Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
This seems thirty shades of wrong.
All of it.
“I have to be honest,” I say. “I think the person you should be talking to is Ava.”
“She mentioned that you got another message,” Ruby says.
“Yeah. I can’t make heads or tails out of it. Can you?”
“I don’t know,” Ruby says. “She hasn’t shown it to me.”
“She hasn’t?”
“No.”
“Maybe it’s because you haven’t given her any information on the first one,” I say.
“I need to see that message,” Ruby says.
“Look,” I say, “if Ava isn’t comfortable showing you, I don’t feel that I should.”
Ryan steps toward me. Is he trying to intimidate me?
I’m not intimidated that easily.
“Please,” he says. “We need to see the message.”
I sigh. “All right. I’ll show it to you, but I’m going to tell Ava.”
“Brendan,” Ruby says, “I admire your devotion to our daughter. We both do. But we are asking you, as her parents—and this is for her own good—not to tell her that you showed us this message.”
“Then I’m sorry. I can’t show it to you.”
Ryan shovels his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Damn it, you’re going to show it to me—”
“Ryan,” Ruby admonishes. “This is not the way. You’re not your brother.”
Not his brother? He must be talking about Jonah. Everyone in town knows that Jonah can go a little off the deep end sometimes.
“For Ava,” Ryan says. “Please. Ruby and I need to see the message.”
“Are you saying that harm could come to Ava if I don’t show it to you?”
“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” Ruby says. “Please, Brendan.”
Nothing like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. How can I keep a secret like this from Ava? But on the other hand? If she could be harmed if I don’t do this, how can I not do it?
“If you can decipher the message, will you tell me?”
“Yes,” Ruby says. “But I may have to ask you not to tell Ava.”
“For Christ’s sake.” I walk to my shelf, pull out a book, and grab a folded-over copy of the email. “This is it.” I hand it to Ruby. “It makes absolutely no fucking sense, and Ava and my father had no idea what it could mean either.”
I know the message by heart, of course.
I can see that they’re as confused as I am, until—
Ruby’s eyes widen.
She knows something.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Right. She’s lying.
“You promised you’d tell me if you could decipher it.”
“And I can’t,” Ruby says. “At least not yet.”
Another lie. Whatever it is, Ryan hasn’t figured it out yet, but it won’t take long for Ruby to tell him.
“We should get you back,” Ryan says.
“Please, don’t bother. I’ll walk.”
“Fine.” Ruby hands the message back to me.
“Don’t you want a copy of it?” I ask.
“That’s not necessary,” she says. “Happy Thanksgiving, Brendan.”
“Sure. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Please tell Ava I hope I’ll see her later.”
“We will, son.” From Ryan.
Son?
The Steels tend to call everyone younger than they are son.
It doesn’t mean anything.
Right now? Ryan and Ruby aren’t thinking about me. They’re not even thinking about Ava.
They’re thinking about that message, and Ruby knows what it means.
And already, I know they won’t say anything.
Not to me. Not to their daughter.
Perhaps not even to their own family.
Which means Ava and I have to figure it out on our own.
Ava’s smart. She’s her mother’s daughter. Between the two of us, we will figure out what’s going on.
And if Ava’s in harm’s way?
Whoever wants her will have to get through me first.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
AVA
“Mom, where have you been?” I close in on my mother as soon as she enters Uncle Joe’s house.
“Ava, how are you?” She grabs me for a hug.
“Nice try, Mom. What were you and Dad up to today?”
“We just had some things to take care of. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“My message, Mom. Why haven’t you talked to me about it?”
“I’m still working on it, sweetie. But let’s not ruin the holiday with stuff like that.”
I’m still working on it.
Right.
My mom will never convince me that she’s that incompetent. She had it figured out the same day I gave it to her, but for some reason, she’s keeping the results from me.
Does it have anything to do with the stuff that I’m not supposed to ask them about until after their anniversary?
It must.
And there must be a reason why Aunt Marj wanted me to wait until after the big party.
I’m so damned curious.
The cards I’ve been drawing lately…
They’ve got me more freaked than ever.
Family secrets.
Hypocrisy.
Secret knowledge.
What does it all mean?
Darth Morgen. And then that completely incomprehensible message that came in later.
The message I haven’t shown my mother yet.
I wish Brendan were here.
The only other person who seems to know anything about this is Brock, and he’s over at the Pikes’.
Maybe Aunt Marj has a point.
Maybe I should try to enjoy the holiday and my parents’ anniversary. Twenty-five years. Pretty darned amazing.