I wouldn’t. I’d hold on to him forever.
I knocked on the door again. Carol hadn’t answered the first time, but she knew we were stopping by after I picked up Tuck from school. Tuck peeked through one of the windows.
“I see her,” Tuck said. I knocked again and he tapped against the glass. “She’s coming.”
Carol opened the door. She looked haggard, tired down to the bone. There were dark purple bags under her eyes, and her skin was sallow. Her hair was knotted near the roots and hanging limply. A stain was smeared across her top, and I wondered when she’d last showered or changed. “Carol, are you alright?”
“Fine, fine,” she said and ushered us inside, looking out to the street as she closed the door behind us. Tuck tilted his head staring at her.
“We brought you an apple pie. Want a slice? Pie always makes me feel better,” Tuck said, grabbing her hand and guiding her to the kitchen. I placed the pie on the kitchen table and went to the cabinets to grab three plates. I took some silverware off the drying rack and went back to the table.
“Oops! A knife.”
I popped back up, grabbed the knife, and returned to the table, and I started to make a cut. Carol got up from her seat, grabbing the roots of her hair and making frustrated noises. I paused and looked at her. Color was rising in her cheeks, and her eyes were screwed shut.
“You’re always forgetting things. It’s why you don’t deserve him. You’re not the mother I was.” I had no idea what she was talking about. I never forgot anything.
I slowly put the knife on the table. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t deserve Tucker. That boy certainly doesn’t deserve him either.”
“Carol, what are you talking about? Are you okay?” I asked. I pulled my phone from my pocket and tapped a quick message to Gunner.
Something is wrong with Carol.
“I miss Declan,” Carol said. “I was the best mother. I was nothing like you. How could you bring Gunner into your son’s life? You’re no mother at all. He has to pay. He has to.”
I wasn’t sure what was wrong with her, but we needed to leave. I couldn’t imagine the pain she felt over losing her son, but I didn’t want Tuck to hear any of this. “Tucker, let’s go.”
I reached out, grabbing Tucker’s hand, and started to rise from the table.
“No!” Carol shouted. As something hard hit the back of my head and my whole world went black, I pictured Gunner and Tucker.
Chapter 40
Gunner
I drove up the long, winding driveway lined with towering oak trees. The branches broke off like veins and met in the sky over the driveway, creating a mosaic of lights and shadows. Based on the driveway alone, I was already impressed and liked it more than the other four houses I’d seen that day.
I’d told the realtor my number one priority was the view. If I didn’t like the house, or Delilah didn’t like it, then I could level it and build a new one. The first house the realtor had taken me to had a view of a manure plant. That wasn’t exactly on my list of picturesque scenery. One look and smell of that place and I left, demanding the next address on the list. The next was okay, but it wasn’t the one. The third was too small. The fourth was almost as bad as the first.
Delilah was on my mind with each house. I knew she’d live there with me one day. I’d prefer sooner rather than later. I wanted to come home from Spring Training to a house with her in it.
I hope she liked her package.
I batted away those thoughts and focused on what was in front of me. Another house to look at.
The driveway split; one path led to the house, and the other led farther back on the property. There was enough space to build a baseball field for Tuck. The house was a large sprawling one-story made of white stone. The black double front doors were half glass, and the lights inside the house made them look like they were shining.
I parked and stepped out of the car. There was a porch swing at the front, and I smiled. A picture of us formed in my mind, wrapped up in each other late at night after Tucker went to bed.
“What do you think?” Lindsay, the realtor, asked.
“Should’ve taken me here first.” I didn’t take my eyes off the house. There was one true test though. The view. If the view around the property wasn’t great, it was onto the next one. I didn’t want to get caught up in just the house.
Delilah fell in love with views.
“I had to make you see what a gem this property was by showing you crap first.”
“That was a waste of time,” I muttered and walked around to the back. I unlatched the gate in the low wooden fence and walked through.
A large infinity pool overlooked the deep lake in the canyon hills below. The sun glared off of the water, coloring the rocky hills red. I looked at the field surrounding the house. I could build the baseball field, a separate gym, and even a guest house.
“Let’s go inside,” I said. I walked back to the front, and Lindsay used the keypad to open the door. The floors were a light gray wood, and even with the large size, it felt comfy. The living room had high ceilings and enough space for a large sectional sofa and TV.
The kitchen had two islands, both large. One was white marble like the rest of the kitchen, and the other was made of wood. Delilah would love this kitchen. She belonged here, cooking her favorite recipes. I wanted this for her, and I wanted to fill the house with more kids.
My phone vibrated and I pulled it out of my pocket. I smiled at Delilah’s name. It was fucking perfect that I’d been standing here in this kitchen, a space she’d love, when I heard from her for the first time.
Delilah: There’s something wrong with Carol.
Chapter 41
Delilah
Soft whimpering broke through the blackness. My arms ached. My head was pounding as if a thousand elephants were having a dance party. I tried to lift one of my hands but couldn’t. Slowly the scene returned to me. Carol’s manic rambling, my trying to leave, and then a hard pound on the head.
Tuck.
My tired, heavy eyes flew open, frantically looking around.
“No,” I cried. Tuck was still at his spot at the table, but he was bound to the chair and had a red bandanna stuffed into his mouth. His bloodshot eyes shifted back and forth. He looked terrified.
“It’s going to be okay, Tuck,” I whispered, looking around for Carol. She wasn’t in the kitchen or at the table. Her footsteps were sounding throughout the house, but I couldn’t place where she was. I was bound to my chair, but she’d left my mouth free.
I wiggled against the restraints, trying to free myself, but they were tight and my skin was quickly turning raw. I pulled and strained, using all the force I had. Sweat broke across my brow as I struggled to undo the binds.
I closed my eyes and breathed for a second, thinking through my options. I opened my eyes and looked around the room, peeking over my shoulder to see if I could back the chair up and saw at the ropes binding me.
There was nothing.
I could scream, but if someone didn’t come quickly enough, Carol would surely hear me. I scanned the room again and froze. On the counter behind Tucker was a gun. It was old and small, but it was still a gun. And surely it could still hit its mark and cause damage.