Page 84 of Mind Pucked

“Take your time,” she says, back in mother mode.

“So, they never found his body, marked him as deceased after his body didn’t show up. The police were sure the brakes went out in her car, though it was never confirmed and honestly, I never asked.”

“Brakes not working as in…they were cut?” She puts two and two together.

“Maybe, and it’s more than likely since I found out what I did from Amelia.” I wish there was a way to not have to relive all this.

“Still not sure what Amelia has to do with any of this, but go on.” She smiles at me, fully invested in the story I’m spinning for her.

“Well, Amelia is Preston’s little sister,” I snap.

“Oh.” She pauses with her brow bunched. “Did you know that when you hired her…or dated her?’

“No,” I confirm. “And that’s the biggest issue here, but then I found out she essentially applied for the job as Hayden’s nanny because she too thought it was possible that her brother and my wife were sleeping together.”

“I see,” is all she says.

“But…” I pause, more for drama than anything. “It turns out that she thought the whole time that I might have known theywere sleeping together and killed her brother out of revenge…meaning she thought I was capable of killing Lyla too.”

“Oh, come now, there’s no way that girl thinks you killed your wife.” She snorts, obviously in disbelief.

“She doesn’t think that anymore,” I say flatly.

“What changed?”

“Well, she says that as she got to know me, she believed it less and less, but it took her running into her brother in Ohio while shopping to know for sure,” I say, the hurt flooding me all over again.

“He’s alive?” She clutches her chest as if holding on to a string of pearls she isn’t wearing.

“Yes, and that’s not all…he’s been in hiding after finding out that he and Lyla were supposedly brother and sister,” I say, still not sure I believe any of this. “I guess Amelia’s father is some sort of mob or Mafia boss, and after finding out that his only son and heir to whatever fucked-up family business they have going on is no longer his son and heir…well, hehandled it—” I say the last two words with air quotes. “Taking my wife down with him. But, Mom…” I pause as I think about the possible implication of my mother knowing all this. “I don’t know how much of the Mafia thing I believe, but if it’s true, you could be in danger for just knowing all this.”

“Did Amelia know before all this that her father was a bad guy?” she wonders. “Because if that woman knew and put my grandbaby in danger, this grandma is going to have more than words.”

“She says she didn’t know until Preston enlightened her that day,” I admit.

“So, you broke up with Amelia for her father being involved in something she didn’t even know about?” she snaps, now back on Amelia’s side obviously.

“No, I broke up with her because she thought I was capable of not only murdering her brother, but my own wife, and the whole time she pretended to not even know them,” I begin. “She let me talk about Lyla and the accident like it was all new to her, and the whole time she was playingNancy DreworCriminal Mindson her own, unintentionally jeopardizing all of us.”

“I see,” is all my mother says.

Those two words exasperate me to no end.

Deep down, I’m glad my mom showed up. She’s really the only person I have to confide in. Sure, I have all the guys, but I can’t talk to them about all this.

My father and I have a decent relationship, but not one where we can just open up like this. There’s something about my mother that just makes me feel comfortable enough to talk.

The truth of it all is that while my father is a great granddad to Hayden, our relationship has been strained since I was younger. He never emoted much, and that made me grow up thinking men weren’t supposed to feel things, or at least were not supposed to show they were feeling things. When Lyla passed, he made me feel like my pain wasn’t worth all the tears and anger.

Anger…I recall all that anger I felt even up to the point Amelia came along. So much of it consumed me on so many occasions. Ihadn’t felt that anger in so many months until recently, and now that’s all I feel all over again.

“Well, that certainly is a lot to take in, now isn’t it?” Mom says with a little smile as she brings her teacup back up to her lips and takes a sip.

“Yeah, and even though I’ve had a little bit of time to process it all, it’s still just as hard to get through,” I admit to her. “It’s a lot to unpack, and even harder to deal with emotionally. You know how much I struggle in that department anyway.”

“I wish that wasn’t the case,” she says, giving the back of my hand a little pat. “So, they weren’t having an affair…that’s something.” She looks into the distance as if looking for something more to say.

“Nope, no affair, and apparently they were siblings.” I roll my eyes at how ridiculous this whole thing seems now that I’ve spoken it out loud.

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