Page 60 of The Deadly Candies

“Nice seein’ you again, Janey,” he added.

Janey didn’t acknowledge him; her gaze returned to the road ahead.

Doogie tapped the truck, and Ely pressed forward. The road grew rougher as they drove deeper in. Tall grass swallowed the tires, the truck’s engine straining as Ely forced it through the overgrowth. Cicadas screamed in the humid air, their shrill cries adding an eerie edge to the journey.

Kathy watched her aunt carefully.

Though Janey remained still, Kathy noticed the way her fingers trembled against her lap. Behind those dark lenses, tears dripped silently down her cheeks.

Kathy reached over and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

Janey squeezed back.

“Did your Mama ever tell you what happened to our mother here?” Janey mumbled.

Kathy hesitated. “Yes, ma’am. She told me the whole story.”

Janey stared ahead, skepticism twisting her lips.

“I doubt she did,” she muttered bitterly.

“She told me about the cherries,” Kathy said. “How cherries work the best.”

Janey’s head snapped around so fast she nearly knocked her sunglasses off.

Kathy held her gaze. “Mama isn’t what you think she is,” she said softly. “She’s human too, Aunt Janey. And she rememberseverything, just like you.”

Janey didn’t speak.

She simply wiped her tears, adjusting her sunglasses like she needed a shield between herself and the past.

Kathy studied her in silence. Janey was beautiful and desirable, a woman who could command any room she walked into. But beneath all that poise, Kathy saw something deeper—someone who had her soulbroken.

Her mother had found her salvation in religion.

Kathy wondered how Janey had found hers.

Or if she even had.

Ely brought the truck to a slow stop. The cabin was barely standing. Time and nature had claimed it, vines curled around the rotting wood like they were trying to pull it back into the earth. There was a hole in the roof, and a young tree had forced its way through, its branches stretching toward the sky. The windows shattered, and the front door barely hung from rusted hinges. The grass grew so high it nearly swallowed the cabin whole.

It looked like a place where ghosts lived.

Ely exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hanky. “Let me check it out first,” he offered.

But before he could even move, Janey threw open the door and jumped out. She marched straight into the tall grass, like a woman possessed.

“Stay in the truck,” Ely told Kathy. “I’ll take care of her.”

“No.” Kathy shook her head. “Iwantto see it, too.”

Ely groaned. “You women are so damn stubborn.”

Still, he sighed and walked around the truck, helping her down like she was made of glass.

She smiled at his protectiveness, squeezing his hand. He was like a big brother to her. Of course, she told Carmelo about their friendship and how much it helped. He had made a few comments that seem to be a bit jealous. Kathy thought it cute, and didn’t really mind it. Ely was her family. That would never change.

Together, they followed Janey toward the house.

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