“Tell me one thing you remember about her,” Kimmie said as the four of them stood at Heather’s headstone. She always requested this when they came to the gravesite, but Liam had forgotten.
Thankfully, Wayne said, “When your mom was growing up, she really wanted to be a Broadway star.” He chuckled and crouched down in front of the marker. “She could dance—she was a great dancer—but the girl was tone deaf.”
Georgia gave a light laugh and added, “That she was.” She linked her arm through her husband’s as he straightened again. “Heather was exceptionally gifted with a paintbrush.”
“You’ve told me that one before, Grandma,” Kimmie said.
“Have I?” Georgia put her arm around Kimmie’s shoulders. “I suppose I have.” But she didn’t say something different.
Liam had so many memories of the woman he’d been married to for five years. But he couldn’t settle on just one thing to say to Kimmie. Guilt consumed his mind, and he wondered if he was doing the right thing with Serenity.
They were both consenting adults, and they both knew the risks they were taking by pursuing their secret relationship. He wasn’t married anymore, so why did it feel like he was cheating on Heather?
“Mom loved toast,” he said, his voice a bit raw. He cleared his throat to cover it up and added, “Only with real butter. None of this margarine stuff.”
Kimmie reached over and put her little hand in his, and that motion grounded Liam just as his thoughts and emotions started to spiral away. “Mom loved the beach.”
“You’ve said that one before,” Liam said, smiling down at his daughter. He took a mental snapshot of this moment, the comfort and peace he felt despite the guilt still trying to unseat him.
“And ham sandwiches,” she added. “She’d always pack ham sandwiches to go to the beach.”
“She got that from Grandma,” Wayne said, and Georgia began crying softly.
“Excuse me,” she whispered, and she stepped away from everyone else.
Kimmie edged in closer to Wayne and took his other hand. “I think she likes it in heaven.”
“I’m sure she does, baby,” Wayne said. He turned and took Kimmie with him as they walked away from the headstone. Liam always stayed for a few extra minutes, and they always let him. He wasn’t sure why, as they were the ones who could only come here once a year. He could visit Heather’s final resting place any time he wanted, and yet he always wanted the last word with her.
“I’m seeing someone,” he whispered, the words barely tickling his vocal chords. “I’m sorry, Heather.” He crouched down and traced his fingers over the letters in her name. She’d been adamant that he pick a headstone that didn’t look “too frilly,” and she’d insisted they buy three plots so all of them could be buried beside each other.
Liam had done whatever she’d wanted, though he’d tried to convince her they wouldn’t need the plots for a long time—hers included.
How wrong he’d been.
“I love you,” he whispered to the stones, the letters, the idea of his wife. Then he stood and walked away.
Serenity’s car sat in his driveway when he and the Reynolds returned to the house, but she wasn’t on the main level.
“Can I go get her?” Kimmie asked.
“Why don’t you text her first?” Liam suggested. “She’s maybe had a hard day and doesn’t feel like socializing.”
Kimmie’s eyes were so round and so sober. “All right.” She took her phone out of the charging station on the counter next to the pantry and started tapping and swiping. “What if she says no?”
“Then she says no, Kimmers,” he said. “It’s late. She might already be in bed.” Where he wanted to be.
“But I want her to meet Grandma and Grandpa.”
Georgia and Wayne didn’t look that great either, but Liam didn’t say that. “You guys aren’t leaving until almost lunchtime,” he said gently. “There will be time in the morning.”
Georgia nodded, a weary smile on her face. He knew the only reason she and Wayne hadn’t already gone upstairs was because Kimmie wanted them to meet Serenity.
“She’s not answering,” Kimmie said, though maybe fifteen seconds had gone by since she’d messaged.
“Time for bed,” Liam said. “You can introduce her in the morning.”
“Dad.”
“Kimmie, I don’t think this is happening tonight.” He bent down and touched his nose to hers. “Don’t worry, okay? You’ll have plenty of time in the morning.” Looking into her eyes always reminded him of Heather. “Now go give Grandma and Grandpa a hug goodnight.”
She looked like she’d argue with him again, and he silently hoped she wouldn’t. Not tonight. Not about this. He didn’t have the energy to deal with it.
Finally, Kimmie turned and skipped over to her grandparents and gave them hugs. She started toward the hallway, and Liam said, “And me.”
She detoured toward him, her hug a bit stiff even as she said, “Love you, Daddy.”
“Go change and brush your teeth. I’ll come tuck you.”
“I’ll do it,” Wayne said, taking an extra moment to stand up. His first few steps were stuttered, and Liam realized in that moment how old Heather’s parents had become. He’d seen them last year, but Wayne’s hair was definitely grayer now, and Georgia had more lines around her eyes.
She stood too, moving into the kitchen to hug Liam. This wasn’t completely unusual, but another blast of guilt had Liam questioning everything in his life for the second time that day. “You’re a good father, Liam. Thank you for letting us take her.”
“Of course,” he said, his emotion sticking in his throat and making speaking impossible.
Georgia waited for Wayne to return, and they went upstairs together. Since no one ever went up there, Liam knew the rooms were ready. He’d put them back together after the Reynolds left, and they’d be ready for next time they came to pick up Kimmie.
