A Crowe's Song Page 29

  Face to face.

  I pulled open the heavy door and took a step inside. I knew he didn’t work in the office very often, but this was the obvious first place to check. Had it been closer to dinner, I would’ve tried The Feeder first.

  A middle-aged man stood and blinked a few times before saying, “You really do look exactly like her, don’t you?”

  “I’m sorry?” I had no idea what he was talking about.

  “Forgive me, I was talking to myself. It’s just that you look identical to someone else.”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot. I think I just have one of those faces.”

  The man chuckled to himself as he dropped his chin. “Nah, you can’t say that, darlin’. There isn’t an average pore on your face.”

  As soon as he said nah, I figured he must be Drew’s dad. He sounded just like him. Not to mention, I assumed Drew had at least mentioned me, which would explain his reaction when I first walked in.

  “I know you aren’t checking in, seeing’s how we don’t have any arrivals scheduled until tomorrow. So what may I do for you, young lady?”

  I moved closer to the desk and smiled his way. “I’m actually looking for someone—Drew Wheeler. Any idea where I might be able to find him?”

  He squinted at the clock on the wall. “He should be pulling up to the dock right about now. He had a water tour on the boat that ends in roughly five minutes. Do you need directions to—”

  “No, thank you. I know where it is,” I said over my shoulder as I hurried out of the office. I knew it was rude to cut him off, but I could tell by his smirk that he wasn’t bothered by it. In fact, if anything, he appeared amused by my hasty exit.

  I made it about halfway down the trail before questioning myself. I began to doubt that I was headed in the right direction, feeling as though nothing was familiar. Granted, I’d only come down here the one time, and honestly, I had no idea how I managed to stumble upon it. I was out for a walk, heading toward the water, and there it was. Hopefully, I’d have the same luck this time around.

  As soon as I heard voices in the distance, I felt confident that I was on the right path. I just had to make sure I got there before he left. I more than likely held my breath until I made it past the no trespassing sign and found him near the end of the dock. That was the first time in weeks I felt at peace. It didn’t even matter that we still had to talk about things. Uncomfortable things. All that mattered was that he was right in front of me.

  “Hey, you got a minute?”

  Drew stopped mid-knot and froze. He didn’t even look my way.

  So I continued to put one foot in front of the other until I stood in his shadow. That got his attention and made him move. He turned his head and slowly scanned me from my legs to my face. However, there wasn’t anything sexual about the way he regarded me. If anything, it was laced with confusion.

  Meeting my stare, he stood upright and furrowed his brow. I couldn’t see behind his sunglasses, but I was sure his gaze was narrowed, too. “Is everything okay?”

  That took me by surprise. Rather than anger or disgust, his question was riddled with concern. Concern for me. I had assumed this would’ve been much harder, especially considering how he’d refused to speak to me over the last couple of weeks. But this wasn’t a man who was pissed off by my surprise visit. Then again, he also wasn’t a man who appeared happy to see me standing in front of him.

  “Uh, yeah. I just wanted to talk, if that’s all right. If you have time, I mean.”

  “And what if I don’t?”

  I shrugged, hoping this was nothing more than a simple test of my loyalty. “Then I guess I’ll hang around and wait until you do have time.”

  “And what if I’m busy for the next week?”

  “Looks like I’ll get to spend another week in my favorite place.”

  “What if it takes me a month?”

  I smiled, confident this was his way of testing me. “I’ll make this easy for you, Drew. I’m not leaving until we have a conversation. I’ve called and texted, and you’ve ignored them all. Well, I won’t let you ignore me now. I have some things I need to tell you, and if it takes a year to get you to listen, then move over, honey, because I’m moving to town.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched, giving away his fight against the smile that tugged his lips relentlessly. If only I knew its intention, it’d be easier to read him. “Well, in that case, I think I can carve out a few minutes right now.”

  I had hoped we could’ve at least sat down while we talked, but considering the way he leaned against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest, I assumed he wasn’t interested in getting comfortable. That was okay, though. As long as he gave me the chance to speak openly, I wouldn’t complain.

  This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment trip. It had been planned for days, all the way down to what I would say to him if given a chance. Yet here I was, and I couldn’t remember the most important part of it all—the opening line. It seemed that Drew had the ability to clear my thoughts regardless of the situation.

  Without a written script, my only two options were to walk away or wing it. I went with the latter, refusing to give up this opportunity. There was no telling if it’d ever come around again—not to mention, I didn’t just drive six hours to turn around and head home, simply because I’d forgotten a sentence. “I know it probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but my grandfather suffered another major stroke the night you were there, and he didn’t make it.”

  Drew’s brows arched, conflict heavy in his eyes. “Oh, I’m really sor—”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to do that. I know you don’t mean it.”

  “Don’t do that, Kenny.” His stern tone caught me by surprise and made me stop talking. “I didn’t know him, but from what I’ve been told, he wasn’t a saint. In fact, he was the furthest thing from a saint. But that doesn’t mean I can’t feel sympathy for your loss.”

