Page 112 of Beautiful, Violent

“I’m happy for you. And thank you for telling me.” When he smiles I realize it’s the first time I’ve seen him smile in a long damn time. Rigger rarely shows emotion, other than frustration or impatience. Or worry. He’s shown that emotion a lot with me. And frustration, now that I think about it.

“You’re welcome.”

“Let me know how it goes?”

“Sure.” I press the button on my fob, chirping my car unlocked. Rigger takes a step backwards, slides his hands in his pockets.

“I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

I nod and watch him walk back inside the restaurant and get that bitter twist once more, wondering if he’s going to hang out with Monica. And then I tell myself I don’t have the right to feel any bitterness at all.

He’s a free man.

And I’m with Ben.

________

Daddy’s house is darker than usual when I pull up to the driveway. When he’s home he normally keeps the gate open until he goes to bed, but it’s closed now, at only 8:30. So Greer must have shut it for her own peace of mind. I park behind her car, near the front door, and close the gate. Then I go around to get Ritz out of the passenger seat. He gives me a pleading look through the bars of his cage door.

“Don’t be mad at me. We’re at Granddaddy’s. You love it here.” With all the scraps of food he gets here Ritz does love it. I don’t love the fact that he always puts on a few pounds after a week of being here but it is what it is.

I carry him inside, listening to his meowing protests. I’ll come out later for my bags. Once inside I smell remnants of Sandy’s cooking, but otherwise it’s eerily quiet in here.

I glance at the alarm system. The numbers02are glowing bright red, which indicates the door in the study that leads to the back terrace is open.

I reach down and open Ritz’s carrier and he comes bounding out, pausing in front of the sitting room to lick his belly.

“Hello?” I walk down the entry hallway, all the way to the kitchen. Several casserole dishes are sitting on the counter along with a loaf of bread on a cutting board and an open bottle of wine.

I turn the corner and make my way to the study. I hear Greer’s voice, low but clipped as she talks to someone.

“I’m aware of what you want. But this concerns me too. Itdirectlyconcerns me.”

I walk in the room. Greer is standing in the open doorway to the terrace with a phone pressed to her ear, back to me, facing the house opposite the pool where Sandy lived when she first started working for us. She softly kicks the lower part of the door, nudging it open further. Her long blond hair blows behind her as a breeze comes in.

“I understand that. But do you think it’s fair to ask me to give up on something I’ve wanted my whole life just to spare you some momentary discomfort? … She’ll understand. Maybe not right away. But she’ll come around. Trust me … Leave you out of it? How?”

I feel like an intruder, listening in on a conversation I shouldn’t be listening in on. So I knock on the door.

Greer whips her head around and I smile and wave.

She turns to face me, phone still pressed to her ear. “Yes … yes … I know. Honey, Tove is here.”

“Is that my dad?” I whisper.

She nods. “Okay … okay … love you too.” She passes the phone my way. “Here, he wants to talk to you.”

“Oh.” I take the phone. “Hey, Daddy.”

“Hello, my darling. How are you?” His voice is raspy.

“I’m pretty good. You sound exhausted. Did you have a rough flight?” I glance at Greer, who’s chewing on her fingernail and watching me like a hawk.

“Oh my, the worst. We didn’t take off until last night, then we hit storms and the pilot had to circle around several times.”

“Jesus. Well, I’m glad you got there safely. Have you met with Björn yet?”

“Yes. That’s the other reason I’m exhausted. I had to go directly from the airport to his office downtown to address all these issues, which is why I never got the chance to call you. I’m just now headed to my hotel. But the good news is that I was able to wrap all this up in one day. So I’m coming home tomorrow.”

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