Teller
“Pop-pop!”Alexa runs over the uneven grass toward Rock.
Murphy glares at him, like he’d rather chew on glass than say hello.
Rock leans over and swings Alexa into his arms. “There’s our little mermaid girl.”
Murphy’s jaw twitches as he watches them. He shakes his head and turns toward Heidi still lingering by the tailgate of Murphy’s black truck.
“Hey.” I approach them slowly. “You all right?”
Heidi curls her hand around Blake’s. “We’re good.”
“Can we talk?” I gesture toward the house.
“I’d like to.” Heidi clings to Blake’s hand, making it clear all three of us are having this conversation. Fair enough.
At the porch steps, Blake hesitates and tugs Heidi toward him. “You two should talk first,” he says in a low voice.
“Are you sure?” Heidi asks.
“Go on.” He lifts her hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I hold open the door and nod to Blake after Heidi steps inside.
She stands in the hallway, awkwardly twitching as if it’s the first time she’s ever been in my house.
“You want something to drink?” I ask.
“Sure.” She follows me into the kitchen.
I pull out a pitcher of lemonade Charlotte made and pour two glasses.
“Where’s Charlotte?” Heidi asks, taking a seat at one end of the kitchen table.
“At the office.” I take the chair Wrath used earlier, so I’m closer to Heidi. She shifts away, the chair scratching over the floor, as if she needs more space.
“I’m sorry,” I begin.
She raises an eyebrow. “For?” She lifts the glass to her lips, taking a sip and puckering her mouth as the tart sweetness registers.
“I should’ve told you sooner. Instead of being a coward, I probably should’ve told you one-on-one.”
“You’re a lot of things, Marcel. A coward isn’t one of them.”
“An emotional coward then.”
She tilts her head as if she’s considering that suggestion. “So, this is why you’ve been so weird with me lately?”
I sit back in my chair with a thump. “Have I been weird?”
“I don’t know.” She traces the tip of her finger over her glass. “Once you got over being mad at me for marrying Axel, and Charlotte soothed your inner demons, we were kinda close.” One corner of her mouth curves, like she’s latched onto a fond memory. “Remember the house we shared down in Florida. We all had fun together, right?”
“We did.”
“Then, I don’t know, you seemed to change. I thought maybe you were still mad about Blake and me getting married—”
“I was never mad about you two being together.”