Page 37 of Loud Unspoken Memories

Crunching some numbers, I grin at the photo of Phoebe and DJ on my desk. Everything I do is for them. I work my ass off so the winery will one day make my son as rich as my father. No, richer. Because that little boy deserves the world. And I damn well plan to give it to him.

I’m vaguely aware of Dad, Lucas, and the others leaving as I concentrate on finishing up. I lose track of time and curse myself when I see it’s nearly seven. I hate to be late for dinner, which Phoebe always plans for seven-thirty. I’d better get a move on.

There’s movement in my doorway as I shut my laptop. It’s Dad. And he looks… off.

“I thought you left already,” I say.

“I was on my way home when I got a call.” He swallows, a greenish hue to his skin.

“A call from who?”

“It was… Patrick Kelsey.”

The hesitation with which he says it has dread pooling inside me like poison. Patrick Kelsey is a firefighter/paramedic. He’s a lieutenant in the Calloway Creek Fire Department. Dread turns into outright panic when I see the look on Dad’s face. He looks almost… broken.

Patrick called him. He turned around and came back. That means whatever he’s here to tell me, he had to say it in person.

I bolt out of my chair. “What is it? Is it DJ? Phoebe?”

Tears flood his eyes. His forehead creases with heavy lines. What he’s about to tell me is going to destroy me.

“Sit, Dallas.”

“I don’t want to fucking sit. Tell me.”

He swipes a thumb under his eyes then wipes his nose. “It’s… both of them. There’s been an accident.”

My gut twists into one large knot. “An accident? In a car? Are they in the hospital?” I check my phone. “Why didn’t anyone call me? Why’d he callyou?”

When he doesn’t say anything, I begin to understand. The rug is pulled out from underneath me. I stumble to the wall and slide down until my ass hits the floor.

Nobody called me because they wanted to be sure someone was with me when I heard the news. Nobody called me because there’s nothing I can do. Nobody called me because… because… I look up and ask the question that will ruin the rest of my goddamn life. “Are they dead?”

My father blinks. I can tell he’s trying to hold it together. He’s trying to hold it together because he knows I’m about to completely fall apart. He sniffs then sighs heavily. “Yes, son. They are.”

All the air in my lungs vanishes. My stomach clenches. Bile riles in my throat. I turn and hurl all over the floor of my office. On hands and knees, I retch and heave until there’s nothing left and my throat is burning and raw.

Arms come around me, holding me tight. “Dallas. Baby, I’m s-so s-sorry.”

My mother’s words try to soothe me. When did she get here? Pained cries, almost as loud as my own, echo in the doorway. My sister Allie is here. Snot runs down her face as she sobs into Lucas’s shoulder. Dad stands stoically to the side, his body shaking as he attempts to keep from falling apart like the rest of us.

“No!” I get off the floor, unsteady on my feet, and head for the door. “It’s not true. It can’t be. They would have been athome. She’s always cooking dinner right now. Someone got the facts wrong. I have to go find them.”

Dad holds me back as I try to pass. “Dallas, they were at home.”

I shrug his hands off me. “What are you talking about? You said there was an accident.”

“There was, but not in a car.”

“Quit being so goddamn cryptic and tell me what the fuck happened.”

“Patrick said it was carbon monoxide.”

“No,” I say forcefully. “No.” Fully in denial now, I try to push past my father and siblings. “You’ve got it wrong. Everyone has it wrong.”

Dad grips me tightly. “Son, they’re gone. I’m sorry. To the depths of my soul, I’m sorry. But they’re gone.”

I crumble into him as his words sink in for the second time. He supports my weight as my mother, Allie, and Lucas come up behind me. They form a circle around me, hugging me and holding me up from every angle as sobs bellow out from all of us. The only one missing is Blake. He’s at school. But I know the instant he finds out, he’ll be here too.

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