here?”
He ran a hand over his head and a strange look flashed across his face, as if he’d expected to find hair where the shaved stubble was. He used to have beautiful hair, Gracie remembered. But somehow the shaved look suited him, too. Fit the lean, hard man he’d become.
“ I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said at last. “I swear I didn’t think she was telling the truth about your grandma. I came because I had to come. There’s no other way to explain it.”
In spite of herself, she wanted to believe him. The look in his eyes begged her to believe him.
“ So Chloe tells you that you’re being called back to this place and you instantly feel compelled to go? But her telling you and you coming are unrelated? Is that what you’re saying? Because if you ask me, that sounds every bit as crazy as what Chloe is spouting.”
Reilly shook his head. “Christ,” he mumbled. “I can’t explain it to you, Gracie.”
“ Why?”
“ Because it’s personal.”
“ Personal? And this invasion of my privacy isn’t? You act like this is all some coincidence. Some big misunderstanding. Well, I don’t like coincidences, Reilly, and I’m not buying that we’re all here at the same time by accident. Chloe wants something. You want something. I want to know what that something is.”
Reilly turned away from her, but not before she saw the haunted look in his eyes. When he spoke, his words were deep with emotion. “All I want is to bury my brother. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
“ What?”
“ It’s the truth. I have his ashes upstairs in my room.”
“ But you said ... last night you said he’d died months ago.”
“ He did.”
“ Why didn’t you bury him then?”
He hunched his shoulders. “I couldn’t. There wasn’t even a service. No one cared that he was dead and... I couldn’t do it alone. So I didn’t do it all.”
Gracie stared at him, trying to process this new piece of information. She didn’t doubt that he was telling her the truth. She could see it in his face. But she still came back to the simple question of why now? Why after all this time would he pick last night, the same night her grandmother died, her daughter was injured, and Gracie ended her seventeen year boycott of the town? And how did it all connect to Chloe LaMonte?
“ I’ve been procrastinating, hell avoiding, coming back here, Gracie. Because even now, I don’t know what... how...” He cleared his throat. “Chloe throwing out the hook and reeling me in, it was just an excuse. A sleight of hand, you know? Watch Chloe and the Clowns on the way and maybe it won’t hit me what I have to do while I’m here.”
Gracie shook her head, unconvinced. He sounded sincere, but she knew better than anyone that Reilly Alexander was a liar.
He took a small step forward, his hands bracketing the words he struggled to find. “Gracie, insane as it sounds, maybe Chloe was right about one thing though.”
“ And what is that?”
“ My coming, you’re being here ... There’s history between us. You know that.”
“ Is that what you’re calling it? History?”
Her words had enough bite to leave marks. Reilly stiffened and his hands dropped to his sides. She’d wanted to hurt him, but now that she had she wished she could take the words back. And that made her angry with herself. What was wrong with her? Didn’t she remember what this man had done to her? She forced herself to take a step forward, forced herself to say the words that felt like stone in her gut.
“ What did you expect, Reilly? Did you think you could just waltz in after all these years, bring me coffee, hold my hand? Look under my bed for monsters and I’d just pretend the past never happened? That I’d want to be friends? That I’d think it was history we shared?”
A nerve jumped in his clenched jaw. “No. I told you, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Her breath was coming in jerky gulps and she realized she was dangerously
He ran a hand over his head and a strange look flashed across his face, as if he’d expected to find hair where the shaved stubble was. He used to have beautiful hair, Gracie remembered. But somehow the shaved look suited him, too. Fit the lean, hard man he’d become.
“ I didn’t know you’d be here,” he said at last. “I swear I didn’t think she was telling the truth about your grandma. I came because I had to come. There’s no other way to explain it.”
In spite of herself, she wanted to believe him. The look in his eyes begged her to believe him.
“ So Chloe tells you that you’re being called back to this place and you instantly feel compelled to go? But her telling you and you coming are unrelated? Is that what you’re saying? Because if you ask me, that sounds every bit as crazy as what Chloe is spouting.”
Reilly shook his head. “Christ,” he mumbled. “I can’t explain it to you, Gracie.”
“ Why?”
“ Because it’s personal.”
“ Personal? And this invasion of my privacy isn’t? You act like this is all some coincidence. Some big misunderstanding. Well, I don’t like coincidences, Reilly, and I’m not buying that we’re all here at the same time by accident. Chloe wants something. You want something. I want to know what that something is.”
Reilly turned away from her, but not before she saw the haunted look in his eyes. When he spoke, his words were deep with emotion. “All I want is to bury my brother. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
“ What?”
“ It’s the truth. I have his ashes upstairs in my room.”
“ But you said ... last night you said he’d died months ago.”
“ He did.”
“ Why didn’t you bury him then?”
He hunched his shoulders. “I couldn’t. There wasn’t even a service. No one cared that he was dead and... I couldn’t do it alone. So I didn’t do it all.”
Gracie stared at him, trying to process this new piece of information. She didn’t doubt that he was telling her the truth. She could see it in his face. But she still came back to the simple question of why now? Why after all this time would he pick last night, the same night her grandmother died, her daughter was injured, and Gracie ended her seventeen year boycott of the town? And how did it all connect to Chloe LaMonte?
“ I’ve been procrastinating, hell avoiding, coming back here, Gracie. Because even now, I don’t know what... how...” He cleared his throat. “Chloe throwing out the hook and reeling me in, it was just an excuse. A sleight of hand, you know? Watch Chloe and the Clowns on the way and maybe it won’t hit me what I have to do while I’m here.”
Gracie shook her head, unconvinced. He sounded sincere, but she knew better than anyone that Reilly Alexander was a liar.
He took a small step forward, his hands bracketing the words he struggled to find. “Gracie, insane as it sounds, maybe Chloe was right about one thing though.”
“ And what is that?”
“ My coming, you’re being here ... There’s history between us. You know that.”
“ Is that what you’re calling it? History?”
Her words had enough bite to leave marks. Reilly stiffened and his hands dropped to his sides. She’d wanted to hurt him, but now that she had she wished she could take the words back. And that made her angry with herself. What was wrong with her? Didn’t she remember what this man had done to her? She forced herself to take a step forward, forced herself to say the words that felt like stone in her gut.
“ What did you expect, Reilly? Did you think you could just waltz in after all these years, bring me coffee, hold my hand? Look under my bed for monsters and I’d just pretend the past never happened? That I’d want to be friends? That I’d think it was history we shared?”
A nerve jumped in his clenched jaw. “No. I told you, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Her breath was coming in jerky gulps and she realized she was dangerously
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