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“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Alex waved off my uncertainty before clapping his hands, “Now, let’s get down to business.”
The next morning, I woke up to six figures in my bank account. The amount had been deposited by an account overseas that couldn’t be traced back to its source.
I’d confronted Alex later that day, pulling him aside during a family dinner Ames had set up. Wren had escaped to the pool, tipsy and still acting oddly after our tryst in the haunted maze. I’d planned to solve that problem as soon as possible, but first I had to set some things straight with Alex while Wren wasn’t around to overhear.
“Take your money back,” I demanded.
“What money?” Alex had a great poker face, his features blank as he met my eyes, but I didn’t believe him for a second.
“I’ll figure out how to put it back in your account, plus interest,” I threatened, disliking the idea of owing Alex anything. I liked the idea that he pitied me enough to give me money to buy the house even less.
But Alex didn’t look at me with pity. He didn’t even look angry at my threat, instead tilting his head back in a laugh. It wasn’t a mocking laugh but a pleased one, ending in a flash of his teeth as he chuckled. One of the true smiles Ames was always going on about, and I finally started to understand her obsession with them as I watched Alex’s features relax into a smile. It transformed his face, made him seem more human than the stoic, controlling businessman I usually saw at work.
I supposed I wasn’t much better, keeping everyone at a distance while I tried to scare Wren away. Ames used to be the only who could pull any emotion out of me, the only person I could rely on when I needed help. Now I had a group of people to trust, and I still expected the worst, thinking I needed to track Dev’s movements for the truth or that Alex pitied me rather than wanted to help me.
Alex stopped laughing, but his face was still amused as he told me, “Bex, you’re good, but you’re not as good as me.” His face hardened into the dangerous mask I knew well, the one he wore with mobsters and politicians as he warned me, “That money is in your account for good and will be re-deposited if you try to get rid of it. Got it?”
And it wasn’t fear but appreciation that had me murmuring, “Got it.”
“Good. Consider it a bonus for playing Wren’s bodyguard these past few weeks.”
“Consider it my dowry,” Ames interrupted with a laugh, wrapping her arms around Alex’s waist as she eavesdropped on the end of our conversation. She already knew about the house - somehow aware of it before I had a chance to tell her, since she’d been out of town all weekend and working during our meeting the day before - likely hearing from Dev or Alex since apparently none of us could keep a secret unless it was work-related. As always, she supported me wholeheartedly.
“Money isn’t enough, Xan. Gotta throw in some sheep too!” Dev shouted.
Standing there, Ames wrapped around Alex while Dev joked from the other room, I suddenly realized everything I gained thanks to my sister. I’d gotten acquitted of a crime I was guilty of (thanks to Ames’s stalker not wanting her sister thrown in jail), had a place to stay when my ex and I broke up, met Wren, and started working with Alex and Dev. I had gotten to know the family I finally realized I wanted to fully commit myself to, not just for Wren or Ames but for myself, to give myself the types of relationships I’d been avoiding for years.
After that realization, I ended up taking advantage of my access to Alex’s home security system to go back through his security footage and screenshot a dozen photos of his smile. The algorithm was easy to create using a facial-recognition software I tweaked to only look for certain lip curvature. Most were with Ames, though I made sure to include the one he gave me when he laughed at my threat, and I sent the images to my sister as a thank you for including me in the family she’d found herself a part of.
The family that helped get me here, standing with my arms wrapped around Wren while she stared at her dream house.
“It looked a lot different then, though.” Wren’s words pulled me out of my reverie, and I focused on the house in front of me. The memories could wait for later, since I was sure Dev and Ames would be all too eager to tell Wren about their involvement.
She was right; the house had undergone quite a few changes over the last month. The paint had been updated, turning the dull green to a rich sage. The black and white accents on the windows and eaves of the house were also freshly painted, making the house look fresh, though still slightly creepy.
The landscaping had undergone some upgrading as well, as much as could be done in late fall. The front beds were freshly mulched, a few of the dead bushes pulled out and replaced with new ones that would last through the winter. The black gate surrounding the front yard was freshly sanded and painted, and I pulled the latch, leading Wren up the front path that still needed to be replaced.
“Bex, we can’t just break in! The house has a sold sign on it!”
“It’s fine, little bird. I got permission from the owner to be here.”
With my reassurance, Wren relaxed slightly, allowing me to lead her around the back of the house. She stopped at the corner of the back yard, shoulders slumping as she breathed out a dejected “Oh.”
I expected an awe-filled look, some sort of gratitude when she finally saw her present, but her expression drove a sharp spike of fear into my heart instead.
“What’s wrong?” I gripped Wren by the upper arms, not liking the sad look in her eyes, the tears gathering on her bottom lashes. “Lovely, what is it?”
“It’s just,” she waved her hand toward the greenhouse in the back of the yard, the black metal and glass monstrosity taking up over a hundred square feet. It had taken days to put together, and I still worried it would fall apart during the first heavy snow. “I told Dev that it would be the perfect spot for a greenhouse. I loved this house, so it just makes me sad that someone else is going to enjoy it. It’s silly, I know.”
“Wren.” I chuckled as I leaned down to kiss away the tears that dripped slowly down her cheeks. They weren’t as satisfying as they had been that first time, Wren’s sadness on my tongue. I much preferred her cries of pleasure, when I overwhelmed her until she couldn’t help but sob my name. So I didn’t take long to end her sadness, whispering against her skin, “The greenhouse is foryou.The whole house is for you. I thought you’d figure it out when you saw the greenhouse. I didn’t expect you to cry.”
“You…you bought me a house?”
I nodded, staying silent while I waited for more of her words, her questions. I wouldn’t have imagined, months ago, waiting so restlessly for Wren’s opinion of a house I bought for her. So when she asked, “Why?” I wasn’t quite sure how to answer.
“Worked for Alex,” I shrugged.
Wren shook her head at my answer, tilting her head back so I could watch her throat move as she laughed.
