Page 20 of Wicked Love
She had no idea how large “the rest” actually was. I swallowed thickly. “It’s easier to concentrate when I know for sure you’re recovering well. Anyway, this has been a bit of a slow week for school.” Lie number two. I didn’t want to keep counting.
“Have you been working on anything particularly interesting these days?” Mom asked with a rustle that told me she was moving around the room as we talked. Maybe doing chores, maybe assembling pieces for one of her scrapbook projects.
“I have a new project on interactions between chronic diseases and contagious ones,” I said, remembering my conversation with Rebecca. “It’s bringing up a lot of information I didn’t know before. And genetics is always fascinating—how much gets decided before we’re even born.”
“I find it so hard to wrap my head around any of that. I’m glad you have more of a mind for science.”
“Yeah.” Not that my mind had been all that focused on it lately. I thought of the lab reports I’d dashed off and the lectures I’d only half listened to and winced.Momwould be the worried one if she knew how distracted I’d gotten.
I jerked my mind back to the subject I’d really wanted to talk about. “Have you been keeping busy while you’re healing? Lots of friends dropping by to check in on you?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve had a few visits and offers to help. One of the benefits of small-town life.” She chuckled. “Not that there’s anything wrong with living in a bigger city, but I do like that close-knit feeling.”
I strained my mind to dredge up the names of family friends we’d seen fairly regularly when I was a kid. We had no reason to believe that whoever had targeted my dad had known him personally, but we didn’t know ithadn’tbeen someone close to the family either. They’d figured out what he was up to somehow. If any of Mom and Dad’s friends had faded away shortly after his death, that would be worth looking into.
“Do you still see the Brylers these days?” I asked. “Joanne and… I don’t remember her husband’s name?”
“Oh, dear, I haven’t thought about them in quite a while. They moved out to Connecticut a few years ago. Or maybe it was Colorado.” Mom paused. “Somewhere starting with a C. I doubt they even heard about the accident. But Maureen and Joe stopped by with a casserole, if you remember them. Their daughter’s just finishing her first year of high school.”
I vaguely recalled a plump woman with curly red hair and a little girl I’d had to barricade from my room for fear she’d tear into my toys. I guessed that wasn’t something anyone needed to worry about these days.
“That’s great.” I groped for another name. “There was that couple down the street you and Dad used to get together with now and then too, wasn’t there? Stacy and Kyle?”
“Yes, of course. I’m impressed that you remember. They were always fun to spend time with.”
My ears perked. “Were? You don’t see them anymore?”
“No, not in years.”
“Was there any particular reason? Did you have a fight or something?”
I could hear the frown in Mom’s voice. “Well, no. I can’t even think of what it was. Sometimes people just drift apart, you know.”
It felt too pointed to specifically ask if it’d happened right after Dad’s death. “I can’t remember the last time we saw them…” I said, attempting to prompt her.
“Neither can I. Oh, but I remember they came by with a cupcake for you when you graduated from elementary school. That was so sweet of them.”
My interest deflated. I’d graduated elementary school a couple of years after Dad’s passing. It didn’t sound like that couple had pulled back specifically around that time. But if they’d already started to fade, it could be related, I supposed.
Mom’s voice took on a puzzled tone. “Why are you so curious about them? Is there something else on your mind?”
I clenched my jaw for a second before pushing out another lie. “No, I guess I just got caught up in thinking about that close-knit neighborhood we had. Everyone is a lot more distant here in the city.”
That line of questioning had pretty much been a dead end. Thankfully Mom gave me an out all on her own. “I hope you’re not getting lonely out there. You know you can call me whenever you like, but make sure you’re going out to the college social events and that sort of thing too. It can take some time adapting to a transition. I should let you go so you can get on with that.”
My mouth twisted into a bittersweet smile. “I’ll do that. It was good talking with you, Mom.”
After I’d hung up, I sent a quick text to Beckett. That one couple probably had nothing to do with Dad’s death, but they’d slipped out of Mom’s life soon enough afterward that it couldn’t hurt to alert him. I had to feel like I’d accomplishedsomething.
I want to hear all the details straight from your mouth, he wrote back.I have some news too, and it’s better not to have much of this written down anyway. Meet me at the park where we grabbed ice cream the other day?
I hesitated, but the truth was, I didn’t feel at all worried about my safety around Beckett, no matter what shady business activities he was involved in. He might be a criminal, but I knew he didn’t want to hurt me.
I just wasn’t sure how far I could trust him outside of pursuing this investigation together.
When I reached the park, I spotted Beckett waiting in the shade of a tree a short distance down the path that led to the ice cream shop. He tipped his head to me, the wind ruffling the leaves and his sandy blond hair, and a pang shot through my chest.
Just a week ago, I’d have stepped right into his arms and enjoyed a kiss. Would we be able to get back to that easy intimacy?
