Chapter 17 #2
The door screeched closed behind them, and Grant perched himself on a stool. “Erin should be down any minute. Told me she wanted to take a shower. I think that’s code for a good cry before forcing herself to put on a brave face. I want to beat the shit out of Chad. I have for years.”
“Have you ever confronted him?” Riley opened the fridge and placed a diet soda in front of her brother and opened one for herself before taking a seat.
The Boone kitchen table had seen its share of hard conversations, but she doubted this kind of devastating weight had ever settled within these walls.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the wide windows, landing warm on the wood, but it didn’t reach Grant. His face carried too many shadows.
“Erin has always asked me not to.” Grant shook his head.
“It’s always been about what Mom would say.
And the optics. And the money. Not that Erin cared much about that, but she needed it because she was trapped.
And she’s been trying to please Mom for years, and failing miserably at it.
” He lifted the bottle, twisted off the cap, then took a big swig.
“I’ve always been the golden boy in Mom’s eyes, but she’s always placed conditions on that position.
Living up to mom’s standards is a rough place to be.
But when I married Kelly, my entire world changed.
The only reason Mom still treated me like the favorite child was that she loved bragging to everyone about how I was a self-made man.
She so enjoyed going on endlessly about me and my successful business.
” He laughed dryly. “She’d bulldoze over Kelly, as if she had nothing to do with it.
It makes me crazy how Mom idolizes Chad and treats Kelly like she’s not worthy of her time simply because her family doesn’t have money. ”
“Can I ask you a stupid question?”
“Like I tell my children, there are no stupid questions.” He lowered his chin. “Shoot.”
“When we were kids, couldn’t you see how manipulative Mom could be?”
He tossed his head back and laughed. Hard.
“I don’t think that’s funny.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Or even the question.
That’s about me, and how utterly self-centered and starved I was for our mother’s conditional love.
Now, it’s about balancing relationships and doing what’s right for my kids,” Grant said, swiveling in his chair, taking her hands.
“Yeah. I saw it. But I didn’t know how to deal with it.
Erin found ways to please Mom. She was all unicorns and rainbows.
Dressed like Mom and did whatever Mom wanted.
You…” Grant squeezed her hands. “Were Daddy’s little girl and a free spirit.
Mom looked at you and had no idea what to do.
But me? I was sandwiched between two different types of perfection.
And Mom would waffle between utter disappointment and building me up into something I wasn’t.
” He leaned closer. “And then, she’d do some really crazy things. ”
“Like what?”
“Remember when I accused you of breaking my bike?”
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Erin recently told me that Mom did it. That she actually saw Mom go into the garage and break the damn thing.” Grant held up his hand.
“And then there was the time that I thought you stole that game of mine. Well, Mom’s the one who found it in your room.
Not me. But I went along with it because I wanted so desperately to make her proud. And boy was she beaming.”
Riley recoiled. “Jesus, Grant.” “That’s just twisted. It’s sick.”
“I know.” Grant fiddled with his beverage.
“Kelly has always believed Mom suffers from a personality disorder. I tend to agree with my wife. Her major was psychology, and she did work in the field before we had kids. I don’t leave my children alone with Mom anymore.
But Erin does, and that’s always worried me. ”
He took another drink of his soda before continuing.
“Thing is, I’ve enabled Mother all these years, and this is where we’ve landed.
” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes, down across his nose, then his mouth.
“But I do struggle to believe that she’d resort to harming anyone.
Being conniving, lying, manipulating? Sure.
She’s all those things. He sighed. “There was a time Kelly and I were going to move. But I couldn’t leave Erin in this town alone with that asshole husband of hers with nothing but Mom for support. ”
Riley leaned forward, palming Grant’s cheek. “You’re a good man. A great father. And a wonderful brother. I’m so sorry I’ve been so hard on you.”
“That’s a two-way street, little sis. I held on to so much of her crazy bullshit because I didn’t want to admit that she was controlling me—even to myself.
” He blinked, letting out a long breath.
“I’ve picked up some traits from our mom.
