Page 41 of My Twin Sister

“Oh that’s cheating. I thought you were above bribery,” Frank says.

Tina carries Carter inside. “I’m not.”

I smile and mumble a hello, which no one returns. I try to bite back annoyance that they brought cookies for the kids without asking me first. They know I try to limit the sugar the kids have, but they’ve never cared.

The unwelcome thought of how they’d treat Grace as a daughter-in-law breaks into my mind before I can stop it. The thought only grows when Grace comes out of the kitchen and Tina wraps her into a hug.

“Oh, hi, hunny. How are you?” Tina holds Grace by the shoulders and beams at her.

“I’m good. As good as I can be in the circumstances.”

“Of course. Oh, I’m so sorry.” She hugs her again. “I’m so sorry you lost him before you came back. And for everything going on now.” Tina releases her and pins her with a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, it’s awful. I hate hearing these kinds of things about him. People gossiping that knew him.”

“People are just scared. It’s a scary accusation, and now he isn’t here to defend himself. But the truth will come out. Don’t you worry. It always comes out eventually.”

I swallow hard. “We should start heading out now,” I say.

Tina spins as though she’s just realized I’m here.

“Well, where’s Wyatt? Is he even ready yet?”

Wyatt comes down the stairs. “I’m here. I’m coming. Sorry.”

We both hug the boys and say our goodbyes before shuffling outside. The wind bites right through me, and I pull my coat tighter.

“I can drive us,” I say. There will be the most room in the SUV rather than Wyatt’s truck or Grace’s Trans Am.

“I’m going to drive separate,” Grace says. “I’ll meet you guys over there.”

She jogs off to her car before I can argue. That’s fine. It’s fine. Wyatt and I can have a little time alone on the ride over there. I can attempt to warm him over before we’re in a crowd since he’s still being cold toward me after our argument.

Twenty-Seven: Grace

I get to Murphy’s house first using the address he sent me. He lives on the edge of town, almost not in Raven at all. He has a lot of land, which isn’t possible closer to downtown. I never pictured Murphy as a country guy, but it fits with the image I have of him now.

I walk up his front walk, and he appears in the doorway like he already knew I was here.

“Were you just waiting in the window for me to pull up?” I ask.

He laughs. “Your headlights lit up my whole house. I thought I was about to be abducted by a spaceship or something.”

“You leave my headlights alone. They help me see at night.”

“Well, that’s good because no one else on the road with you can.” He holds the door open for me to come in.

I get a whiff of a subtle cologne when I walk by him. I walk farther into his house without invitation and take in the home of Murphy Hanlon.

“Is Tara here?” I ask.

“No, not yet. She should be on her way.”

There’s a brown leather couch against the wall. A rug. Coffee table. It’s styled in a masculine way with browns and blacks with natural textures, but it almost looks like a woman did it. Men like Murphy Hanlon don’t know how to match nonmatching furniture like this.

“Is Tara here a lot?” I ask. I look over at him and he’s smirking. “What?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing. No, she’s not. The funeral was actually the first time I’d seen her in a while.”