Concern laced his face. “What else is there?”
I paused, hating to say it out loud. It only made the reality of all the lies worse. “I think Alex’s business deal to get millions was to take mine. I think he was looking for holes in the trust.”
“Oh fuck.”
Two weeks had passed since Alex died. Nothing new surfaced on Alex, and I hadn’t heard anything from the mysterious man. The entire situation was an enigma.
I wanted to hear from him, but I hoped Alex’s double life stayed away at the same time.
Inside I was still a mess, but with painting, I began to heal. The loss of Mom and Dad helped prepare me for this, in a way. The hate fueled me, too. Three days ago, while I cried in my studio, I was glad Alex was dead and out of my life. I knew I wasn’t taking the high road with those thoughts, but I truly despised him with all my heart.
Sometimes, I thought about the good times we had in order to rationalize why I had been so imperceptive. Love truly made you blind.
I’d debated with Carson about whether or not to go to the cops or tell our families about what we’d found out. For now, we were doing neither. Instead, we contacted an investigator named Trent. Apparently he’d done some work for Carson. After I talked to Trent, I would determine if I wanted to use him or not.
With Commander Taylor being dirty, I wasn’t sure who I could trust. It seemed smarter not to disclose everything until we knew more.
The waves crashed against the shore as I sat in a chair and looked out at the ocean. My bare feet sifted through the soft white sand. Seagulls dipped into the ocean for a snack. I loved it out here—always had, ever since I was a child.
I glanced back to the house and saw no one. Carson was going to join me when he finished his conference call. For now, I asked him to temporarily live with me. Since I decided not to go to the cops, I felt safer having him here, and he agreed. Before Carson left, the security system on the house needed upgrading. I also needed to look at the possibility of having someone added to the staff. That was on my list to talk to Trent about. Carson had done extensive background checks prior to using him. In fact, he helped him set up the initial structure for his company.
Once we decided on what to do with security, more would have to be explained to Nonno, Chris, and Mildred. I knew it was going to require telling them a version of white lies. The thought made me nauseous since honesty was so important to me. But hopefully when that time came, I had a better option.
I focused back on the soothing motion of the waves as they crested and crashed onto the shore and waited for Eva to emerge from my studio. She was an art gallery manager, in the studio looking at my latest paintings to see if she wanted them for a show. After I finished the last one the day before yesterday, I called her to see if she was interested.
Now that the emotions lay on the canvas, I wanted them out of my house. These paintings were a little darker than my norm and I was nervous what her response would be.
I closed my eyes and listened to the ocean as my thoughts drifted. Part of me wondered what Commander Taylor had to gain by sharing the conversation with me. There had to be more to that. When we met in his office, he’d only revealed part of the puzzle. Why that piece, I wasn’t sure. He was still in it somehow. After all, Candy knew Alex was dead. Since his office handled the case, they’d had to orchestrate telling two wives their husband had died. How could each of us get remains?
Maybe Commander Taylor was involved in the scheme to get my trust fund. It was easier to go with the words of the mysterious man and trust no one… with the exception of Carson.
Five days ago, Nonno picked up the remains from the crematory. When I received them, I idly wondered who got the real remains… me or Candy.
For now, Alex’s supposed ashes were in a closet to keep me from dumping them down the garbage disposal where they belonged. Part of me felt guilty I wasn’t mourning Alex, but then I remembered all he’d done and anger diminished the guilt. My eyes were now opened to his true self.
All I wanted was to piece my life back together and move on.
The thought that he had a son kept occupying my thoughts. What kind of father had he been? What did the kid look like? How old was he? I pushed away the thought of meeting him. It wasn’t worth the potential consequences, but the fights Alex and I had had about children made the revelation hit home.
Going to the precinct two weeks ago left me with more questions than I ever thought possible. If only I hadn’t gone to the precinct that day… if only.
The biggest hurdle I had left was getting my period—less than two weeks away. I relaxed back and my thoughts wandered back to a time when I was truly ignorantly happy for the last time with him.
He moved within me, and I arched my back, relishing the friction. My nipples tingled as they brushed against his chest while he thrust in and out of me.
