belonged to their
father. Unless there was a damn good excuse, each son was expected to be at Alex’s
house to grill steaks on the back deck.
Too often these days, the excuses were racking up. Obligations at work or a teething
toddler, in Pierce’s case, meant that only half the family was there on most Friday
nights. But tonight everyone was in attendance. It should have been a night of good
food and shared stories, especially since twelve-month-old Nikki was already settled
in her port-a-crib in one of the guest rooms. But the gruesome discovery in the basement
of an abandoned house had put a dark pall over the entire gathering.
Alex had insisted everything proceed as usual, except that he’d held the dinner hour
to wait for Austin and Devlin to get back from the police station. As Devlin sat at
the long dining room table and took a bite of steak, he glanced at Alex at the head
of the table. Pierce’s wife, Madison, tried to keep up a normal conversation with
Matt’s new bride, Tessa. But Alex resisted any attempts to draw him into the exchange.
He was silent, his eyes downcast, his plate of food untouched.
Devlin washed down a half-chewed piece of steak with a healthy swallow from his beer
bottle. Today called for something much stronger than beer, but Alex would frown on
that. Devlin leaned toward his oldest brother, Braedon, sitting on his left.
“Has he been like that since he got home?” Devlin whispered.
“Pretty much. He explained what had happened at the police station, and about those
poor women you found in that basement, and that you saved that young mother from her
abductor.” He lightly squeezed Devlin’s shoulder and gave him a crisp nod, as if to
thank him for being a hero.
Devlin returned his nod, feeling like a total hypocrite as he did so.
“After that,” Braedon continued, “Alex announced dinner would wait until you and Austin
got here. But he hasn’t said much of anything else since.”
In spite of Austin’s quip to O’Malley about wanting to get back to his food, he hadn’t
eaten any more of his steak than his father. Instead, he stared at Alex, his mouth
getting tighter and tighter. He finally shook his head and dropped his fork to his
plate with a loud clatter, startling Tessa beside him.
Alex’s head shot up and he looked questioningly at his youngest son.
“I don’t get it,” Austin said. “Why are you so depressed about this? She dumped you.
She dumped all of us. It’s been twenty-one freaking years, Dad. Get over it already.”
Devlin rose from his chair, prepared to haul his brother out of the dining room and
kick his ass, wheelchair or not.
Alex aimed a stern look at him. Devlin hesitated, but respect for his father had him
sitting back down.
“That’s a fair question.” Alex’s deep-blue gaze landed on each of them before returning
to Austin. “I loved your mother deeply. For eight years we built a life together,
and my love for her grew every day. She may have stopped loving me by the end of our
marriage, but that didn’t change my feelings for her. It might seem silly to you, but I’d always hoped that she would
finally find the right person for her, someone who could soothe her troubled spirit,
make her happy. All these years I kidded myself with the fantasy that she was happy.
And now, to find out she was . . .” His throat worked as he swallowed. “I’m grieving,
son. Not for my loss, or yours, or even for your brothers’. I’m grieving for how Carolyn
must have suffered. No matter what she did to you, to me, to us, she didn’t deserve
to be locked up like an animal and tortured and . . . killed. That’s why I’m sad. The woman I loved was murdered. And for the first time, my vow of ‘till
death do us part’ really hits home.” He pushed back from the table and stood, his
eyes suspiciously bright and watery. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a devil of
a
father. Unless there was a damn good excuse, each son was expected to be at Alex’s
house to grill steaks on the back deck.
Too often these days, the excuses were racking up. Obligations at work or a teething
toddler, in Pierce’s case, meant that only half the family was there on most Friday
nights. But tonight everyone was in attendance. It should have been a night of good
food and shared stories, especially since twelve-month-old Nikki was already settled
in her port-a-crib in one of the guest rooms. But the gruesome discovery in the basement
of an abandoned house had put a dark pall over the entire gathering.
Alex had insisted everything proceed as usual, except that he’d held the dinner hour
to wait for Austin and Devlin to get back from the police station. As Devlin sat at
the long dining room table and took a bite of steak, he glanced at Alex at the head
of the table. Pierce’s wife, Madison, tried to keep up a normal conversation with
Matt’s new bride, Tessa. But Alex resisted any attempts to draw him into the exchange.
He was silent, his eyes downcast, his plate of food untouched.
Devlin washed down a half-chewed piece of steak with a healthy swallow from his beer
bottle. Today called for something much stronger than beer, but Alex would frown on
that. Devlin leaned toward his oldest brother, Braedon, sitting on his left.
“Has he been like that since he got home?” Devlin whispered.
“Pretty much. He explained what had happened at the police station, and about those
poor women you found in that basement, and that you saved that young mother from her
abductor.” He lightly squeezed Devlin’s shoulder and gave him a crisp nod, as if to
thank him for being a hero.
Devlin returned his nod, feeling like a total hypocrite as he did so.
“After that,” Braedon continued, “Alex announced dinner would wait until you and Austin
got here. But he hasn’t said much of anything else since.”
In spite of Austin’s quip to O’Malley about wanting to get back to his food, he hadn’t
eaten any more of his steak than his father. Instead, he stared at Alex, his mouth
getting tighter and tighter. He finally shook his head and dropped his fork to his
plate with a loud clatter, startling Tessa beside him.
Alex’s head shot up and he looked questioningly at his youngest son.
“I don’t get it,” Austin said. “Why are you so depressed about this? She dumped you.
She dumped all of us. It’s been twenty-one freaking years, Dad. Get over it already.”
Devlin rose from his chair, prepared to haul his brother out of the dining room and
kick his ass, wheelchair or not.
Alex aimed a stern look at him. Devlin hesitated, but respect for his father had him
sitting back down.
“That’s a fair question.” Alex’s deep-blue gaze landed on each of them before returning
to Austin. “I loved your mother deeply. For eight years we built a life together,
and my love for her grew every day. She may have stopped loving me by the end of our
marriage, but that didn’t change my feelings for her. It might seem silly to you, but I’d always hoped that she would
finally find the right person for her, someone who could soothe her troubled spirit,
make her happy. All these years I kidded myself with the fantasy that she was happy.
And now, to find out she was . . .” His throat worked as he swallowed. “I’m grieving,
son. Not for my loss, or yours, or even for your brothers’. I’m grieving for how Carolyn
must have suffered. No matter what she did to you, to me, to us, she didn’t deserve
to be locked up like an animal and tortured and . . . killed. That’s why I’m sad. The woman I loved was murdered. And for the first time, my vow of ‘till
death do us part’ really hits home.” He pushed back from the table and stood, his
eyes suspiciously bright and watery. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a devil of
a
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