Page 91 of Everything After

“Is this the story where you…” she glanced toward Poppy and Ava who were sitting beside me at the table. Once she was satisfied they were engrossed on their cell phones, and not on us, she made a gesture with two fingers penetrating a hole she had made with her thumb and forefinger of her other hand.

Jack’s eyes widened and a smirk crossed his face. “You heard about that?” His eyes shifted to Rick then Alfie. “Alright, which one of you two tried to end my marriage?” he joked.

“Alfie,” she stated flatly. “But in his defense, he was paralytic drunk at the time.”

Rick pointed at Alfie. “You owe me a grand.”

Alfie laughed. “Fair play.”

Jack shot a puzzled look between the two men and Rick chuckled. “All these years we’ve had a bet who would be the one to let slip and tell Mya about that night. Guess Alfie’s tongue is looser than mine.”

“What’s the story?” Ava asked, suddenly interested in our conversation.

“Oh, that’s not my story to tell, sweetheart,” Rick muttered, flashing us all a sheepish grin.

Jack glanced over at his daughter and gave her a warm smile. “It was just something silly that happened at one of Rick’s after-parties, long before I met your mum,” he explained, trying to sound wholesome.

“My guess is it had to do with another woman then, since you’ve mentioned the disconnect from Mum. Plus, you look guilty.”

Jack cocked his head from side to side in consideration. “You know, one day you’re going to be an incredible investigative journalist, just like me,” he stated, shifting the emphasis off the topic of conversation, and onto the one thing teenagers usually obsess with—themselves.

Ava smiled at the compliment as a text chimed on her cell phone, which caused her to quickly lose interest in our conversation in favor of the one on her screen.

CHAPTER 51

ALFIE

With the friends we’d invited I’d expected it to be days before we got the house back to ourselves. However, by the evening on the day after the party only Jack and Mya, Kara and Poppy were left. Jack’s eldest daughter, Ava, had even abandoned her parents in favor of quality time with her Great Uncle Rick.

None of the Screaming Shadows guys or their wives had stayed the night either, as they’d been bussed back to the penthouse they owned in Miami.

I was surprised but relieved that Sienna had gone back to Miami with the guys from Lily’s band, Rick and Coral, because it gave me an opportunity to talk privately with Kara.

I’d forgotten how much I’d missed my connections to Gary until I spent time at the party with my sister, Sienna and Kara. Of course, I had my bandmates, and they were like family, but there were still things that I’d preferred not to discuss with them.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I told Kara, placing an affectionate hand on her head and smoothing her hair down.

“I know…” she muttered, trailing off. She paused for a beat then looked seriously into my eyes. “I never thanked you… not properly for everything you did for Poppy and me.”

“Don’t sweat it. I was glad I could help,” I replied with a soft smile.

“I did intend to reach out to you, eventually. I just wanted to be financially on my feet when I did.”

“About that, I’d like to buy a house for you and Poppy.”

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “Everyone’s been too kind to me already. Gary’s death hit me hard—he was the love of my life,” she blurted her sentence disjointed and heartfelt.

“I know, sweetheart. He was the best man I’ve ever met,” I disclosed, smiling. “Even after all these years I still miss him every day. But I made him a promise and he’d want me to help you.”

“I know, he told me if something ever happened to him, I should go to you if I needed anything.”

“That’s right and it’s true, I’ll always be here for you.”

“How does Lily feel about that?” she mused.

“She understands. We’ve spoken about it. Lily’s fully on board with my commitment to you. So… about that house?” Kara frowned and I could see how proud she was of what she’d achieved since I’d last seen her. I decided not to take that away from her. “Okay, what about this? I’ll buy a house near Sienna, and you can rent to own it. You’d get to choose the property, and you can work off the debt. Could you accept something like that?”

Kara’s eyes brightened. “You would do that?”