Page 36 of Husband Missing

Her eyes were locked on the mermaid as she started to get out of the vehicle. Josie put a hand on her forearm to stop her. “Trin, listen. When you see him?—”

Trinity looked back at Josie. “It’ll be fine.”

Before Josie could say anything more, the front door opened and Dex shuffled out, squinting against the afternoon sun. One hand shielded his eyes, keeping the worst of Lila’s fury out of sight for now. “Help you?”

Josie hopped out and walked toward him. “It’s me, Dex. JoJo.”

She didn’t go by JoJo anymore. Only little Harris got to call her that, but that’s how Dex had always known her. He stepped forward and smiled. “JoJo? Josie Quinn!”

He ambled down the porch steps and embraced her. As her arms wrapped around him, she realized he was a lot thinner than the last time they’d met, no longer as burly. His jeans andfaded flannel shirt hung loose on his tall frame. He smelled like oak and chestnut.

“Good to see you,” he said into Josie’s hair before releasing her.

Josie turned just as Dex offered Trinity a hand. She sensed her sister’s shock, but Trinity gave nothing away, shaking his hand and introducing herself with a perfect television smile.

“The famous reporter,” Dex said. “Nice to meet you. I saw theDatelines. Long time ago. I was glad to see you were reunited.”

Josie noticed that Trinity couldn’t help but sneak small glances at the left side of Dex’s face where the skin looked as though someone had tried to melt it away. The burn marks were widespread, gnarled in some places and mottled in others. The fire had taken a portion of his hair from behind his temple, leaving an uneven bald patch of thick scar tissue. The glass eye that filled his socket helped diminish some of the horror of his disfigurement, but every time Josie saw him, she felt like Lila was right there, hollowing out her guts with a paring knife.

Handsome Dex with his heart of gold had to bear the marks of Lila’s special brand of cruelty for the rest of his life and even after all these years, Josie felt like it was her fault. She should have known better than to accept his kindness. In the year he’d lived with them, he had parented Josie more than Lila ever had. He’d been good at it. Driving her back and forth to school. Helping with her homework. Buying her books he thought she would like. Taking her to the hospital when she needed stitches. Caring for her when she got sick. Making sure she had enough to eat.

When she wanted to go to the freshman formal dance with Ray, Dex had paid for her to buy a dress and asked his cousin, who owned a salon, to do Josie’s hair and makeup. He’d even driven them to and from the dance. That was the final straw for Lila. After she set fire to his pillow while he slept, Josie hadmanaged to put out the flames that had engulfed his head, but the damage was done. They’d never been able to prove it to the police, but Josie knew Lila had set the fire. To this day, she could still see the smug, satisfied look on Lila’s face as she watched Josie guide Dex outside to get help.

Dex’s long sigh brought Josie out of her thoughts. “You can’t keep blaming yourself, kiddo. I made my peace with it a long time ago. I don’t regret a thing. You needed someone in your life back then and I’m glad I was the one who got to be there.”

His words caused another crack in her armor. Dangerous emotion surged forth, so close to the surface she couldn’t speak. She’d needed to hear this for such a long time. Or maybe she just hadn’t been ready to hear it until now. The last time she saw him, he’d told her it wasn’t her fault. The sentiment had bounced off her, never penetrating the thick cloak of blame she wore. This was different.Hewas different.

“I hoped once Lila passed on, you’d maybe make your own peace, but it doesn’t seem like she’s content to leave us alone, even from the grave, does it?”

Josie shook her head, still unable to speak.

Trinity said, “Do you know why we’re here?”

Dex nodded. “I can guess. There’s a Denton PD officer missing, and the state police just stopped by asking about my ‘association’ with Lila.”

“That Denton PD officer is Josie’s husband,” Trinity told him. “My brother-in-law.”

“Well, shit.” Dex scratched at his neck where the scarring gave way to smooth, unblemished skin. “I’m sorry, Josie. Better come on in then. You’re going to want to hear what I told them. I should have just called you when it happened, but I wasn’t sure it meant anything.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Josie hadn’t been inside Dex’s house the last time she visited. The furniture was mismatched, some of it new and some so old it looked antique. It gave the home a quirky, cozy feel, like the aesthetic was a choice, not the result of a single male purchasing things out of practicality with no thought to anything else. What marked the place as unmistakably belonging to Dex were the miniature wood carvings in various stages of completion on every surface. Most were animals or mythical creatures, just like his larger pieces.

There was evidence of someone else living in the house as well. A pair of sneakers too small to belong to him were discarded just inside the door. Scattered across the coffee table was a lip gloss, a paperback book calledBoss Girlby Emma Tallon, and a pair of silver hoop earrings. Josie was seated next to Trinity on the couch, looking around, wondering if he had a girlfriend and hoping that if he did, she was good to him, when she noticed a mug half-filled with coffee on one of the end tables. It was blue with a picture of a golden trophy on it. Below that were the words:World’s Greatest Dad.

“You have kids?” Josie blurted out.

Dex took a seat in a wingback chair next to the couch, angling his body so he faced them. He smiled, only the unharmed side of his mouth lifting. “I do. A daughter. She’s out with a friend.”

“You didn’t say anything the last time I was here. I didn’t even know you were with someone.” She hadn’t asked. Too wrapped up in Lila to think about anything or anyone else. Shame poked at the armor around her heart.

“I wasn’t,” Dex said. “I haven’t had a girlfriend in years. In fact, her mother was a one-night stand. She never even told me that she was pregnant or anything. I only found out I had a little girl five years ago. Her mom died in a car accident, and I got a call from the department of health and human services telling me this nine-year-old kid was mine. Paternity test confirmed it.”

“Wow,” said Trinity. “That must have been a shock.”

Dex laughed. “I’ll say. It’s been an adjustment, but we do okay. Seems all she does is complain about me now that she’s a teenager but God, I love her big. Best thing that ever happened to me.”

The pride in his eyes was unmistakable. This was exactly the kind of happiness Josie had always wished for him. The kind only love could bring. Love that was steadfast and uncomplicated in its purity and ferocity, in the certainty it brought to every facet of your life. The kind of love that fulfilled you and made you whole, knitting together all the damaged pieces that trauma and loss had ripped from the fabric of your soul. It was exactly what Noah had given her. Exactly what they hoped to give a child one day.

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