Down By The Water (21 page)

FORTY

The sound of knocking woke me up. It was faint, far away, and I wasn't sure if I was still dreaming. I opened my eyes and shifted underneath Ty.

It was real.

Someone was knocking on the front door.

“Ty,” I whispered.

He didn't move. I glanced down at him. His eyes were closed, his lashes so long they brushed the skin underneath his eyes. His mouth was slightly open, a perfect O, his breathing steady, even.

I nudged him. “Ty.” I whispered his name again.

His eyelids fluttered and his eyes opened. Absently, he stared at me for a second, trying to bring his gaze into focus. A slow smile spread across his face and I felt the butterflies kickstart in my stomach. It was crazy how just a look from him could do that to me.

“Did I fall asleep?” he asked, still a little disoriented.

“
We both did.” I squirmed so that I was only half-underneath him. “But someone's at the door.”

“
Hmm.” He closed his eyes.

“
Ty,” I hissed. “They've been knocking for a couple of minutes.”

“
It's probably the sheriff,” he said and my body stiffened. “Relax. I was kidding. I don't care who it is. They'll go away.”

I pushed at him. “What if it's something important?”

He sighed and struggled to prop himself up on his elbow. “What could possibly be more important than laying in bed with you?”

“
Answering the door.”

He sighed heavily but didn't fall back on to the bed. “Promise you'll wait right here?”

I nodded.

He swung his legs over the end of the bed and reached for his discarded basketball shorts. He stood up and slipped them on and I found myself staring at the complete and utter perfection of his body. I hoped it was the UPS guy or something. And I hoped he was back in bed, pressed up against me, before I even realized he was gone.

He planted a kiss on the tip of my nose. “Be right back. Stay put.” He disappeared out into the hallway and I heard his footsteps as he made his way down the stairs.

I rolled on to my stomach, my face pressed into the pillow and sighed. The pillowcase smelled like him. Spicy and sweet, the hint of his aftershave lingering on the fabric. I breathed in deeply, savoring the smell, remembering all of the ways he'd touched me and kissed me. For thirty blissful minutes, I'd forgotten about my car and my sisters and the sheriff and everything else that was weighing down on me. For those thirty minutes, all I'd focused on was him. Ty Reilly. How he smelled, how he tasted, how he felt. And how he made me feel.

Alive.

Carefree.

Wanted.

His footsteps sounded again on the stairs and I shifted on to my back, a smile on my face. He was moving quickly, like he was taking them two at a time and I felt the grin on my face stretch even wider. He was in a hurry to get back to me.

He poked his head in. “Uh, change of plans.”

I felt my heart drop. “What?”

“It isn't the UPS man?”

He shook his head. “Nope. You need to get dressed. Like, immediately.”

I scampered into a sitting position and fumbled for my clothes. He'd strewn them across both the bed and the floor. “Shit. Who is it? It's the sheriff, isn't it?”

Ty shook his head again, an unreadable expression on his face. “No. It's not Jorgenson.”

I pulled my panties on and struggled into my shorts. “Well, who the hell is it, then?”

“
It's your dad.”

FORTY ONE

My dad was waiting for me in the living room, in the exact same spot Jorgenson had been the day before. Unlike the sheriff, he'd sat down on the cushions of the loveseat. But his hat—an old Titleist visor—rested on his knee, just like the sheriff had done with his own, and his foot tapped the ground nervously, his knee bouncing the hat in a steady rhythm.

“
Lily.” His stoic expression broke as he saw me descend the stairs.

“
Dad.” My voice was flat, which was a good thing. Because inside, mt heart was beating out of control and my nerves felt like they were on fire.

He stood up, putting his visor on the armrest. I walked toward him automatically, accepting the hug he offered. I didn't reach my arms around him, though, just stayed stiff in his embrace.

“How are you?” he asked, putting his hands on my shoulder and pulling my away from his frame so that he could look into my eyes.

“
What are you doing here?”

He frowned. “You needed me. I came.” He said it as if there was nothing more to discuss.

