Page 35

The floorboards creaked under our sock-covered feet, and Luke and Jeremy’s conversation drifted from the kitchen, too low to make out the words.

Halfway along the panelled hallway, I slowed and forgot about the two of them.

Dozens of photo frames in various shapes and sizes lined the wall, some wood, others metal or plastic. The photos started out black and white, changing to colour the farther they went along.

Kirby bumped my shoulder as I stopped and examined the first one.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” I moved along the hall and studied the entire collection.

The same two people featured, an older couple smiling into the camera in different places, spanning decades. Christmases. Birthdays. A backyard barbecue. Kids showed up here and there, growing over time, then babies. Grandchildren.

A lifetime laid out before us, right there on the wall. I could feel the love in their smiles and laughter, in the way the same people kept turning up again and again.

Were they Jeremy’s grandparents?

“Wow,” Kirby said softly as she followed me, “that’s so freaking sweet.”

“The sweetest.” I stopped at the last frame, and my half-smile faltered. “Wait.”

I went back to the start, when the older couple were in their early twenties, then made my way through the collection again, examining the photos more carefully.

Looking for him.

Jeremy.

He wasn’t there. He should have shown up somewhere around the middle, but I couldn’t find him anywhere—not even in the background, trying to stay out of the shots like my sister always did.

“He’s not…” The second last frame held one of the biggest family photos I’d ever seen, with everyone who meant something to them crowded in together. A bunch of kids sat cross-legged on the grass, with teens in the middle. Adults made up two rows across the back, the taller ones in front crouching a little.

“What is it?” Kirby frowned and tried to see what was worrying me.

“Jeremy.” I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “He’s not in any of them.”

She made a small, noncommittal sound. “Maybe he’s just not into photos?”

“They took pictures of everything, though. Look at all the occasions. If he was part of the family, he’d be here.”

I stepped back from the wall as unease settled deeper in my gut.

Kirby nibbled her lower lip while she thought it over. “I got a strange vibe from him as soon as I saw him. He’s too friendly.” A floorboard creaked somewhere behind us, and she straightened. “Okay, I officially don’t like this.”

“Neither do I.” My eyes lingered on the last photo, where the couple stood on the top step of the verandah, grey-haired, arms around each other. Sunlight glinted off the man’s glasses, and a belt kept his pants up underneath a round belly. The woman rested her weight on a cane, the hem of her calf-length housedress lifting in the breeze.

“Do you need the bathroom?” I asked, dragging my attention away.

“Nope.” Kirby was still staring at the family gathering.

My toes dug into the runner, and I could have kicked myself for agreeing to take off my shoes. “Let’s get back to Luke,” I said. “And get the hell out of here.”

Ten

luke

“Your girlfriend’s pretty.”

I’d been tapping a silent beat on the tabletop, and my fingers went still. I looked up, holding Jeremy’s gaze.