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I start hitting myself in the head. “Who was it? What’s his name?”
“Lee. Lee Dupre.”
The woman starts to walk over toward us. Cigarette still in hand. “Yes?”
Why is she coming over here?
“We are having a private conversation.”
“I heard my dad’s name. And he is the sheriff, right?” she asks.
Her father killed my family. I try to remain calm with everything inside me, but I just can’t.
“Do you know your father is a murderer?”
“Excuse me?” the woman replies, hand on her hip. “My father didn’t kill anyone.” Her eyes go over to the Sheriff’s. “Did he?”
I don’t need to take out my anger on her. After all, she isn’t the one that drove the car, or sent her dad to the store, but she needs to know what kind of man he is.
“He killed my wife and daughter! Why isn’t he the one dead?”
Everyone knows about Lee Dupre. He is the town drunk who has been arrested plenty of times for driving while intoxicated yet still has his license.
“He has to pay, sheriff. Are you taking him into custody?”
He nods, and has the woman step back. “I have to wait until his doctor clears him to be transported. Don’t worry, Milo, this son of a bitch isn’t getting away with this. Not under my watch.”
I hope the bastard rots in prison for the rest of his life. And a short one at that.
ChapterFour
Once the sheriff drops me off at home, I don’t even know what to do with myself. Do I just go in and act like nothing happened? Go to work tomorrow like I didn’t just lose everything? I’m all alone now, and I have to go back to the quiet house. It’ll never be filled with laughter again.
I’m just standing outside, not wanting to go in, but Darcy is counting on me. Oh, Darcy. She’s not going to understand this. We always come home. This time Tina and Kennedy aren’t coming back with me. Another tear sheds. It’s not just me that this is going to shatter, it’s our furry friend too.
She knows I’m here, but she has no idea it’s just me.
“Hey, girl.”
I open the door, and inch inside, shutting the door behind me. She looks at the door and then back at me.
“I know, girl. You don’t understand, but they aren’t coming home.”
Saying the words out loud make them real. So many things are going to change and as her husband and Kennedy’s father, I have to plan a funeral. We never talked about her wishes, and honestly, I thought we had decades before we had to breach the subject. Now, I have to figure this all out. Not tonight.
I pick Darcy and put her in my lap, but she stares at the front door, tail in place. Normally, they would file in after me, but they don’t. Her head tilts and she stares back at me as if asking me where they are.
“There aren’t coming home, sweetie,” I say, as I pet her. “It’s just me and you from now on.”
It’s getting late, but just the thought of going into the bedroom and sleeping by myself makes me a wreck. Or walking past Kennedy’s princess themed room and knowing that I’ll never get to hear her laugh again.
So, I stay in the living room, turn on the television, and cuddle up with Darcy. We are going to need each other now more than ever. Our hearts are broken and for now, all we can do is grieve. One step at a time.
I don’t even think about calling my boss until around midnight, and I send him a text. It’s a small town so I’m sure he has heard the news, but it’s still the right thing to at least let him know I won’t be coming in. Hell, I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get off this couch.
All I want to do is rewind back to right before I walked in the house, and just go get the damn butter myself. The thought of not having Kennedy in this world, to let her light shine, it’s killing me inside. She was going to be an amazing woman with her drive, and there is no doubt that her love for animals would have become her profession one day.
I lay on the couch, but my eyes won’t stay shut. My mind just replays the day in my head. So many things I would have changed if I knew it was going to be my last day with both of them. I would have told Tina I loved her and hugged her too many times. I would have let Kennedy play longer and never let her go.