I examine my behavior, and more often than not, it reminds me of her. I’m ashamed of those parts of me.”
“You’re nothing—”
He pressed a finger over her lips.
“You’re kind. But let’s be real. I’ve held a grudge against a man for twelve years when I had no right to.
Whatever happened with the two of you is between you.
I’ve treated both of you badly because I couldn’t let go of the past. That’s our mother’s influence.
And I’m fucking done. I’m just done. She’s carried whatever bullshit game she’s playing too far.
I don’t know how she did it. But Walter, Mason, Bryson, and I have been comparing her deposits with the missing money, and deep in my bones, I know she stole it. ”
Riley gasped. “That means she set up her own son to go to prison.” The betrayal was so profound it made her physically sick.
Their mother—the woman who'd lectured them about family loyalty their entire lives—was willing to let Grant be destroyed for a crime he didn't commit.
She'd looked Sandy in the eye and lied, knowing those lies could send her son away for decades.
Riley had always known Elizabeth was selfish, but this? This was evil.
“Look at what she did to you.” He arched a brow. “All because she didn’t want anyone to know she had an affair.”
Riley slumped backward as tears welled in her eyes. Her entire existence crumbling in her lap. “She can’t get away with this.”
“I don’t plan on rolling over and waving the white flag.
However, I’m scared. Not just for me, but for my kids.
I don’t want this to touch them. I don’t want them to go through life with this hanging over their heads.
But no matter how it plays out. They lose either a father or a grandmother. And that just fucking sucks.”
The sound of tires against pavement caught Riley’s attention. “I think they’re here.”
“Maybe we should crack open some of that Stone Bridge wine,” Grant said. “I could certainly use a drink.”
She tapped her fingers on the counter. “Better stick with soda.” She stood and went to the back door, stared out at the vines, and waited to learn her brother's fate.
Riley sat across from her brother and sister and the big island in the kitchen, her hands folded in her lap so no one would see her twisting her fingers.
Memories of her childhood flickered in and out like an old black and white movie, all grainy with a faint tick and hum laced over the sound as it rattled through a projector.
Visions of her mother sitting on the sofa, book in hand, reading her story.
It should have been a lovely image, filled with all the things a child would want at that time in her life.
Only, the memory of that moment was of a mother hurrying to get through the chore of reading to her child.
It wasn’t the way that Kelly and Erin read to their kids—bringing to life every word, every detail in the story.
Longing filled her heart. She’d wanted her mom’s love, affection, and attention. She’d never had any of it.
Grant sat forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped so tightly his knuckles had gone white. Erin was beside him, arms locked across her chest like she was holding herself together by sheer force of will.
Harlan, perched at the head of the island, his legal pad open and pen idle between his fingers. Sandy stood at the opposite end, boots planted, shoulders squared, the kind of posture that said she was here to deliver truth, not comfort.
“I can’t stand the silence,” Grant said. “Can we get on with whatever you’re here for?
“This is a tricky situation, and I’m between a rock and a hard place.
” Sandy shifted, showing a level of discomfort she hadn’t before.
“Some of what I’m about to tell you, I shouldn’t as an officer of the law.
As a cop, I rely on facts. That’s generally the only thing that matters to me.
But over the years, I’ve also learned to trust my instincts, especially when dealing with people I’ve known my entire life. ”
Riley braced herself, nails pressing into her palms.
Grant narrowed his stare. “I’d rather you not beat around the bush.”
“You’re going to have to let me do this my way.” Sandy arched a brow. “I pulled Monica in again this morning.”
Grant stiffened. “Because of that picture my sister took?”
“I’m not going to get into all the details of why I did that, because some of them would compromise my position, or the district attorney’s.
But a few things during this investigation regarding Monica and Elizabeth have…
troubled me,” Sandy said. “Before we get into that, Grant, I need to know something.”
“What?” Grant asked.
Sandy pressed her palms on the counter, holding Grant’s stare. “Do you use a signature stamp for any aspect of your business or for the revitalization committee?”