Page 65 of Deceiving Grier

I felt bad knowing that because of the time it took traveling from Saltwater Cove to Cedar Creek, the bulk of the planning was falling on my mother and Fiona, but the truth was, most of the decisions and arrangements my father had made himself months ago, so there wasn’t a whole lot of planning left to do.

My father had always needed to control every part of his life, so it wasn’t any real surprise that he would want to control the details of his death.

“How are they, Mom and Fiona?” I asked.

“They’re holding up.” Marty’s gaze kept flicking over my shoulder to Sawyer.

I sighed inwardly. I still hadn’t decided how I was going to introduce him. We were only here for a few days. Would it be worth making my mother uncomfortable after she’d just lost her husband? We had the hotel too. We would only have to pretend when we were with my family. Still, that I had tomademe want to grind my teeth.

“This is Sawyer,” I said.

“I’m his roommate,” Sawyer added, taking a step forward to shake Marty’s hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Marty said, then gestured to the younger man sitting on the sofa. “This is Paisley’s friend, Ethan.”

“I’m really sorry about your dad,” the kid said, eyes drifting to the carpet while he rubbed the back of his hand.

I swallowed hard. “Thanks.”

“Your mom and Fi are in the kitchen, heating something up so we can eat before the visitation.”

Sawyer and I left the living room and made our way into the kitchen, where my mother was taking out a bubbling lasagna from the oven. She’d clearly enlisted both my sisters to help. Fiona stood at the counter putting together a salad while Paisley sliced up a baguette.

“I’m home,” I said, doing my best to ignore the cold sweat those two words brought to my skin.

Paisley looked up from the bread and let out a squeal before throwing herself at me. I’d just barely lifted my casted arm out of the way before her arms were around my torso, the side of her face pressed to my chest.

Fiona had set down the salad tongs, staring at my broken arm. “What happened to you?”

Heat crept into my face. “I fell down some stairs. It was dark, and I missed the first step.”

There was no way I was going to tell them about break-ins or intruders. They had enough to deal with right now.

Paisley stepped back, a frown clouding her previously bright expression. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now, really,” I said.

Fiona came around from the other side of the counter and hugged me too, but with less enthusiasm than Paisley. Through this exchange, my mother had yet to say anything. Her gaze was fixed on Sawyer, lips pressed together so tightly they’d all but disappeared.

She’d never looked at anyone Fiona or Paisley brought home with the same narrowed-eyed scrutiny she’d turned on Sawyer. Fiona and Paisley never had to pretend their boyfriends were anyone besides who they claimed to be, just to be close to them. A fissure of anger pierced the cold hollowness gripping my insides.

“This is Sawyer,” I said, reaching down and lacing my fingers with his. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. I glanced at him, and he shot me a faint smile. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m so sorry for your loss,” Sawyer said.

My mother’s mouth pursed even tighter, but she finally pulled that hard stare from Sawyer, settling it on me instead. “I wish you had told me you were bringing someone home. Fiona and Marty are staying here tonight, so there isn’t an extra bed. I suppose yourfriendcould sleep on the sofa in the den.”

“It’s fine. Mom,” I said. “We’re staying at a hotel.”

Something close to real anger flashed across her face but was quickly replaced with general disapproval so quickly I wondered if I’d seen it at all. “That’s ridiculous, Grier. Why wouldn’t you stay in your own home? What will people think, you and thispersonin a hotel instead of your own home?”

“Sawyer,” I said, through gritted my teeth. “His name is Sawyer.”

My mother’s expression hardened. “Maybe it would be best for Sawyer to stay at the hotel, and you to stay here with your family who needs you.”

“As you said, you have a full house right now, and our flight out Tuesday is early. It makes more sense for us to stay near the airport.”

My mother opened her mouth to argue, but Fiona cut her off. “The food’s getting cold.”

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