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their father explained that their mother hadn’t wanted to ruin Vera’s special day. Good mothers wanted to protect their children. Too bad their father didn’t follow through with being good. Fathers were supposed to be good, and dependable, too—even after the worst possible thing that could happen to a family did so.
Vera could honestly say hers had been pretty perfect. A mother who’d been fully engaged with raising her children. One who loved life deeply and treasured the smallest of things—like butterflies and flowers and the perfect stone for creating artistic beauty. A father who worked hard and somehow found endless patience no matter how tired he was when he came home from work each evening. A little sister who adored Vera
Vernon Ray Boyett had been the perfect husband and an amazing father . . . until he just couldn’t be perfect or even good anymore.
This had not been home for a very long time, yet somehow, it always would be. Funny how life was like that. You spent years dreaming of escaping a place, and no matter how far and fast you ran, you could never get completely away. It was part of you. Entrenched on a cellular level. God knew she had rushed to escape with considerably more enthusiasm than most.
Some part of her had managed to block the memory of how his voice sounded. Deep, the slightest bit gravelly, but the real killer was the soulful aspect to the way he spoke. Slow, focused—as if each word was intended for only you in the most intimate way possible. His voice moved through you, tugged at you . .
Sometimes you say and do stupid things when you’re emotionally ravaged by consecutive life-altering events.” He looked away. She resisted the temptation to smile. Good. Now he understood how it felt to have the past shoved into his face.
The man she had known back then was more mature now, obviously. Less spontaneous, probably. Less self-destructive, maybe. That part was hard to say just yet. Sadly, if anything, he was far more physically attractive. No doubt wiser. Bent had always been smart. She had heard her daddy say more than once that he could have done anything he wanted with his life if he hadn’t loved the
Vera shook her head and lowered onto the bench. This whole situation felt surreal. She was back home in small-town Tennessee—after her career crashed and burned—to try to head off any trouble related to the body she and her sister had hidden twenty-two years ago. And the man who had been her first lover was in charge of the investigation. How was that for one hell of a twist of fate?