“What?” I shook my head, confused. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“
Your sister,” he said, clearly as confused as I was. “She called yesterday. Said you'd had car trouble. That you'd broken down here.” He swallowed and I could tell he was trying to keep his emotions in check. “She said something about a girl. An accident. Down by the water.”

I felt the anger rise up inside of me and I was grateful that my sister wasn't around to bear the brunt of my reaction. Because I was ready to kick the shit out of her. She'd made noises about calling him but I'd shot her down, told her no in no uncertain terms.

And, in typical Jenna style, she hadn't listened to a word I'd said.

“
I'm fine,” I told him cooly. “Everything is under control.”

My dad studied me, his hands still on my shoulders. “That's not how your sister described things.”

I took a step back and his hands fell to his sides. “Since when do you listen to Jenna?”

It was true. He'd given up on her a long time ago. Not given up as in disowned her, but she'd always been the one to mouth off, the one to rebel. He'd spent years trying to discipline her, trying to change her, but she always met him with more resistance. Eventually, he'd thrown up his hands and given up. They still talked and he still loved her, but he knew she wasn't going to change. And she knew she was on her own. He wouldn't intervene in her life.

He sank back down on to the loveseat. “Since she calls me in tears over the mess her big sister is in.”

I made a face. “I'm fine,” I repeated.

He picked up the visor and glanced around the living room. Ty was still upstairs and the house was quiet. Still.

“
Never thought I'd see the inside of this house again,” he said softly, toying with the hat in his hands. He fingered the bill of it, running his thumbnail along the stitching.

I felt the flickerings of guilt begin to build. I didn't want my dad there. I didn't want to make him relive the memories from ten years earlier. Sitting there, his brow furrowed, his mouth a thin straight line, I could see the tension in him, could sense just how uncomfortable he was sitting in the Reilly's living room. It had nothing to do with me and whatever information Jenna had decided to relay to him.

It had everything to do with Rosie.

“
I'm fine,” I said for the third time, my voice firm. “Really. I'm sorry that Jenna called you and I'm sorry you drove all the way out here. But I'm fine.” There was a creak on the stairs and I looked toward them. Ty was slowly making his way down. “My car is in the shop. It'll be ready tomorrow. And I'll be leaving.”

My dad nodded. His dark hair was the same shade as mine. It had started thinning on top, a bald spot the size of a quarter on the back of his skull. He didn't do the comb-over and he didn't shave, either, so it was always on display, this shiny spot of skin on the top of his head.

“And what about the girl?” he asked quietly. “The girl at the river?”

Ty walked into the living room. He'd thrown a shirt on, a white Adidas t-shirt, and his baseball cap was back on his head.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked.

“
No,” I told him. I was still standing and I sat down on the couch across from my dad. “Not at all.” I glanced at my father. “Were you guys introduced?”

My dad nodded. “Yes. But I didn't need one. I remember Ty.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “You do?”

My dad rested the visor back on his leg. “He did rounds with his dad back then. Came by our campsite daily. Usually twice, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes, sir.” Ty smiled. “Still do the same thing now. Except I don't need a chaperone anymore.”

His comment earned a small answering smile from my dad.

Ty pulled his cell phone from his shorts pocket and glanced at it. “I'm actually gonna head out right now. A family was having problem with some of the hook-ups earlier. Pretty sure we got it taken care of but I should probably go check.” He looked at me. “You guys okay staying here or do you want to come along?”

I shook my head no just as my dad spoke. “Lily and I have some things we need to discuss,” he said.

Ty nodded, his gaze bouncing from me to my dad and back again. “Okay.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “So I'll see you in a little while, then.”

I watched him leave, listened for the front door to close. As soon as it did, I turned to my dad.

“You didn't need to come.”

He fixed me with a steely stare. “Tell me about the girl.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Sounds like Jenna already told you everything.”

My dad nodded. “Maybe. She said a girl went missing. A girl around Rosie's age.”

I took a deep breath and said nothing.

“
She said you found her.” He hesitated. “In the river.”

The silence in the room was deafening.