Too keyed up but utterly exhausted, he went down the hall to his bedroom too, wishing he’d be able to fall asleep as easily as Kimmie always did. But he knew he’d be awake for hours still, and he tapped out a quick message to Serenity.
How did today go? I missed you terribly.
He stared at the words, trying to find how he felt about her. Them. Sending this text. He couldn’t find a single word for it, so he sent his text and got ready for bed before checking his phone again.
She hadn’t answered, and he deduced she’d gone to bed after a stressful day. He wished he could go downstairs and lay beside her. Hold her close to his heart and let her cry if she needed to.
But he couldn’t. Not with Georgia and Wayne upstairs, and not with Kimmie here. But they’d all be gone tomorrow. With that thought in his head, he was able to fall asleep quickly.
The next morning, Liam woke later than usual. He enjoyed a few lazy minutes in bed before the scent of coffee urged him to get up and see what was going on in the kitchen. As he walked down the hall, past Kimmie’s open bedroom door, voices filtered back to him.
Everyone was up except for him, Serenity included. Panic hit him square in the chest, and he paused just out of sight so he could listen. Her laughter floated into his ears, making him smile, and he padded the rest of the way into the room.
“Daddy,” Kimmie said, skipping over to him. “Kimmie got croissants.”
“She did?”
“Good morning,” Georgia said with a smile. She’d recovered from last night, and Liam smiled at her and repeated the greeting.
“And she made bacon and eggs,” Liam said. “Breakfast sandwiches.”
“Everyone’s eaten,” Kimmie said. “You slept late.”
“Yeah.” Liam didn’t make an excuse as to why. He had none, other than he was tired and no one had woken him.
“Did you want breakfast?” Serenity asked, her eyes barely settling on him.
“Coffee’s fine,” he said, stepping into the kitchen with her to get down a mug from the cupboard. He poure
d his own coffee and took it around the island to where the cream and sugar waited. After doctoring up his brew how he liked it, he joined Wayne at the table. “So you guys met Serenity.”
“Yeah,” Wayne said, nothing strange or different in his expression or voice. “Kimmie loves her.”
“Yes, she does,” Liam said.
And that was that. He watched Serenity clean up, chatting with Kimmie and Georgia like they’d been friends for years. He marveled at her, and he couldn’t wait until they were alone so he could find out how she was really feeling.
She looked great that morning, wearing a tight pair of leggings and a sleeveless shirt the color of ripe cherries. She laughed, and he wanted to cross the room and kiss her senseless right then.
He sipped his coffee instead, none of the guilt from yesterday pricking his heart. Of course he still had good days and bad, and yesterday had been…troublesome. Not bad. Just a reminder of everything he’d lost.
Soon enough, it was time for Kimmie to go. He went through her packing list one more time with her, zipped her suitcase up, and hugged her tight. Made her promise to be good for her grandparents, and he and Serenity stood in the door to wave at them until they backed out in their rental car and left.
Once the door closed, Serenity’s hand slipped into his and he turned to kiss her.
Chapter Twelve
Serenity felt like she was having an out-of-body experience as her sister spoke about their mother. She hated wearing all black. Hated being on display. Hated that Liam sat beside her and yet she couldn’t hold his hand.
But while it wasn’t unusual for him to be there with her, it would be odd for him to show such affection for her. In the eyes of everyone attending her mother’s funeral, he was her boss. She was his client.
She heard the words her sister said, but they didn’t fully sink in. Audrey finally finished speaking and a couple of ladies from her mother’s church congregation got up and sang a pretty song.
Everything about the funeral was pretty. The flowers. The mortuary chapel. The words spoken. The music.
But Serenity didn’t feel pretty inside, and she couldn’t wait until this was all over. She just wanted to put on her sweatpants and curl into Liam’s embrace. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to kiss him.
She just wanted him to hold her.
And then, tomorrow, she and Audrey would start to go through the house.
The work in front of her intimidated her, but with Kimmie gone and Liam working during the day, Serenity really had no reason she couldn’t get her mother’s house cleaned out and cleaned up and ready to sell.
Kyler had a job, and Heather had two kids, so once again, the responsibility fell to her. She didn’t mind, and she was grateful Heartland had allowed her to stay with the Addlers. Of course, Liam’s phone call and insistence that she do had helped tremendously.
Everything about him impressed her, even though he’d slept late and made his daughter introduce her to Heather’s parents. They were nice people, and they didn’t suspect anything.
She stood when it was time. Followed the casket she’d picked from her mother’s choices. Sat in the passenger seat while Liam drove them to the cemetery. He didn’t say anything, and neither did she. It didn’t feel like a day for talking.
As they got out of his SUV, she realized Heather was buried here. She met him at the front of the car and asked, “Where’s Heather?”
Liam looked at her, his eyes a bit glazed over. She felt like someone had wrapped her whole body in plastic, and she couldn’t quite see through the haze. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Is it hard for you to come here?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted, his hand closest to the car touching hers. A feather-light touch. There, then gone. “But not today. You doing okay?”
