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He takes a big breath, letting it out slowly.
“You did the right thing,” Mama murmurs, gripping the golden heart necklace Daddy gave her tightly. “You did the right thing for both of them.”
He gives a look of disbelief and blinks rapidly. It’s then that I notice the redness in his eyes, the tears dampening his thick, black lashes. They make me cry and I sniffle behind my hand.
“I know,” Isaac agrees. “You and Grant showed me that. It’s just hard to believe sometimes.”
He turns back to me, offering me a sympathetic look when he notices my tears. “We’d stopped at a hotel a few hours away from our destination. I was exhausted after driving for nearly a day straight. We rested for the night, had a late lunch, and gassed up the car.”
“I had a couple beers with my burger, but Cami didn’t. She was sober.” He shakes his head again, his fists clenching and unclenching on the table. “I thought she was sober. I don’t know where she got it or when, but at some point, Cami had gotten drunk before offering to drive us the rest of the way.”
I suck in a painful breath, my mind already racing with what could have happened. I know you can’t drink and drive. I know what can happen. It’s how old man Jameson lost his life back in Haven last year.
“I was still tired and agreed. Everything was fine. The sun was shining. The windows were down. The music was loud. We were singing. Roman was laughing.” He swipes at his cheek angrily, wiping the fallen tear away as if it were never there. “We were starting over. And then we were crashing.”
He presses his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking with the force of his tears. Mama wipes her face softly and looks at me, picking up when he’s unable to.
“Camilla died on impact. Roman was okay, but Isaac was a bit banged up.” She smiles sadly. “The crash took place in Haven, Georgia.”
I gasp, my wet eyes going wide. She gives me a knowing nod.
“Roman was placed in emergency foster care and since your daddy and I were certified and available, he was placed in our home while Isaac handled some things.”
I knew they’d lived with us when I was a baby, but I was too young to remember. I never knew why. No one ever told me this story before and I never thought I could ask.
“He worked really, really hard to get better so he could get Roman back.” She presses a soft kiss to Isaac’s bunched up hand. “And he did.”
“With your help,” Isaac grunts, clearing his throat. “And Grants.” He looks at me. “And yours.”
“I helped?” I whisper, wiping my cheeks.
Smiling, he nods and holds his hands out for me. “Come here, sweetheart.” I take a shaky breath and all but sprint to the opposite side of the table. Isaac bundles me up in his big, safe arms and drops me on his lap. “You did. Your whole family put mine back together and I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
Isaac Payne turned tragedy into greatness. He saved himself. He saved Roman. And looking back, I think he may have saved me, too.
Sizzling bacon and freshly buttered toast wafts through the house, the underlining scent of thick, nutty coffee mingling in the air. Eve’s sweet voice accompanies it, and I smile to myself.
I adjust my cufflinks before sliding my hand over my hair, smoothing it down, making everything perfect. My dress shoes are shined to perfection, my pants are ironed and creased, and my shirt collar is starched just the way I like it. Eve did well.
It’s a far cry from how I grew up.
“Worthless.” My father’s voice echoes in my head and I squeeze my eyes shut. In the darkness of my mind, I can feel his fist against my ribs, feel his belt across my back.
My eyes snap open and I meet my gaze in the floor-length mirror.
He’s gone and dead; his ghost can’t hurt me. He won’t haunt me.
With a deep breath, I turn on my heel to head out my bedroom door. The folded corner of my comforter catches my eye, and I try to ignore it as I stroll across the room. But with each passing step, anxiety twists my chest and I rush to the bed, fixing the blanket the right way.
I wouldn’t have been able to go about my day if I’d left that. It would’ve been all I thought about, so it’s best I just fix it now.
Already feeling calmer, I turn back to the door, ready to start my day.
Each step down the staircase makes me smile wider. I round the corner and am forced to stop in my tracks, finding Eve twirling around the kitchen, a spatula in her hand as she sings along to a song coming through her phone speaker.
She puts me in a trance, she always has with that voice of hers. It’s angelic—she’s angelic.
Before I can close the distance between us, that spot catches my attention. Suddenly, it’s a night four years ago and blood is covering the floor. It’s staining my hands, my clothes, under my nails. I hold Jane’s lifeless body in my arms and stare down at her, my eyes wide as I try to take in the damage.
