Page 15 of The Life We Left Behind

Booker wasn’t exactly on the best of terms with the rest of the family. Moving out here had been the best move he’d ever made but it had meant that our mother had finally turned her back on him. And with her, the rest of the family had followed, more or less. It was nearly impossible for Book to speak with our father without her there, and the rest of the Farrington boys weren’t exactly in town anymore. Xander had run off to the city to be some big-shot doctor, and, well, Gage had just plain run off. It had been years since any of us had heard from him.

It was the reason why the family business had fallen on my shoulders, even though I was the youngest. It should have been Booker who took up the reins, being the eldest. That was how it had always gone in every other generation. I didn’t resent him for it. It would have been hard to once I saw him out here. I might be slightly jealous of the freedom he’d found, but there was nothing malicious about it. Besides, despite the pressures that came with it, I did enjoy what I did.

“No. I’m going to use the same lawyer who dealt with the divorce.”

Booker nodded in satisfaction. He didn’t need to say that using the family lawyer would have meant that the charges would be dropped and everything swept under the rug. I’d seen it happen enough times to know that already. Using my own lawyer kept all the control firmly in my hands exactly where I wanted it to be. I was done being bossed around by my own mother. I was taking control of my life, and that started by getting my stalker ex out of it.

“Whatever you need, brother. I’m here.” Booker tucked back into his breakfast, and I knew that was the last he had to say on the matter.

Some people might find him rude or abrupt, but the truth of it was that no one would ever have my back like Booker did. No matter what, my brother would always be in my corner. He was possibly the only person in the world who really knew who I was anymore.

“What have you got going on for today?” I asked casually, sinking back into my seat with my coffee in hand.

I went to loosen the tie at my collar only to realize that I’d never even put one on. Luckily, I had a change of clothes at the office because I had a meeting later this afternoon and absolutely no desire to go back to the house anytime soon. I’d deal with the mess eventually, but for now I needed a few hours of normalcy before heading back into the drama.

As Booker started to tell me about the new horse he’d picked up at auction, I sipped at my coffee and let his words wrap around me. Val slunk back to her basket in the corner once the food was gone. Her ears pricked as she dozed in the softness, ever the watchful presence. My mind didn’t even drift to the deal I’d been tirelessly working on. That was the magic of this place that Booker had built. You could leave the world at the front gate and sink into the peace of the refuge he’d built. It was part of the magic here.

CHAPTER SIX

DELANEY

Here I was again, sitting in the car, hands gripping the steering wheel and staring at the front door of my childhood home.

What was I even doing?

There was nothing in there to be afraid of. No monster hiding in the closets or Farrington matriarchs sitting in the shadows.

Just as I went to reach for the door handle, my cell phone trilled inside my handbag.

“Oh, thank fuck,” I whispered, rummaging in the bag until I pulled the phone free.

Checking the screen, I smiled. This was exactly what I needed.

“Hey, monkey,” I said as I answered the call. I put the phone on speaker as I slid the car seat back and made myself comfortable.

“Mom! We had donuts for breakfast, but Blake says you can’t freak out because she made me eat an apple as well.” I couldn’t help but laugh at his excited chatter.

Blake was right. I would have freaked out. I was in the mean mom category because sugar was never a breakfast choice inour house, but Cade deserved a treat once in a while. Especially when she was no doubt trying to take his mind off what had happened and that, for the first time in his life, we were apart.

“Well, as long as you had an apple, I guess that’s okay.”

“You sound happy,” he told me quietly.

“I’m always happy when I’m talking to you, monkey.”

“So…what’s it like at Grandad’s house?” His happy voice of seconds before had fallen to sad curiosity, and I realized that Cade was exactly the person I wanted to talk to about this. Because out of everyone in the world, this kid got me. And he knew exactly what I was going through right now.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m kind of sitting outside in the car still,” I admitted.

He hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “It’s okay to be sad, Mommy. Aunty Blake told me that funerals are how we say goodbye to the people we love, and so we can tell them all the things we never had a chance to before. Maybe you can do that now for Grandpa without everyone listening to what you need to say.”

How did kids always see down to the truth of everything when we adults only tried to make it complicated?

“You’re super smart, you know.”

“Yeah, I get it from my mom,” he joked.

Clearing my throat, I grabbed my bag and finally climbed out of the car. “Are you excited about your game tonight?”

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