Page 197 of Come Back to Me

“She says Clyde killed Uncle Clay.”

“She’s sick,” Mrs. Abelman inserts. “As much as I think he’s capable of that andworse, you can’t take her word for it. Blanche told me that she doesn’t know her head from her tail some days.”

“That’s why I can’t take a statement. It’s not like I’m going to open an investigation into his death.” Cody pins Mrs. Abelman with a look. “Did either of you suspect anything?”

“That your father killed his brother?” Mrs. Abelman laughs. “Of course.”

Lindsay mutters, “Especially after Clay tried to help us escape.”

A stillness settles over the table.

Colt’s the first to break it with a growled, “What?”

Honestly, men—why can’t they justtalk?!

“Do you seriously think I wanted to leave you with that monster? After I got away, do you know how close I was to...” Her eyes close. “Only Ida kept me going with her updates aboutyou. But that wasn’t enough. I started following Cole around and then Cody when he enlisted. You when you were in Saskatoon.

“T-There was never anything I could do with Callan, not without it getting back to Clyde. But god, I tried. In the end, I had to start working because I was going crazy. Hell, I still am. And I’m here. With my babies.”

“What happened?” Cody asks, but his tone’s so cool that I know he’s compartmentalizing.

I’ve barely been around to witness when he does that, but I already hate it. The way his eyes darken and his features lock down. It’s not him. Not my Butch.

“There was another baby... after Cole,” Lindsay confesses. “Clyde wasn’t happy about me getting pregnant again. He usedto think I was having an affair. With your father for the most part, Zee.”

I can’t be the only one who notices the guilt-ridden look between Mrs. Abelman and Lindsay.

“But the baby was his.” She bites out a laugh. “How could it be anyone else’s? I never so much as peeped at another man. I was too terrified to. But he didn’t agree with contraceptives either and saying ‘no’ certainly didn’t matter with him. When I told him, he was furious. One push down the stairs and the baby was no longer a problem.”

Cody’s shoulders straighten. “That time you had your appendix out?—”

“It wasn’t my appendix. I only managed to keep Callan because he had business away that year. He spent half his time in the US. He still believed I was having an affair though. I-I always wondered if he was the reason your father died so prematurely, Zee. I’m so sorry if he had anything to do with it.”

Colt clamps his arm around Zee when she gasps. “What happened with Uncle Clay?”

“He had contacts. He tried to get us out. Together. As a family. But Clyde knew. He always knew. I wasn’t surprised when Clay died after that. Even if he was young.

“I can easily see why Clay would keep Elena a secret, not that I think it was fair of him to bring her into this mess of a family.

“Leaving any of you was never something I wanted to do. I-I only left in the end because I-I…” Her eyes close but tears still trickle freely from them. “After Clay died and Clyde inherited—he was busy. Flying out all the time, overseeing some investments he made. I-I was pregnant and scared. I took a chance. It was risky, and in the end, it never worked out.” She swipes at her cheeks. “Do you remember that time I told you we were going to visit Grandma? In the UK?”

Colt’s eyes narrow, but slowly, like he’s regurgitating a long-buried memory, he murmurs, “Yeah. I remember that. It seemed… strange. Out of the blue. We were all reeling from Clay… But you said it was a good time for us to catch our breaths?”

“The road trip!” Cody blurts out.

“Where… Calgary?” Callan inserts weakly, his face blanching.

Zee and I share a look, dread etched into our expressions.

“Yes. W-We got as far as Calgary. I told you that’s where we were visiting. But we weren’t. We were going to the airport?—”

“The Mounties stopped us! They pulled you over,” Cody spat.

“The Mounties said I’d been drinking.”

Mrs. Abelman snags her hand and holds it tight. “I had to come and collect you boys.Hesent me to Calgary while he dealt with your mother—he’d tucked her away in one of his damn hotels.” She barks out a laugh. “I took you to that damn theme park. Filled you so full of sugar to help you forget. It was all you talked about for days after.

“Colt kept on asking where Lindsay was, and I said she was being held back because of multiple traffic violations.” Her gazeis fond as she glances at the woman beside her. “An easy lie seeing as you were always speeding.”

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