  I nodded and released my bottom lip from between my teeth to continue. “Well, thank you. But you were right about him. And before you say anything, let me get this all out. You were right, Drew. He was responsible for what happened to your family. And it seems my grandmother was the girl they fought over. Because he was a Bennett. That was his mother’s maiden name—Tisdale by marriage.”

  “I know all of this, Kenny. I did a little research after I got home and found all that out. I mean, I never found anything conclusive that said he had something to do with my family’s disappearance, but I knew all the rest.”

  “Right, okay. Well, then I guess the only thing left to tell you is what happened to them.”

  His eyes widened for a split second before his brows knitted and his jaw clenched. “Did he tell you what happened?” Doubt filled his tone, as well as pure hatred.

  “No, actually. I never saw him again, and my mom said he never woke back up. We learned the details from his dad—my mom’s grandfather. The patriarch of the Bennett family. He showed up at the hospital the day after you left and told my mom everything.”

  “So he knew what his son did? He’s known this whole time?”

  I placed my hand on his chest, hoping to calm him down long enough to get this out. “The night of July fourth, our grandfathers fought over my grandmother. Based on the things written in the diary—that I now know for certain belonged to her—she and your grandfather had made plans to sneak off in the middle of the night to start a life together. Long story short…they had been together for about a year but had to keep it a secret; otherwise, her family would’ve done everything in their power to separate them. Anyway, it seems that my grandfather found out about their plan and confronted Andrew.”

  I don’t think he blinked once the entire time I spoke.

  “A physical altercation broke out, which ended with Andrew hitting his head on the corner of a rock or something. So he wasn’t murdered, per se. But it’s what happened afterward that shifts the entire thing from accident to criminal.”

  “What
was that?” Well, look who was just as impatient as I was.

  “Rather than call for help, he moved the body so he’d have time to talk to his dad about what to do without anyone finding him. Keep in mind, all of this was told to my mom by her grandad.”

  “The one who was involved in a major coverup of a crime.”

  I nodded, not wanting to get into that too much. “Anyway, because the body was moved, going to the authorities would pretty much ensure my grandfather’s incarceration. That wasn’t something they wanted attached to the family name, so they arranged for the dam to open early to keep anyone from finding the body.”

  “I knew it,” he mumbled under his breath.

  “However, he said he has no idea what happened to the rest of the family. He swore that my grandfather had nothing to do with their disappearance. And while it’d be easy to assume he was lying, he did make a very compelling argument—he’d already confessed to one death, there was no need to lie about what happened to the others.” There were aspects of this that I had a hard time believing, but that pretty much came down to not wanting to face the fact that, for five years, I’d slept under the same roof as a killer. And more importantly, he was my blood relative.

  “Well, I guess we know the truth now, huh?”

  “Yeah, I guess we do. I just remember you telling me how your family has stayed here, hoping the lost loved ones would one day return. And while I know I can’t bring them to you, I felt as though this was the best way to close that book for you all.”

  Drew raked his short nails over the harsh stubble on his jaw. “Is this your way of justifying what your mom did with our lease?”

  That took me by surprise. Not only was his anger unexpected, but so was the accusation. “I assume you haven’t heard.”

  “Heard what?”

  “The only reason she even tried to change things was because she needed the money to help pay for my grandfather’s care. But he’s dead now, so I don’t foresee him needing much care, meaning my mom no longer has a reason to sell the land or increase your payments.”

  He eyed me skeptically, as if not trusting a word I said. “When did that happen? My dad hasn’t mentioned anything since the lawyer first dropped off the papers—the day I showed up at your house.”

  “Well, he died two weeks ago. Mom had to deal with the burial and everything, so I imagine it was sometime this week. Who knows, maybe your dad doesn’t know yet. I don’t have a clue how all that works. But I do know that my mom canceled the demands on the property. So it’s back to being all yours to do with as you please.” Technically, it still belonged to my mom, but that was neither here nor there.

  He stared intently out into the distance, lost in his head for a moment before saying, “What I don’t understand is, if your grandfather killed mine, why would he lease this land to my grandmother? He had to have known why she wanted it. And worse, why would he lease it out for pennies on the dollar?”

  The sun began to sting my unprotected skin on my shoulders, but I pushed past it and continued the conversation. He still had no desire to get more comfortable, and based on the anger and resentment he’d displayed since we began talking, I didn’t imagine this was something he cared to drag out for much longer.

  “Well, from what I gather, it originally belonged to his dad—the guy who shared all this with my mom. And after what he’d done, his dad put the property in my grandfather’s name as a punishment.”

  Drew barked out a sardonic laugh. “Punishment? He killed a guy, and the asshole gets a major piece of land worth a ridiculous amount of money?”

  “There’s more to it than that, but basically, yeah. He was cut off financially and removed from the will. All he had was this land. It was meant to be a constant reminder of what he’d done. And I might’ve misunderstood, but I think he told my mom that your grandmother and my grandfather had dated prior to her moving away.”

