Perfect Lie(68)

“No. James did. He shot me point blank.” His hand ran over the back of his head.

“But he’s…Is he like us?”

“Yeah. He hanged himself a week later.”

My hand flew over my mouth as I inhaled a sharp breath. “Brock…”

Abel pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me.

Marie placed her hand on my back. “You did well, Delilah.”

I clung to Abel as he pulled me from the office and into the blinding sun. We didn’t speak during the entire trip back to his home.

We pulled up outside of Abel’s old fixer‐upper, and for the first time, I truly saw why this place was so important to him. Being damaged and broken doesn’t mean something is worthless.

I got out and stretched in the warm summer sun. Abel was by my side and laced his fingers in mine.

“What happens now?” My voice shook as I tried to process everything we’d been through.

He smiled down at me, the dimples that made me swoon settling in his cheeks. “Now you get your happily ever after.” He winked, and my stomach fluttered.

“But where? I mean…do I have to go back to Mississippi?”

Abel sighed as his eyes roamed over the house. “I’m not in California, am I? I like it here. This is my happy place now.” He glanced down at me and back at the building as he squeezed my hand.

“Where would I stay? What about Trish and my uncle?”

“You stay where you have the happiest memories and help others like I do, Kettle. Trish still has a chance if she makes a few changes in her life, but your uncle has been hanging on only for you. You need to let him go.”

“How can I just let someone go, Abel? How can I let him die?”

“Not everyone has a choice. Sometimes bad things happen. It’s not like he’ll be gone forever.” He smiled down at me.

“You and I are both…”

“It’s a lot to take in right now. You have all the time in the world to ask questions. Don’t you want to take a day off? Rest? It’s Sunday,” he quipped.

“Very clever.”

I thought that over as looked down at my tattered blue shoes. My thoughts went briefly to Brock, but try as I might, I knew all my memories were convoluted, and I had projected a savior image onto someone who needed saving himself. Abel’s thumb softly slid over the back of my hand, and I took a tentative step forward. My smile grew as I took another, pulling him behind me. I practically could smell the fresh paint that would go on the walls, see the lilies that would bloom in the flower bed near the porch.

Abel pulled open the door and waited for me to slip inside. I stopped at the base of the stairs and turned to him. “What about Trish?” I asked in a panic.

He took a step forward and sighed as his hands fell on my hips.

“Are we all? I mean, is everyone…?”

“No.” He laughed. “This is the same old sunny Florida. Some are like us—like James. Others are just…on the edge. Those are the ones, like Trish, that we can interact with. We can help push them in the right direction or be here to welcome them when the inevitable happens.”

“So is this like…heaven or something?”

“Hardly. The weather here kind of sucks.” He laughed, and I pushed against his chest.

“I’m glad you think all of this is so funny.”

“I’ve had time to get used to it. You will too. Give it time.”

My eyes glanced around the old house as I felt a fresh wave of sadness wash over me like Abel’s ocean eyes were doing right now. “Do you mind if I stay here with you for a while?”

He tucked my hair behind my ears as he lowered his face, his lips pressing gently against mine. It felt like being kissed for the first time all over again. My heart raced in my chest as my head swam with euphoria.

I slipped my hands up Abel’s chest and behind his neck as I pulled him closer. He was wrong about one thing. This moment, with my lips against his, was heaven.