Page 65 of Indiscretion

Tears filled Molly’s eyes. “You don’t know everything!”

“Maybe not. But I know more than you.”

“Alright, alright.” I motioned with my hands for them to settle down. “Stop fighting. What time do you two go to bed anyway?”

Of course, Molly answered “eight thirty” at the same moment Ryder said “eleven.” I pointed to the girl. “Think I’m going to take her word on this one. Why don’t you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed?”

Ryder looked at my wrist. “Your bracelet is right.”

Forty-five minutes later, the little rugrats were in their room with the lights off. I doubted either of them was sleeping, both probably too worried about their mom. I wasn’t sure what would be worse, knowing your mother had leukemia or the shit youimaginedshe might have. It wasn’t the same situation, but I could still remember conjuring the absolute worst-case scenarios after my dad was arrested. I’d thought he was going to get the death penalty, because no one would tell me the truth. Adults sometimes think they’re protecting kids by keeping them in the dark, but all they’re really doing is scaring them and losing their trust.

At eleven o’clock, my phone buzzed with a text.

Naomi: I’m so sorry to take this long. They’re admitting my sister, but they don’t have any available beds, so she’s basically lying on a stretcher in the hall. I don’t want to leave her until she’s in a room.

I typed back.

Dawson: It’s no problem. Take as long as you need. I don’t have anywhere I have to be.

I watched as the little circles jumped around.

Naomi: I can’t thank you enough. How are the kids? I forgot to warn you not to play cards with Ryder. He taught himself how to count cards when he was five, and he’s gotten in trouble for hustling money out of the kids at school.

I smiled.

Dawson: He tried to get me to play, but I declined. They’re both sleeping now.

Naomi: Great, thanks. The ottoman in the living room opens. The cushion from the top lifts off and there are blankets and pillows inside if you want to try to get some sleep. The couch is pretty comfy. It’s where I’ve been sleeping. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Dawson: Don’t rush. I’m good. Really.

I didn’t think I’d fall asleep, but I must’ve dozed off sitting up, because I woke with a startle, falling over to one side somewhere around 1 AM. Tomorrow I had a pretty full day, and staying up all night didn’t land like it had in my early twenties, so rather than fight sleep anymore, I opened the ottoman and dug out a blanket and pillow. Slipping off my shoes, I tried to catch some actual shut-eye. But on my first big inhale, the smell of coconut wafted through my nose. My eyes sprung open.I’m not imagining it this time. It was the scent I’d caught around the office on a few occasions, and I was pretty sure it was coming from this pillow.

I turned my head, pushed my nose into the plushness, and took a deep whiff. My eyes closed.Definitely coconut.I took a second inhale, even though I was sure, because it smelled so damn good.Absolutely delicious. A clean scent mixed with something else—maybe vanilla—but there was no mistaking that the main scent was coconut. And it was on the pillow, so it had to be a face cream or a perfume, or possibly even a shampoo. And if I smelled it, there was no way in hell the head of whoever had been lying here didn’t smell it, too. Yet Naomi had made me think I was going crazy when I’d asked her if she was wearing the scent.

I tried to relax and ignore it for the longest time, but every time I breathed in, the smell made me more and more curious. Eventually, I pulled back the blanket and decided to do a little exploring in the bathroom. My first stop was the sink. There was a bottle of Softsoap antibacterial hand wash. I lifted it and brought it to my nose.Definitely not this.Next I opened the mirrored medicine cabinet. Inside was the usual array of things people kept—toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, Band-Aids, a few medicines—nothing coconut scented. So I turned to the shower and pulled back the dark purple curtain. Two shelves had been built into the tile. Nothing suspicious on the first one, so I started to lose hope. Then I picked up the first plastic bottle on the second shelf and turned it around to read the label.

Bumble and Bumble Crème de Coco Shampoo.

There was even a big coconut on the label. I lifted it to my nose and took a whiff.

Mmmm...That was it. As always, the smell made my mouth water. Though at the moment, it wasn’tfoodI was salivating for. The scent now made me think of the woman who wore it.Naomi has to know. She has to be doing it on purpose.

I stood there with the bottle in my hand for a long time, random questions rattling around in my head. At the forefront of them all was,why did she lie about it?

I supposed it could have been innocent enough. Maybe her sense of smell wasn’t that good. Women used a half-dozen products when they got ready, so perhaps by the time she finished her shower routine, the rest of the scents were more prominent.

Maybe that was it. Maybe she had no idea there was even coconut in this bottle.

But when I set the bottle back on the shelf, something else caught my eye.A coconut on a different bottle.Four different products were jammed onto that little shelf. I picked them up one at a time.

Bumble and Bumble Crème de Coco Conditioner

Native Coconut and Vanilla Body Wash

The last item wasn’t in a squeeze bottle; it was in a jar.

Dr. Teal’s Shea Sugar Body Scrub with Coconut Oil

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