Page 54 of Mistaken Identity
Audric growled in frustration.
“What?” I asked.
“Can you get them all inside?” he asked. “I’m hoping that most of them are still good.”
I inputted the code to get inside after he’d repeated it twice for me, then started to get the boxes in, not stopping until the fourteenth one was on the kitchen table of the most beautiful house I’d ever stepped inside of.
“Wow,” I breathed as I looked around.
My heart was literally pounding.
The house wasn’t the most opulent of houses I’d been inside of—that belonged to the Combs’ place—but this one had charm and quirks, while also having almost floor-to-ceiling windows in the back that likely overlooked a breathtaking view.
“They’re all inside. Do you want me to open them?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said. “You can put the good ones on the counter, and I’ll have you throw the bad ones in the trash when you leave.”
I got to work opening boxes while he explained why there were so many pineapples.
“So do you know the story of my mom and dad?” he asked.
Laney had shared a lot about Audric’s mom and dad.
“Yeah,” I said. “At least, as far as Laney shared. I know that your parents were having issues, and that your dad was planning to divorce your mom. And those divorce plans went out the window after your mother tried to kill herself.”
I swallowed hard at the thought, like I always did, of Audric finding his mother like that.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Dad stayed with Mom. Mom’s in a facility that helps her live her life with how she is now. Dad stays miserable. As does the woman that he truly loves.”
“Laney did tell me that your dad had met someone and fallen in love with her,” I explained.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He hadn’t exactly made a move, because Dad’s a good person, but he loved her. Realized what he was missing and went to follow through with his desires. I fully supported him, mostly because I didn’t think he needed to stay married to a woman that he didn’t love anymore. Or maybe never had. It sucked all the way around, and I knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to navigate. But the heart wants what it wants, and there’s no real way to tame it.”
I completely understood.
“Okay, so the pineapples fit in where?” I wondered, my belly tightening as I thought about who I’d always ‘wanted’ and could never have.
“Dad’s love of his life knows how much he likes pineapple. She sends them to him sporadically throughout the year when she’s thinking about him. Usually, she at least tells him when she sends them, though.”
“Maybe your dad should check on her,” I suggested. “Maybe there’s something wrong, and she couldn’t. Or maybe, she ordered them, meant to send out a text, and never go the chance to because she’s in a bad spot.”
“Let’s hope not, because I think that might strip away the only happiness Dad has left,” he grumbled.
I went through all the boxes and smiled.
“They’re all good. On the top box it says that they were only shipped out two days ago. They’re all perfect.” I set them all on the counter. “I could try to bring these home if you want me to.”
“No,” he grunted. “Dad was planning on getting out there this week anyway. He’ll just go early and eat them.”
“All of them?” I eyed the thirty pineapples.
“You underestimate how much my dad likes pineapple. And especially pineapple from Hawaii,” he said. “Have you ever tried it?”
“I’ve tried pineapple, but never ones from here specifically. What makes them so special?”
“Cut one up,” he suggested. “Pineapple cutter is in the top drawer next to the fridge.”
I moved into the kitchen, cutting up pineapple, and trying to contain all the juice.
