Page 75 of (Un)Rivaled

FORTY-ONE

“Oh shit,” I groaned as I woke up, my body and back sore from the ancient mattress. After the poker game ended, it was late, so Devyn and I decided to crash in my room above the garage. My parents didn’t question it, just making sure we would be comfortable up here. I thought we would be, at least until I remembered this mattress was from the eighties and a far cry from the high-priced one I had up at the cabin.

It was still dark as I tried to stretch out my sore muscles, so I grabbed my phone to get the time.2:28. I turned to check to make sure Devyn was sleeping okay when I found the spot next to me empty. Maybe it was everything we’d been working on lately, but my hackles instantly rose, unsure if our past had finally caught up to us. But there was no sign of a struggle, nothing missing except for my wife.

I climbed out of bed to search for her, and my heart hammered in my chest. In the past, I would have asked a million questions, wondering what I had done to scare her off. But now, I knew what we shared, and I knew both of us were all in. We both wore our rings, and despite them being on the opposite hands, they symbolized our unbreakablebond. Devyn wouldn’t have gone far, not without me at her side.

As I pulled open the garage door, I heard a soft oof, and Devyn stumbled at my feet. I chuckled as I looked down at her and Elsa, who lay curled up around her feet. “Whatcha doing out here, Ace?”

She held up the journal and a flashlight in her hands. “Couldn’t sleep. No offense, but that bed has seen better days.” She brought the book back down to her lap. “Thought I’d get some more reading done, but I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Never disturbing me, Devy.” I sat down at her side, reading over her shoulder. The notes were hard to process at the late hour, especially considering half of them were written in code. “Getting anywhere with those?”

She shook her head. “I think I’ve figured out a couple of the symbols, but not enough to make any kind of progress.” She pointed to one section of the page. “I’m 85% sure this is talking about meeting with someone. Can’t make out who or why though, so it’s pretty much useless.”

I put my arm around her shoulder and brought her against me. After brushing a kiss on the top of her head, I took the notebook and closed it. “You’re going to get it, Ace. I know you will. But you also need to rest.”

“I know.” She nodded, then looked up at me. “But since we’re both awake, there’s something I want to run by you.” I kept quiet, letting her continue. “After going through all my dad’s things, it made me realize how long it’s been since I visited his grave. I think…” She sighed. “I think I want to go see him tomorrow. Maybe that will help me clear out all this brain fog.”

“I think that’s a great idea.” I squeezed her a little tighter. “If you want, I can come with you.”

“If it’s okay, I think I need to do this by myself.”

I tilted her chin up and stole a kiss from her lips. “More than okay, Ace. You need me after, I’ll be there.” As we stood, I glanced at the journal in my hand. “You know—there’s someone else who might be able to decode these journals.”

“Who?”

“My dad,” I answered. “They were best friends, and your dad helped mine set up everything with the restaurant. If he’s lucid, he might be able to help us with some of these symbols.”

“Are you sure?” Devyn asked. “I don’t want him to get upset.”

“I’ll tread lightly,” I answered. “If he doesn’t want to talk about Peter, I won’t push it. But if it could help, it’s worth a shot.”

As we walked back into the bedroom, Devyn turned and wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you for being here, Gray. It means more than you know.”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be, Ace.”

The following day,Devyn headed out early to check in with Laurel. Between the journals and their debate about including Calla in the investigation, they had a lot to discuss. While she was gone, I had a laundry list of tasks to do myself, such as helping my mom prep for the new night nurse’s arrival and seeing if my dad could be any help with the code we’d found.

“Do you think she’s going to need anything else?” my mom asked, looking around my dad’s room. “Maybe some magazines or something to keep her occupied?”

The room had changed a lot over the past year, especially after my mom moved into the guest room down the hall. On one end, their bed sat where it always had. But on the other side of the room, they’d cleared away my mom’s desk and sewing machine, exchanging it for a recliner and a small TV for my father so he didn’t have to bother with the stairs if he was having an off day.

He sat there now, watching my mother as she fluttered around his space. My dad tried to get up and help a few times, but after my mom kept shooing him back to his chair, he gave up, all too happy to sit and watch her.

“Mom,” I sighed, rubbing my fingers over my eyes. “She’s here to work. You don’t need to worry about anything else. She’ll have it covered.”

“I want her to feel comfortable,” my mother insisted as she folded up another blanket and tucked it next to the chair. When she caught my eye, she shrugged. “What? It gets drafty in here, and I don’t want her to get cold.”

“Okay, Mom.” I took the blanket from her hands and led her over to where my dad now stood. “Now, I know you like people to feel welcome in your home, but this is going a bit far, don’t you think?”

“You know he’s right, Marta.” My dad pulled her into his arms. “Want to tell me what’s really going through your mind?”

My mother sighed and dropped her head against his chest. “I hate feeling so helpless. When we got married, I promised you I’d be there in sickness and health. And now…” Her voice trailed off as she turned to the end table, where a picture from their wedding lived. “I’ve failed you.”

My father pulled back and searched my mother’s eyes. As much as I wanted to turn and give them a moment, I couldn’t. I’d grown up watching them show their love in avariety of ways, never hiding for a moment how much they cared for each other. When I was younger, sure, it made me a little nauseous, but now that I knew these moments wouldn’t last forever, I let them enjoy them without interruption.

“You haveneverfailed me, Marta. Not once in almost forty years. You’ve given me a home, a son, and the best damn life I could have imagined. No matter what comes next, I wouldn’t change a single damn thing.”

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