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Simone
I remove the bouquet of flowers from the passenger seat of my car and walk up the path to the small, two-story house. I don’t know Crystal and Walter very well, but they did send Lucas and me a vintage frame as a wedding gift. The frame sits on a bookshelf in Lucas’s living room—my living room—with one of the wedding photos Kim took of us.
The perfect excuse for why I’m here on a Wednesday afternoon while Lucas works with Grams on her PT exercises.
I rub my palm against the cotton of my dress, pretending to smooth it. For the past six weeks, Lucas and his brothers have tried to clear his name. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines, working on my subscription boxes. Enough is enough.
It’s my turn to see what I can dig up.
The Drysons’ house reminds me of a fairy-tale cottage. Colorful blossom-filled flower boxes sit under shuttered windows.
I ring the door chimes.
The door opens a minute later. Crystal smiles at me. “Hello, Simone. I was just thinking about you the other day.” She opens the door wide and waves me inside.
“These are for you.” I hand her the bouquet. “Thank you for the wedding gift. Lucas and I love it.”
“You’re welcome. Would you like something to drink? Tea, perhaps?”
“Tea would be great, thank you.”
“Why don’t you go into the living room, and I’ll bring it out once it’s ready.”
She points to the sunny room overlooking the front yard and disappears down the hallway. The furniture in the room and soft ivory walls fits perfectly with my image of a fairy-tale cottage. And the place has the same rusty Scandinavian feel that Tuuli loves.
Which is not great news for Lucas and his brothers if this is a taste of what the lodge will look like.
I study the framed photos on the nearby bookshelf. Crystal and Walter are in most of them in various locations I don’t recognize. A dark-haired boy and a girl are in some of the photos. In three of them, only Crystal and Walter and a sullen teenage boy are visible. The girl is missing.
Crystal walks back into the room, places the tray on the coffee table, and picks up a photo with both kids in it. “Not a day goes by when I don’t look at those. This is my son, Sebastian. And his twin sister, Bethany. She died of kidney failure when she was twelve years old. You never really get over the loss of a child.”
A dull ache clutches my belly, tiny fingers tightening like a vise. A phantom pain that drags grief and guilt along for the ride.
She’s right—you never get over the loss of your child. But it does get easier with time. For the most part.
I swallow the urge to spread my hand where Lily once lived and give away my secret. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t remember Sebastian from when I grew up in Maple Ridge. Does he still live here?”
“No. Not yet, anyway.”
“He’s planning to move back?”
Crystal returns the frame to the shelf. “I’m sure you know Walter and I are hoping to build a lodge on Tuuli and Robert’s land that’s for sale. Sebastian will help us manage it. It was his idea to build it. It will be our legacy. A way for people to remember us.”
She walks to the couch and sits. I join her. “Where is Sebastian now?”
“I’m not sure. He travels a lot.”
“For his job?”
“No, he’s—he’s in between jobs right now. He was in Eugene for a week or so back in May. Now he’s out on the Northeast Coast, checking out various lodges and getting ideas.”
“I must have just missed him when I moved here in mid-May.”
“Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to visit. He was busy getting quotes from construction companies. Walter and I told him we wanted to hire Troy’s company to build the lodge. But Sebastian didn’t think it was a good idea due to conflict of interest.” A blush hijacks her cheeks, and she glances at the contents of her cup.