  Disgust crinkled the bridge of his nose. “There’s no chance of him having fathered my dad, right?”

  “As far as I’m aware, no. But I have to assume that’s why he leased it to her. And maybe his dad’s the one who came up with the ridiculously cheap terms as part of the punishment, ensuring he never made much from it.” I nibbled on the inside of my cheek, running through all the key points I had planned to tell him. “My mom’s pretty sure that’s why he started drinking in the first place—guilt.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t give a shit about his guilt. I don’t care how rough he had it afterward. My dad had to grow up with half his family missing, never knowing what happened to any of them. So I don’t care how bad he felt. He deserves everything he got.”

  Drew took a step back and focused on regulating his breathing. It was clear that this whole thing had really gotten to him, more than I had expected it to. Then again, this entire mystery had basically been his family’s obsession for the last forty-something years.

  “So, is that it?” he asked, fisting his hands at his sides. “Is that what you came all this way to tell me?”

  I nodded, unsure of what else to say or do. He was a ticking timebomb, ready to explode at any second. I certainly didn’t want to get trapped in those crosshairs, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror knowing I’d literally dumped all this in his lap and then fled. He needed a friend, and regardless of how volatile he acted, I felt this strong pull to be that person for him.

  “Well, thanks. I appreciate the truth. Sorry you came all this way for such a short trip, but be thankful no one tried to choke you during your visit. I can say that from experience.” That was a total screw-you comment.

  I had never really been one to cry, but the backs of my eyes burned with the threat of tears. I wasn’t sure if it was his rejection or anger or the guilt I had for it being my family who’d caused him such pain. Either way, I needed to go before he bore witness to my weakest moment.

  Thankfully, it was a decent hike from the dock to my car, which had allowed me the time to clear my face and thoughts. I was able to steel my emotions and lock them away—at least until the solitary drive home, where I would have all the time in the world to sort through them. But when I made the turn from the path to the parking lot, I nearly tripped over my own feet.

  The last person I expected to see there was Drew. Yet there he was, leaning against the trunk of my car with his hands casually tucked into the front pockets of his shorts. I assumed he’d come back for round two, so I didn’t bother giving him an opening. If he had something to say, he could do so without a prompt.

  “I was thinking…” Somehow, in the time it took me to walk a quarter of a mile, his demeanor had completely changed. Gone was the hateful stranger, and in his place was the Drew Wheeler I’d met a month ago. “Do you know what this means?”

  “What what means? You thinking? I’m slightly afraid to answer that.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “No, what all of this means.” He circled his hand in the air, gesturing to everything around us, including him and me. “You said so yourself that the chances of the two of us coming together after the history between our families were small. Yet that’s what happened.”

  “What are you implying?”

  “Our grandparents lost their chance to be together. And here we are.”

  I needed him to spell it out for me. “I still don’t understand.”

  “I’ve said it before, but I don’t think you believed me. Well, now you don’t have a choice, because it’s staring us in the face. Fate will always win and make things right. It’s giving us the chance that was stolen from our grandparents.”

  I think I needed longer than a moment between witnessing his anger on the dock and…whatever this was. It gave me whiplash and left my head spinning. Part of me held my breath, waiting for the nasty comments to resume. But a bigger part of me wanted to close my eyes and hide, utterly fearful of this moment not being real.

  “Kenny…” His raspy voice sounded closer, so close, in
fact, I could’ve sworn I felt the heat of my name across my face.

  It wasn’t until he held my arms that I realized I had actually closed my eyes. And when I opened them, he was right there. In my space. In my bubble. Reassuring me with gentle eyes and a calming touch.

  “What happened, Drew? You basically told me to leave, and now you’re acting like that conversation never even took place.”

  His lips curled, and his eyes glistened. “What can I say? I can’t help myself. This land is cursed. It makes me want to kiss you all the time and touch you constantly. It makes me want to beg you to stay and never leave.”

  “Then do it.”

  His smile went from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. “Don’t leave.”

  Fisting the front of his shirt, I lifted myself onto my tiptoes and ever-so-softly brushed my lips against his as I whispered, “Okay.”

  Epilogue

  Drew

  I pressed my back against the pole on the dock and watched as the fireworks lit up the night sky over the glass top of the lake. Two short years ago, I was convinced that I’d never find happiness, and that I’d be stuck here forever. Well, I was technically still here, but I wasn’t stuck.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at myself for how dramatic I had been. Granted, after spending nearly my entire life seeing how lonely and depressed my dad was, it wasn’t that far of a stretch to assume I’d be right where he was in another twenty-plus years. But all that felt like a lifetime ago. Because right now, I was happier than I ever thought possible.

  “Are you getting nervous?” Kenny asked with a hint of concern in her tone.

  “No, why?”

  She smiled, igniting a fireball in my chest, and did her best to shrug around the sleeping one-year-old in her arms. “You’re rubbing my foot harder than normal, and you usually only ever do that when you’re working through something in your head. So I assumed you might’ve been getting a little anxious over the grand opening next week.”