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I huffed out a breath and rolled my shoulders, disgusted with myself. I yanked out a mug from the cabinet and proceeded to make coffee.
“No, Faith!” I muttered. “You wanted him to keep to himself. Well...” I pulled out drawers till I found a spoon for the creamer. “This is evidently Adam Bishop keeping to himself.” I gritted my teeth. “Again.”
I took my time dressing, grabbed a water and my bag, and went downstairs, noting that the new motorcycle was gone, so he wasn’t in the shop. There was about a millisecond of a moment where I considered going inside to—
“To what, Faith, be that girl?”
No.
I purposefully turned the opposite way and strolled down the sidewalk to my condo.
Yes, I was supposed to go to Grace’s house. And I would. I just needed to do something else first. A few somethings, actually.
I didn’t go inside, even though the pull was mighty. I plucked my keys from my bag instead and got in my little Jeep Cherokee. It was amazing how much better it felt to be sitting behind my own wheel again after being sidelined all those weeks of healing.
I pulled out of the driveway and called Grace.
“Hey,” I said when she answered. “I’ll be there in a bit; I’m just running an errand first.”
The pause said all the things I expected. What errand? Why? What the hell is wrong with you?
“Okay,” she said instead.
“Grace, I’m talking about twenty minutes. Maybe.”
“By yourself,” she responded.
I blew out a breath. “I doubt criminals are up this early.”
“I just love that you make a joke out of this,” she said. “Do you know that the insurance company has called me twice in as many days about the house?”
I pulled to a light and rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll call them today. I can even go by there while I’m out.”
“No, just—just call them when you get here,” she said. “I feel like I need eyes on you. What are you going to say?”
“That it’s my house, in my name, and I didn’t want it anymore,” I said, shrugging. “Not claiming anything. It’s a loss. Boom.”
“Boom.”
“You got it,” I said. I knew the look on her face without seeing it. It was the one she normally reserved for Hope. Hope did the crazy things, not me. “So do you need anything while I’m out?”
“Nope,” she said. “Just peace of mind.”
“It’s on its way,” I said, turning onto Savior Road and into the parking lot for Redemption Road Church. A text came through and I looked down to see it was from Matthew.
Matthew:Hey, it’s Matthew. In case... maybe you don’t have me in your phone yet. Just checking on you. Making sure you made it back OK. This is bizarre, I know. LOL. Anyway, let me know.
Wow. Well, that was new. And oddly... cool.
“And Grace, I have so much to tell you about our brother.” I shook my head. “How weird is that statement? Okay, ten minutes.”
I hung up and pulled to a stop, staring up at the great white building, our father’s crowning joy and achievement. I’d originally planned to go to the cemetery, but somehow it felt like he’d be here more than there.
Once upon a time, this place was my haven. God was the easiest thing in my life. The clearest. Life was simple. Now, it was all so—tangled.
“One day I’ll understand all this, Daddy,” I whispered. “I’m guessing. Why you sold us all out. Why you—were what you were. Why you lied. Why you left me with your hideous mess.” I felt tears on my cheeks and I swiped them away. “We all turned out relatively okay, in spite of you. Even Matthew... which by the way? Leaving us to find out about him that way? Fuck you. Because I think you snowed him, too, and that’s not cool.”
I put the Jeep back in gear and let off the brake. “I’d say to tell Mom hi, but y’all aren’t in the same place.”