She nodded, though a ball of emotion had lodged itself in her throat. “I just want this to be over.”
“I know the feeling.” He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her to begin moving. “Almost there, sweetheart.” He dropped his hand, and they walked over to the gravesite, where more words would be said. Bunches of balloons would be released. And then they would be done.
Almost.
Audrey had allowed their mother’s church group to host a luncheon afterward, and everyone was invited. So she and Liam would attend that, and then they’d be done.
She moved through the motions. She walked. She smiled when someone she didn’t know spoke to her. She accepted their sorrow and sorrys and sympathy. She ate little at the lunch, but enough to be grateful.
By the time she and Liam made it back to the house, her nerves were shot and she was exhausted. “I’m going to go change,” she said.
“I’ll make hot chocolate.”
She went downstairs, not bothering to close the door that kept her apartment separate from the house. Liam had not come down here once, and she didn’t expect he would today either. She did wonder if it would become awkward with just the two of them living there for the next month while Kimmie was gone, but last night had been fine.
Great, even, because he couldn’t seem to get enough of her, and they’d cuddled on the couch, kissing until almost midnight.
No wonder she was so tired.
She changed out of the hideous black dress and into the sweats she’d been dreaming about. Pictures of her family stood on her dresser, and she reached out to trace a fingertip across the top of one of the frames.
It was an old picture, taken when her father was still alive. Maybe one of the last pictures of him that existed. Her mom had put it in the ugly frame, and Serenity had carried it with her to two continents and three families. She’d learned to live with very few personal items, but the pictures always came with her.
The numbness she’d been experiencing evaporated, and pain radiated through her whole body. The same racking sobs that had consumed her when she found her mother in the kitchen returned, and Serenity crawled into bed and cried.
She wasn’t sure how long she did that, but it was long enough to cause concern in Liam, who appeared in her doorway, his expression cautious. He kept one hand on the doorframe, as if holding himself back from entering her bedroom.
“Hey,” he said. “Can I come in?”
She nodded, and he flew toward her, enveloping her in his arms just the way she wanted him to. He laid down beside her and stroked her hair, humming in the back of his throat.
She wept until she had nothing left, and then she fell asleep in the safety of his embrace, her love for him and the peace and comfort he provided as scary as it was real.
Over the course of the next week, Serenity dealt with the house. Kyler had said he’d hire professional cleaners, so Serenity didn’t concern herself with that. But she did want family heirlooms and photo albums, mementos and knickknacks her mother had loved.
Audrey came a couple of times and went through the boxes of things Serenity had pulled out. Kyler came once. Serenity determined she’d keep whatever they didn’t want, or whatever hadn’t been specified in the will, and her siblings didn’t have a problem with that.
The second day she was at the house, she saw the black truck parked down the street in Gail Henderson’s driveway. She wasn’t sure why she cared—her mom was dead now, and she couldn’t be scammed again.
The truck wasn’t there the third day, or the fourth, but the following Monday, it reappeared, this time across the street and only a few doors down. Frustrated at how long the clean-out was taking, her anger seemed to be lit on fire when she saw those two men walking out of the house.
They got in the truck and backed out. She ducked inside the house, though she’d been sorting through several things outside. She had every right to be there and no reason to believe they knew who she was. It had been weeks since she’d been to the mechanic’s shop and told never to come back.
She hadn’t. And yet, she couldn’t let go of the fact that something was definitely off about that truck an
d the two men who used it.
The next day, she took a plate of cookies with her to her mother’s house. Liam loved it when she baked, and he didn’t need to know who the extras would go to. She worked in the house for most of the morning, trying to gather up her courage to go down the street to Gail Henderson’s house.
The black truck was nowhere to be found in the neighborhood, so Serenity determined to go after lunch. She worried that showing up with cookies and questions could get her in trouble, so when she opened yet another drawer in her mom’s house and saw dozens of crocheted pot holders, she couldn’t get them out fast enough.
Gail had taught crocheting classes at the community center, and Serenity remembered her mother talking about them. She’d gotten pot holders for Christmas for five years straight, and she put several of them in a bag and started down the street.
After knocking on the door at Gail’s, time seemed to stretch and slow. Maybe the woman wasn’t home. Maybe she couldn’t get up and answer the door. Serenity’s heart beat wildly in her chest, and she looked left and right like she was doing something wrong and didn’t want any witnesses.
The door creaked, and Serenity’s attention flew back to it. It cracked open to reveal darkness inside, as if all the curtains had been drawn and the woman appearing hadn’t seen the light of day for weeks.
Serenity commanded her overactive imagination to settle down. The woman standing in front of her was definitely Gail Henderson, if several years older.
“Hello,” Serenity said in a bright voice. “I don’t know if you remember me or not. I’m Serenity Silvers, and my mother, Selma, lived just down the street there.” She nodded in the direction of her childhood home.
“I was cleaning out her things and found all these potholders. I remember her telling me that you taught her how to crochet, and I thought you might like them.”
Gail looked at the potholders and then back at Serenity, a smile forming on her face. Serenity’s pulse started to quiet, and she smiled back.
The Owner's Secret Client Page 8
