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“What?” Bethenny asked.
He chuckled softly. “Mitch is so controlled. I can’t help but think he’s hiding serious skeletons in his closet.”
Bethenny laughed, then instantly regretted it. “Ah, don’t make me laugh, it hurts.”
Lachlan grinned. “Do you want some company this evening or do you want to be alone?” he asked casually, but there was a vulnerability in his eyes that wasn’t normally there.
They hadn’t defined their relationship, but it felt right.
“Some company would be good—” She paused, remembering the mess that would be in her house. There would likely be blood and broken furniture at least. “I need to get someone to clean my house. The blood is going to stain my floorboards.”
Lachlan gave an amused grin.
“What? I just had them sanded and finished nicely,” she said, shaking her head. “They’ll be ruined.”
“I’ve already organized it for you. Actually, Mitch did,” he admitted sheepishly. “But I asked him to while I was still detained before the charges were cleared and I was released.” He gave her his beautiful smile that warmed her heart.
She grinned. “How exactly did you get access to my house, Detective?”
He shrugged. “I stole your keys from your bag before I left yesterday,” he said, pulling them from his pocket. “I figured on this occasion you wouldn’t mind. And it wasn’t exactly breaking and entering.” She laughed again then groaned.
“Seriously, stop doing that to me,” she said, trying not to chuckle. She looked in his eyes. It was a small gesture to organize the clean-up of her house, she supposed, but it was a really thoughtful one. She hadn’t had anyone care for her like that in a long time. “Thank you, I really appreciate it.”
He smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Oh, that reminds me. I got you a few things,” he said, moving toward the chair in the corner and then back to her. “I don’t know what you like to read, but I figured it wasn’t rom-coms, so I got you a few thrillers and some chocolates.” He held them up like he wasn’t sure if they were good selections or not.
A huge smile spread across her lips. “Perfect,” she said. “Chocolate and books... you know the way to my heart.”
He chuckled. “Doing my best.” He brought the chair over, positioning it beside her bed.
She studied him a moment, loving this light-hearted version of Detective Lachlan Taylor.
“How do you feel now? About Eden’s death, I mean,” she asked, watching him carefully. She didn’t want to destroy his good mood, but it was a conversation they needed to have.
He looked to the right, seeming to take a moment to collect his thoughts. He looked back to her. “I wish I’d faced her death instead of running from it. I hated myself for her death; I blamed myself, and then loathed the fact that I was too much of a coward to deal with it, so I kept running. And the longer I ran, the more I hated myself.” He sighed heavily. “And I hate that I believed she was having an affair. I hate that I resented her for that. She was innocent this entire time. I knew her; I should’ve known she wouldn’t do that.” He looked away.
“She wasn’t having an affair?” Bethenny asked.
Lachlan shook his head and gave her the full rundown of what had happened.
Bethenny squeezed his hand. “You can’t undo the past; you have to learn to forgive yourself.”
He nodded, but she sensed he wasn’t going to forgive himself easily.
“But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Philippians 3:13. My favorite verse,” she said. “Let go of the past, forgive and forget. Move forward. It’s the verse I repeated out loud every day after the car accident. It might help you.”
He looked at her a long moment then a smile spread across his lips. “Thank you,” he said. “You know, after Jim admitted everything, I felt peace because it wasn’t my fault. But with every hour that passes, I can feel the self-loathing creep back in. I should’ve dealt with the entire situation differently. I never even packed up her things... or mine. It’s all sitting in the house, probably covered in cobwebs.”
“Maybe now is the time to do that,” she gently suggested.
He nodded. “Maybe...” His voice trailed off, choking with emotion. He looked into her eyes. “Will you come with me? When you’ve recovered, of course. Eden would’ve liked you,” he said with a smile. “In another lifetime, you two would’ve been good friends.”
Bethenny smiled, nodding. “Sure,” she said, before being distracted by a knock at the door. “Come in.”
The door swung open and her breath caught in her throat. Bethenny had seen a photograph of Eden and her sister, but seeing Diana in the flesh made her heart skip a beat. It was like looking at Eden’s ghost, but her cheeks had color. She looked to Lachlan, who looked equally as stunned.
“Hi,” she said to Lachlan then looked to Bethenny. “I’m his sister-in-law, Diana”
Lachlan stood, moving toward her. She greeted him with open arms.
