Page 176 of What's Left of Us

When I stand, I look down at her. “Do you think you’ll move on from your husband?”

Her hand twitches in mine. “One day. Yes.”

“You deserve that.”

“You do as well, Mr. Danforth.”

My lips twitch at the formality that draws a line between us again. “I suppose asking you out for appreciation coffee would be frowned upon even after our sessions end then?”

Slipping her hand out from mine, her smile grows as she steps back. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

That’s not a yes.

But it’s not a no, either.

“I hope you get everything you’re looking for in life,” she says as she opens the door for me. “I truly believe that you deserve it.”

It’s a goodbye if I ever heard one.

I stop as soon as I step into the hall. “If you ever decide to take me up on that coffee, you have my number.”

I know she won’t use it even before she says, “Goodbye, Lincoln.”

As I stare at the paper in my hand when the door closes behind me, it feels like I can breathe for the first time in a long time.

*

Beaugard steps ontothe screen in front of the podium lined with microphones, quieting the station from its mindless chatter. “I want to thank everyone for coming. As of today, the New York State Police, in partnership with the FBI, would like to announce the arrest of Nikolas Del Rossi of Middle Point for the following charges: criminal possession of a forged instrument, unlawfully concealing a will, false impersonation, and forgery in the first degree. Del Rossi is also being charged for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree after agents located cocaine during their search. At this time, this is an ongoing investigation. When we have more information, we’ll be sharing it with the public.”

The questions start from the reporters attending the press conference, but I tune them out, settling into my chair.

“You should get a dog,” my sister announces, popping another chip in her mouth as my mother tidies up the living room, even though I told her not to.

If she’s trying to lighten the mood from the interview happening on the TV, I welcome it. “I don’t know about that.”

“You’ve always wanted a dog.”

“Dogs take time.”

Hannah snorts. “What else are you doing with your life right now? You’re divorced and jobless.”

“Hannah!” our mother scolds.

I snort. “I’m divorced andretired.”

“And your ex-wife is apparently from an even more fucked-up family than ours,” she notes, pointing her Dorito toward the screen almost as if she’s impressed. “I knew something wasgoing on that you weren’t saying, but I didn’t think it’d be her father being arrested for all ofthat.”

Mom sighs. “Can you please clean up your language. It’s unladylike to swear.”

Since when has that ever stopped her? “Ma, your favorite word was shit for yeas.”

She stops dusting the shelf with old pictures I should really take down to glare at me. “Yes, because you and your sister were little shits growing up.”

Hannah and I start laughing.

She lets that go. “I can see why Georgia was estranged from her family if the FBI have been involved in whatever mess her father is tied to.”

I don’t enlighten her on anything I know. The less she knows, the better. “I wouldn’t feel too sorry for her. She’s clearly still supporting him.”

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