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“I’m already thinking about that. Us coming out to see you two.”
“Can’t come soon enough.”
It wasn’t until the end of their call that realization struck Barrett like a train. Val was asking about the wild bird and raptor cameras his department hooked up every spring, noting that Forrest’s favorite was the osprey camera.
Cameras
“Hey, Val, sorry. Work thing.”
“No worries, I’m going to head to bed. Night, Bear.”
“Night.”
As he hung up, he saw Ambrose’s car pull in next door. He was on his feet instantly. From the door he could tell something was wrong and he raced over, ready to help, with Dandi hot on his heels.
Chapter twenty-one
ThetownofHonorwas quaint and cobblestoned and quiet. A single main street, a few side streets with small houses, a post office, a library. A lot of people settled in or around the town to take advantage of the vast wilderness; to hike and fish and garden. But what he loved most about going into town was how quickly he’d gotten used to it. City living had been fun for a while, but you could only frequent so many bars and restaurants before either going broke, getting bored, or becoming an alcoholic. And there simply wasn’t enoughquietbetween the billboards and neon and bustling streets. People were as diverse here as they’d been in the city, with the lake and forests feeding all manner of opportunities. But there was no light pollution, the air was clean, and he felt at home.
Ambrose had already swung by the hardware store for tomato seeds and a few other things he needed for around the cabin. So he parked in front of the grocery store, handwritten list in hand.
“Ambrose.”
He froze on the sidewalk, feet from his car. His brain stopped but his heart immediately started jackhammering in his chest. Therapy was a wonder, but there was nothing to do about his fight-or-flight response at that voice.
Fucking Preston. In his designer jeans and his stupid fake leather boots and oversized sunglasses, looking like an aging boy band member and thinking he knew what was best at all times. Well, fuck him. Anger began to sweep over him, and he turned to fully face his ex, knowing this could go badly.
It was worse.
Preston was there, on the other side of his car, hands jammed into his pockets and looking rather unhappy. His gaze didn’t stay on Ambrose long, darting away like a scared rabbit.
Because of her.
Angelica Avery was standing next to Preston. Ten feet from Ambrose. Maybe it was nine feet, which felt even more invasive. She should at least be double-digit feet away at all times. The salt in the wound was made even worse by the fact that she was, as usual, picture-perfect in a shin-length black dress, her signature peacock brooch high on her left shoulder.
Black, in spring. Like she was in mourning or some shit. The only pop of color was the absence of it; there was a gauzy white scarf, like something out of a 1950s movie, covering her auburn curls.
The only way anyone could think we’re related, Ambrose dear. This hair. You really should find a way to tame it, darling.
And in the middle of this strange stand-off, Ambrose’s phone buzzed against his palm .
From: BarrettCome see me when you can? Got some weird news and I just…want to know you’re okay.
Worry flared in his gut. And he made his decision the moment he reached for the car door handle. That anger that had bled through was now fully flared; a fire made from years of his inability to walk away. “Fuck off.”
“I raised you better than that, Ambrose.”
There was the snake in the tall, fragrant grass. Always waiting, ready to strike. The patented Angelica Avery - no, Angel Tillifer - style of parenting. She’d always saidAngel Tilliferwas the name of an uneducated baby factory making the rounds through men. Because somehow the name Angel was beneath her.
Ambrose’s gaze snapped up and locked on his mother. He’d workedhard, foryears, to learn when and where to channel his anger. Most of him had hoped a day like this one never reared its ugly face, because that would mean she found him and decided to not let it be. But if he knew anything about his mother, it was that she didn’t like having things beyond her control. Ambrose had decided to extricate himself from her and on some level, he knew there would be blowback. Abusers didn’t like losing a part of their flock.
The words didn’t come easily, but at least they showed up with a therapist-approved ticket. He’d practiced this, over and over again, dragging himself through a proverbial mudslide of emotions. For years. It was a little like training for a marathon, his therapist had said. A slow build of resistance and endurance, until thinking about a day like this one no longer made him want to hide from the world and shut off all his emotions.
Ambrose stared at his mother, then Preston. The fucker wouldn’t even meet his eyes, but his mother had no issues there. He took a deep breath and it helped keep the tremor out of his voice. “You would have had to raise me to be able to say that, Angelica.” Ambrose swung open the driver door and saw Preston move toward him. “Come any closer to me and you’re both getting slapped with restraining orders.” He held his arms out wide. “So go right ahead, because there’s a camera above us and one across the street. Plus the grocery store owner has her own set.”
Preston looked disappointed, his mouth twisted down, but his mother. Oh, the shock on his mother’s face. The first and only time he’d ever seen her break character. He would revel in it later, want to roll in the memory of her open mouth and wide eyes. With his heart in his ears and his throat tight, Ambrose slid into his car, turned over the engine, and peeled out.
He didn’t look back.
