Chapter 1 #3
Layne wanted to call Mila and Piper, but she was afraid she would start bawling like a baby when she saw their concerned faces.
Instead, she told Alexa to play Christmas music and spent the next hour packing Jeremy’s things.
She wanted every trace of him gone from the house.
She decided she’d sell the house as soon as she could.
Everything here reminded her of her ex. She’d picked out furniture he liked.
Painted the walls in colors he wanted. It was time to take charge of her life and find out who she really was.
The doorbell rang, surprising her. She bristled with anger, thinking Jeremy was crawling back, ready to make nice with her and try to win his way back into her good graces.
Hell, no. That was not happening. Not now.
Not ever. Any argument he brought up, Layne would shoot down.
She’d been on the debate team in high school and could argue logically and passionately.
She would make toast of him.
When she opened the door, ready to let Jeremy have it, she froze.
Elmo Roberts stood on the porch. Piper’s dad. From Driftwood Bay. The moment was surreal, as if he were a mirage. She hadn’t a clue why he would be standing on her porch four days before Christmas.
“Layne?” he said, his voice deep and rumbling.
“Mr. Roberts? What are you doing here in Dallas?”
“Can I come in?”
“Of course,” she said quickly, ushering him into the foyer and closing the door to the cold air coming in.
“Layne, honey. I’ve got some bad news,” he began. “The kind of news you need to hear in person.”
She shook her head. “You’re not making any sense, Mr. Roberts.”
He took her elbow and led her into the den. She took a seat on the sofa, and he sat next to her.
“There’s no good way to say this. Your mama and daddy are gone.”
“Gone?” she asked, still confused by his sudden appearance.
“Layne,” he said more firmly, and she realized he was speaking in his police chief voice. “Your parents are dead.”
Shock reverberated through her. “Dead?” she echoed, repeating—but not comprehending—the word.
Mr. Roberts took her hand, squeezing it. “Yes, honey. I thought you needed to hear it in person and not over the phone.”
“You drove all the way up here to tell me,” she said dully, reality beginning to set in. “What … happened?”
“I think this might explain things,” he said, removing an envelope from his coat’s inner pocket and handing it to her.
With trembling fingers, she opened it, withdrawing the single page and unfolding it. Layne recognized her father’s writing and began to read.
Layne –
I know you’re going to have a lot of questions, and I’m sorry I won’t be around to answer them for you. The most important thing to know is that we love you.
Your mama has a brain tumor. The doctors said it’s the inoperable kind.
It’s been pressing on her brain, and I’ve watched her becoming a different person.
Not the warm, loving gal I married all those years ago, but a stranger.
Distant. Unemotional. The doctors said her personality might change, and it has.
The last few days, she’s become angry. Out of control. And it was only going to get worse.
I couldn’t stand by and watch her become something she would loathe. I also couldn’t lose her and be left alone. Lark has been my everything, from the first night we met and danced together, every step matching, even our heartbeats in sync. She’s my whole world.
Because of that, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
By the time you read this, we’ll both be gone.
She didn’t suffer. I crushed up a bunch of pills she’s been taking and put it in her tea.
I didn’t have enough for me, but I looked on the internet and figured out that one shot, aimed at the right place, was all it would take and that it happens so fast, it wouldn’t hurt.
I’m just sorry we didn’t get to see you one more time, baby. Know that we’re both proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. You are the best thing we ever did together, and I only hope that you’ll find your soulmate, the same as we did.
Everything we have went into the Bay Breeze. The inn is now yours to do with as you wish. Keep it and hire someone to run it. Sell it and not have to worry about the responsibility it brings. The decision is yours to make.
We love you, Layne.
Daddy
Layne looked up to Mr. Roberts, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She would never see her parents again. Never share good news or bad with them.
Smell Mama’s perfume or Dad’s aftershave.
They were gone, a murder-suicide. Guilt flooded her, and she wished she had taken more time to call.
To investigate and press harder when her mom seemed off.
She’d spent too much time wrapped up in work. It had become everything to her, and now she was left with nothing.
At the same time, Layne realized that she’d been given a second chance, with the Bay Breeze Inn going to her. She would make the most of this second chance.
And start a new chapter of her life in Driftwood Bay.