I was close. So close.
Gabe kissed along my collar bone before sucking the sensitive flesh of my neck. I reveled in the moment since he was leaving tomorrow to return to base.
On a plea to reach my orgasm, I whispered, “Gabe, please.”
A light sheen covered our bodies. “I’m with you, sweetheart.”
Our orgasms rolled through us as we called out each other’s name. Gabe collapsed on me and quickly rolled me on top of him, keeping us connected. “I love you, Willow.”
“I love you, too.”
Fingers trailed up my back. “One day, I’m going to make you the mother of my children.”
I wanted to be with Gabe forever and have his children.
“Hey, angel.”
Leaving the bittersweet thoughts, I smiled at the term of endearment Carson had used since we were younger. One time in the tree house, the light shone behind me, and he swore I looked like an angel. Plus, I’d helped bail him out of more than one situation throughout our childhood, earning me the name.
Opening my eyes, I responded. “Hey, you. Is your conference all done? I thought it would be longer. Eva is still looking at my paintings.”
Wearing athletic shorts with a T-shirt, Carson squatted, bringing him eye level with me. Those blue eyes were gorgeous—they always had been. “It is. I have an idea.”
I quirked a brow. “That sounds dangerous. You’ve gotten us into a lot of trouble throughout the years with your ideas.”
A hand went to his chest in mock surprise. “When?”
“The time we played hooky from school and got caught drag racing your father’s car along the shoreline.”
His eyes lit up as a hand raked down the stubble on his face. “You may have a point. Are you in the mood to be daring?”
“I could be, depending…”
He gave me a mischievous wink. “Good. I need you to pack a bag.”
“A bag?”
“I need your help.”
Standing, I watched Carson. He was serious. “Help?”
He chuckled. “Are you going to answer everything I say with a question?”
“Hey, Willow. Am I interrupting?”
I turned to see the brunette art gallery manager approaching. Her attire was not appropriate for the shore at all as her heels sank into the sand. Carson stood beside me as the familiar artistic nerves took over while I waited for her verdict. Ultimately, I never had to sell a painting and I would be financially secure. But I loved it and wanted to be successful on my own.
“Of course not, Eva.”
Since I let them obs
erve my art by themselves, I was never able to ask what gallery managers thought about my work after they looked at it. I was fine with criticism, but asking felt like it forced people to give disingenuous compliments if they didn’t like it.
Bringing her fingers to her mouth, she kissed them before moving them away in an exploding motion. “Willow. My word. I must have all of them for a show. You can’t say no. I have to have them.”
Eva was my favorite art gallery manager because of her energy and passion for art. The gallery on Madison Avenue in Manhattan drew huge crowds any time she hosted an event and generally sold out within hours. “Wow! Are you serious?”
I was stunned. Eva rarely took entire collections. She was very selective.
She waved her hand. “Of course I’m serious. They’re fabulous! I’m going to showcase them as soon as possible.”
Nearly hugging Eva, I remembered myself before exclaiming, “Yes, yes you can have them! This is amazing!”
She gave a quick clap. Needless to say, she was… eccentric. “Oh, you’ve made my day! I’m going to get to work on this immediately. We’ll go through any you want to keep and all the specifics later this week, if that works.”
In all the excitement, she leaned in to kiss both my cheeks, like in Europe.
“That sounds great. I don’t want to keep any.”
Squeals erupted from her, and I took a step back at the unexpected screech. Eva was oblivious to the scene she was causing. “This is your best work yet, Willow. They are so raw and emotional. Oh, I love them. Okay, I need to get back to the gallery. Can I send someone to get all the paintings tomorrow?”
“Yes. Thank you, Eva!” I remembered Carson asked for my help and told me to pack a bag. He knew he’d be able to get me to say yes. “I may be out of town. Mildred and Chris can let them into my studio.”
Carson beamed, knowing I basically agreed to go.
“Perfect. Let me know. I have their numbers from the last show, in case you do decide to leave town. I’ve got to go plan this fab event.” Eva waved as she walked to her car, completely ignoring Carson.