Page 168 of Slumming It

With the exception of Vivian, my whole family was back in town, including my dad who was sporting a brand new hip, courtesy of that surgery, which in spite of everything, had occurred right on schedule.

I never did discuss it with you-know-who, but in my heart, I just knew.Reese Murdock had made it happen.It was the only explanation that made sense.

For that life-altering surgery, my dad had received no bill whatsoever – not even for the minor amount agreed upon. And as far as the beach-house painting job, the one that was supposedly covering most of the medical fees, it had consisted of painting nothing more than a sunroom out back.

My brothers had completed the job in a single morning with time to spare. The trade was so ridiculously uneven that even my parents had questioned how any of this was possible. They werestillquestioning.

I was pretty sure I had the answers, but I didn't dare share them for one simple reason.I couldn't risk it.

On her way out of the trailer, Rita had reminded me about that non-disclosure agreement before giving me a not-so-subtle warning.

I couldn’t reveal any of Reese's secrets.

Or else.

Probably, this had been the real reason for her visit. But the warning was a good reminder of what Reese had told me back in the beginning – that he would destroy not only me, but anyone I told if I decided to get blabby about him and his business.

So I kept my mouth firmly shut even though I was dying to tell my family who had been responsible for all of their recent windfalls – the big hotel painting job, the free vacation, the bonus money, and a new hip for my dad.

I might've revealed all of it anyway, except it wouldn't have beenmebearing the risk. It would have been my parents, who had done nothing more sinister than worry about a neglected kid.

I could just see it now – my dad getting a belated medical bill just when he was finally on the road to recovery.

Half of me liked to think that Reese would never do such a thing, while theotherhalf – probably the smarter half – wondered how well I had ever known him at all.

But of course, not everything could remain a secret.

My parents were both fully aware that Reese Murdock and Buddy Reed were the same person – not because I'd meant to betray a confidence, but because in asking my mom about that photo, I had inadvertently spilled the beans.

But that's where it ended.My parents had promised to keep Reese's biggest secret – not only from the public at large, but also from my brothers, who still remembered Buddy fondly even if they had no idea who he had become – or why he had disappeared all those years ago.

Apparently, my parents had sheltered all of us from the nitty-gritty details because we'd all been children at the time. And now I was sheltering my parents in return by keeping Reese's smaller secrets to myself.

Every day I worried that he would return to wreak some crazy new vengeance on me or my family. And every night, I worried that hewouldn'treturn, because life without him had lost so much of its luster.

Sometimes, in my deepest darkest fantasies, Reesedidcome back – not for payback but for me.

But that would be like a fairy tale, and I was no secret princess. I was just a common girl who fell for an uncommon guy – even if he never did fall for me.

Chapter 66

Emily

On the phone, my mom was saying, "But you're getting close, right?"

From the driver's seat of my car, I scanned the road signs ahead. Because of the holiday, the highway was nearly empty, just like the feeling in my heart whenever I thought of Reese.

Thanksgiving was usually one of my favorite days, but not this year. Oh sure, I had plenty of reasons to be thankful. My dad had a new hip, my siblings were all doing fine, and my parents' finances were finally on the mend.

In fact, things were looking upsomuch that my parents had splurged on a family vacation rental for an extended holiday stay. That's where I was heading now. The place was only an hour away, and most of the drive was already behind me.

To my mom, I replied, "Yeah, pretty close. I should be there in about ten minutes."

"I still don't see why you had to work," she said. "You're supposed to spend Thanksgiving with your family, not serving pancakes to strangers."

On this, she had a point. By some miracle, I'd gotten my old job back at the bank. But I had also returned to waitressing, if nothing else to pass the time.

Sure, I needed the money – I always did – but more than anything, I needed something to stave off the heartache that haunted my thoughts in the middle of the night.