Lacey walked into the living room of her childhood home and came to a stop, just staring around. There were changes. They were subtle but there. Some new pillows, a throw had been placed over the back of the old sofa her father had owned forever, hiding the cracks in the leather.
Not bad things, she admitted to herself. She could deal with change. And it was only natural that Brandi would want to put her own stamp on things. This was her house now.
Damn, that weirded her out. Lacey could still see her mother at the sink washing the dishes. Chasing Brax through the living room as he laughed, a piece of chocolate cake in his hand.
She moved to the remembrance wall. It wasn’t called that, of course. But that’s what it was. Photo after photo of Brax filled the space. From the time he was born until he’d died at just fifteen. Her mother had created it soon after he’d passed. The counselor had suggested putting together a book of her favorite memories of her son. As usual, her mother had taken it one step further.
She wondered what Brandi thought of it.
Someone walked up behind her and she turned to see her father staring up at the wall.
“He was such a handsome boy. Athletic and smart too. He was headed for great things. A football scholarship, college education. He would have been the first one in our family to go to college.”
She didn’t point out that she’d gone to college at sixteen. That she’d graduated from John Jay with an MA in psychology. There was no point.
“He was wonderful, Daddy,” Lacey said, trying to keep the impatience from her voice. How could he not notice her standing right here? There were times she just wanted to scream at him that Brax was dead but she was still here. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Losing her temper would do no good. She was done trying to fight for his attention. She turned to look at him.
He seemed older. There were more lines around his eyes, more gray in his hair. He lifted a glass of beer to his mouth and took a sip while staring at the wall of Brax.
Since when had he started drinking beer out of a glass? Once, he’d have considered a glass a waste of time when he could be drinking straight from the can.
“Daddy, there’s something I have to tell you.” She licked her lips. Even though she told herself his opinion didn’t matter, she still hated feeling like she’d failed.
“What do you think of Brandi?” he asked suddenly.
“Um . . . well, I’ve only spoken a few words to her,” she replied diplomatically.
He frowned. “I knew you wouldn’t make an effort to get on with her.”
“Daddy, I didn’t say that. I just haven’t had a moment to speak with her other than to say hello. If she makes you happy, then I’m sure we’ll get on fine. It’s just, it’s weird to think of this as her home when I can still see mom in it, you know?”
Her father didn’t answer, and she could feel the displeasure rolling off him.
“You’ve changed some of the photos,” she stated as a kind of olive branch.
“I removed the ones that held your mother. No need for Brandi to see a reminder of her every day.”
“Right, and what about the ones of me?” she questioned.
“You? What photos of you?”
Exactly.
Where were the photos of her? Packed away in some box? Maybe one day she’d find a secret stash of photo albums somewhere filled with pictures of her. But somehow, she kind of doubted it.
“Never mind. Daddy, there’s something I have to tell you about my job.”
His face lit up slightly. “Brandi is really interested in your job. She’s decided to become a writer and she’s going to write a book featuring yours truly as a rogue FBI agent. Going to be a best seller. Everything she does turns to gold.”
“Oh, so she’s quite wealthy, is she?”
He stared down at her disapprovingly. “We don’t discuss money.”
“You did get a prenup, I’m assuming.” Her dad wasn’t rich by any means. But he owned the house and had run a hardware store for years. He was comfortable, and despite the problems they had, she wanted to make sure he stayed that way.
“A prenup? Why would I get one of those? We’re in love, Lacey.”
And that meant Brandi wouldn’t take him for half of everything if they divorced?