My cousins’ eyes all widened again.
I swallowed.
“You killed him,” Mabel whispered.
“The coroner ruled it a heart attack,” I quickly said.“He was older than me by over twenty years, an alcoholic, and very unhealthy.Hypertension, gout, high cholesterol.Honestly, he was a heart attack waiting to happen.”
Mabel blinked some more.“What did you give him?”
“He died of a heart attack,” Raina said.“Didn’t you hear her?”
“I’m fine with bad people dying,” Mabel said, with no inflection in her voice.“The world is already overpopulated.People like your husband and Kyla shouldn’t exist.They shouldn’t breathe our oxygen, let alone drain our resources and consume our tax money.I believe in capital punishment.Especially for people like Kyla and Ephram.”
I swallowed again and met my cousins’ eyes.They all looked a little spooked.
Mabel shrugged off the weighted blanket, so it was just on her lap, and let out another long sigh.“When is the first farmers market?”
Danica’s jaw dropped.“This Saturday.”
Mabel nodded and stared at the top of the table for a moment.“I’m going to ask my dad to take me.Let the island talk.I did nothing wrong.My dad did nothing wrong.And if people want to know the truth, then they better be prepared for it.”
Gabrielle, Danica, Raina, and I all locked eyes.
Holy shit, this kid was strong.
Mabel reached forward onto the ground and pulled a wine bottle out of the box, then wiped it with the cloth.“I’m hungry.Would I be able to have something to eat, please?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lennox
Ididn’tquiterealizehow badly I needed a night like tonight until I kicked my feet up onto the fancy camping chair footrest and put the cool glass of the beer bottle to my lips.
An overwhelming rush of relief swept through me until tears pricked the backs of my eyes.
I exhaled long and loud, and stared out at the glittering sea.
Jagger’s big, meaty hand gripped my shoulder and gave it a friendly shake.“Right?”
All I could do was nod and close my eyes.
The hissing sound of a bottle being twisted open to the other side of me filled my ears, but I didn’t bother to open my eyes.The sun beat down with welcoming rays on my face, and the breeze was warm and inviting.This was why we came to the island.For moments like this.For this feeling, of peace.For this feeling of community.
When they first invited me, I kind of thought it might be like a sharing circle or something, but nobody had said a word in close to ten minutes.We just sipped our beers, stared out at the ocean, and scratched Portia’s butt when she came over and grunted at us.
Maverick cleared his throat, and the other two guys turned to face him.Was this his way of saying he had the talking stick and wanted to discuss his feelings?
“Been thinking about sports camps,” he muttered, almost more to himself than anybody else.
Jagger and Tom both grunted and nodded.
Then they were quiet again.
I glanced in confusion at all of them.
“Are you going to elaborate on that?”I finally asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
Jagger and Tom snorted.
