Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
KNOX
I ran out of the house as fast as possible. When I got outside, I saw a man hunched over on a motorcycle speeding away. I thought nothing of it until now.
Whoever that man was, he’s messing with us. After the letter from Amos and the cryptic phone call the other day…there’s no such thing as coincidences.
“Your dead grandfather?”
“Yep,” Griffin answers, less upbeat than usual.
“Why would someone steal your grandfather’s name, lie to me, and then take me on a date? I’m not connecting the dots here.” Raven’s face scrunches.
Now probably isn’t the best time to tell Raven how we feel, so I pull an excuse out of the air. “Because you’re our neighbor.”
As Raven turns to me, Griffin looks at me over Raven’s head, wrinkling his eyebrows and frowning.
Raven stares off to the side. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Then she spins back around to Griffin, and his scolding expression disappears.
Griffin fills his cheeks with air and exhales, formulating a reasoning for my explanation. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most of the people in Mystic River aren’t our biggest fans.”
“Because of…” Raven cuts herself off.
Griffin bites his lip and nods his head. “Someone told you.”
Raven grimaces. “I may have gotten the Cliff Notes version from Kat.”
I shrug a shoulder. “At least you got the information from someone who doesn’t act like we’re the spawn of Satan.”
Raven’s head drops to an angle, and her mouth pinches as she contemplates something. But it’s not hard to figure out what’s on her mind.
“Just ask,’ I prompt her.
Raven reluctantly reveals what she’s thinking. “You two dated her at the same time? Knowingly?”
“Yes.” Griffin, nonplussed, drags out that single word.
Raven’s cheeks pinken. “Interesting.”
Griffin and I look at each other wearing identical smirks. A thousand words silently passing between us.
“You two do that a lot,” Raven interrupts.
I frown. “Do what?”
“Y’all always have these silent little conversations. Is it a brother thing or a twin thing?”
Griffin shrugs. “A bit of both.”
“Want to fill me in a bit?” Raven cocks her head.
“Yes, Scarlett was our high school girlfriend,” I start.
Raven’s eyes widen comically. “Were people accepting in the eighteen hundreds?”
“Brat,” Griffin comments as he pokes her side.
I continue the story. “Actually, no. We got a lot of shit from the town for our less-than-conventional relationship. We were sixteen and having fun. Then Scarlett didn’t show up to school.
Her father led a huge search across all the neighboring counties, and what was found was her blood in a truck, her clothes in the bed, and a shovel with her blood on it as well. ”
Raven gives me comfort by placing her hand on my shoulder. “Your father’s truck, right?”
I guess it’s a good thing she already knows that detail of the story. If it bothered her, she wouldn’t let me hold her right now.
I nod my head. “Yes. Amos, our father, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison. It was a big deal because he was convicted without a body.”
“Scarlett’s body was never found?”
“Never,” I confirm.
Raven’s focus goes to her hands, searching for answers. “But what does Jed have to do with all of this? It’s possible that it’s a coincidence.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I reply.
“Plus, the letter from Amos claiming his innocence and the phone call the other night,” Griffin adds.
“Wait. What phone call and what letter?” Raven rubs her head, and we explain both to her. Neither answer satisfies her. She jumps up from my lap and paces the room. “I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me. I’m just your neighbor.”
“ Just the neighbor?” Griffin asks incredulously.
Raven rolls her eyes. “You’re right. I’m also your bartender.”
“You’re more than that, Sunshine.”
Raven blinks excessively. “This isn’t how it was supposed to go.”
Griffin stands from the coffee table and blocks Raven’s path. When she tries to go around him, he gets hold of her wrists, keeping her in place. “What do you mean?”
“Mom?”
We all turn towards the stairs, where a bleary-eyed Noah stands half asleep.
“Hey, little king,” Raven coos, rushing to his side. “Did we wake you up?”
He shakes his head.
“Let’s get you back to bed.” Her head turns to us and says pointedly, “Griffin and Knox were just leaving.”
“We were?” Griffin asks sarcastically.
“Yes,” Raven answers with wide eyes, daring us to contradict her in front of Noah. With her hand held out to her side, she directs us to the front door.
I get up from the couch, my knees popping as I go, and follow Griffin to the entryway.
In the open doorway, I turn to find Raven right on my heels.
She gasps as I bend, putting my mouth against her ear.
“You can go on whatever dates you want, Darlin’.
But we both know they’ll all lead you to one place.
” Grabbing her wrist, I guide her hand to my chest, right over my heart.
I need her to feel the cadence of my soul and know that it’s all for her.
“Us.” My lips press to her cheek quickly and earnestly. I step back, allowing for Griffin to take my place.
He cups her cheeks and places a kiss on her forehead. She closes her eyes, basking in the heat. “Sweet dreams, Sunshine.” His hands fall away from her face, and he steps back.
We stand together on her porch and don’t allow her to break our gaze as she shuts the door and turns off the outside light, draping us in the stillness of the night. Neither of us move from our post.
Griffin taps his fingers at his side. “We still need to…”
“We will,” I finish for him.
“She seemed…”
“I agree.” My head dips in a single nod.
“Do you think she’ll…”
“We’ll convince her.”