choose a specific path –– you have options. You can break the proverbial cycle.”

“Proverbial?” Coy teased. “You know what that word means?”

“Of course I do. She isn’t the only one with brains in this family. Hers is just… bigger,” he conceded.

“Debatable,” Coy teased.

“Ffff… I mean…” Nash looked first to Nora, who offered him a death glare for the words he was about to shed in front of the children, then to the little one who hung on his every word. “Phooey, big brother. Be… nice.”

Nora nodded, approving of his reworked choice of words.

“I’m not quitting. I want to be a lawyer more than anything, and I always have, but that’s the problem. I’m also a Stone and want to be a Stone too… before it’s too late.”

“Honey, Mama was sick. She lived a good life. There’s lots of years left for all of us,” Coy said.

“Coy, I love you, but we don’t know that there’s a lot of years left… You, of all people, understand that better than most,” Devyn said gently, referring to his wife, who was murdered at such a young age.

Coy nodded his head, and his focus shifted to his intertwined fingers and twiddling thumbs, unwilling to go to that headspace. “I understand and support whatever decision you make as long as it includes finishing school.”

“And I will.”

“I think we’re all feeling a certain kind of way with Mama gone now. It’s good to be home with everyone here,” Dillon said. “Maybe we all need this time together.”

“I still don’t know how we missed it. She didn’t seem sick,” Coy said. “I know we weren’t all here to her day to day, but she sounded fine on the phone, seemed active still, and even on video chats, she looked great.”

“Don’t beat yourselves up over that too much,” Cut said. “We saw her every damn day and didn’t see it either.”

“We just thought maybe she was slowing down a bit,” Nora added. “Seemed natural for her age. I never would’ve guessed she was sick.”

“She hid it well. Didn’t want to burden anyone, I guess?” Coy said.

“And to think we basically read people for a living.” Dillon chuckled. “Maybe we need to rethink our line of work.”

“Nah, Ma just knew how to get past the radar.” Coy grinned. “She was tough. So damn tough.”

“Wait.” Devyn sat taller in her seat and turned to Nash. “You knew.”

Nash began to squirm. “Excuse me?”

“At the funeral the other day. You said you knew her nurse. How? That means you knew Mama was sick.”

“Don’t you all go looking at me now,” Nash warned. “I didn’t do nothin’ wrong. Mama… Well, she threatened me. She told me to keep it to myself.”

“For how long?” Coy asked.

“For… a while.” Nash was being vague with his answer.

“How long is a while?” Coy demanded.

“Quite… a while?” Nash shrugged.

“That’s not exactly a measure of time, Nash.”

“Coy, now, you’re asking me to go back on my word, see… And I promised. Gave my word. Swore on Pop’s grave that I’d… keep her secret.”

“Oh my God. You knew all along, didn’t you?” Devyn asked.

“Well, not exactly all along.”

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