“Lily.” I lifted my eyes and looked at him. His eyes looked tired. And worried. “Tell me what happened. She said the sheriff—”

I cut him off. “The sheriff is an asshole out to get me.”

He lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

“
Fine. You wanna know what happened? I'll tell you.” I unfolded my arms and scooted to the edge of the couch, my fingers digging into the cushions. “A little girl wandered away from her campsite. Just like Rosie. A search party started looking for her. Just like Rosie. And I found her. Just like I found Rosie.”

He watched me intently. If I hadn't looked down, I would never have noticed his hands trembling in his lap.

“She was fine.” I gave a short laugh. “Not like Rosie. End of story.”

He blinked a few times and I wondered if he was as close to tears as I was. He cleared his throat. “And the sheriff?”

“The sheriff has it in his head that I had something to do with it. It's the same thing he thought with Rosie.” I shook my head in disgust. “But I have an alibi. I was with Ty and his family the entire morning. And, more importantly,
I didn't do anything
.”

My dad nodded. He lifted one of his shaking hands and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. So where do you stand now? What's happening with the sheriff?”

“I have no fucking clue,” I said. He winced at my choice of words but I didn't care. I was pissed. Pissed at the situation and pissed that my sister had decided to bring in unnecessary reinforcements. “I mean, I know what I'm planning to do. Get my car tomorrow when it's done and continue on my way. To school.”

I looked at him. “But the sheriff? He's got this hair-brained idea that I did this. And he's doing his best to pin it on me. Asking questions, talking to people and telling him about what he thinks happened the last time I was in town.”

“It sounds like your sister made the right decision after all. By calling me.”

I snorted. “How do you figure?”

His hand dropped to his chin and he rubbed it, his fingers catching in the soft gray stubble that lined his face. “The sheriff?”

I sighed. “No, Dad. He has nothing. He's trying but there's nothing he can do. It's this whole petty thing because Rosie's case is the only one he hasn't solved. At least, according to Ty's dad.”

“Colin? Colin Reilly?” My dad's eyebrows shot up. “What did he have to say?”

“
Why don't you ask him yourself?” a familiar voice asked.

I whirled around. Colin stood in the entrance of the living room. I turned back around to gauge my dad's expression. I had to give him credit; he looked decidedly calm and cool.

He stood up and crossed the living room, offering his hand to Ty's father. They shook.

“
Peter,” Colin said. “It's been a long time.”

“
Ten years,” my dad responded.

They dropped hands and my dad joined me on the couch I was sitting on. Colin took my dad's place on the loveseat across from us.

“Lily was just bringing me up to speed with what's been going on.”

Colin tugged at the hem of the white polo shirt he wore, pulling it loose from the waistband of his navy blue shorts. “Is that so?”

My dad nodded. “Sounds like a bit of a misunderstanding. Similar to what happened the last time we were here.”

“
There definitely are similarities,” Colin remarked. A pair of sunglasses sat on top of his head and he lifted them off and folded them, setting them on the side table next to the loveseat.

“
Lily mentioned that the sheriff has been asking questions.”

“
That's his job.”

My dad frowned. “Sure. About this new case. This girl recently. I don't know what her name is.” He looked to me for help.

“Annie.”

“
Annie,” he repeated. “But he shouldn't be asking questions about Rosie. That was ten years ago. We know what happened.”

Colin stared down at his lap for so long that I had to fight the urge to look, too. I wondered if there was a stain, or a bug, or something else that had totally captured his attention.

“The sheriff thinks otherwise,” he finally said.

“
Look, the sheriff is an idiot,” my dad snapped. “He was back then and it sounds like he still is now.” He glanced at me before turning his attention back to Mr. Reilly. “Lily has never done anything wrong in her life.”

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. I might not be as big of a fuck-up as my middle sister but that didn't mean I was on the road to sainthood.

“She loved Rosie, took care of her. Do you have any idea what it was like, having that man come out to our home and fling accusations around? We'd just buried our daughter.” I could hear the tears in his voice. “We'd just buried our baby and he came to our home and tried to take another daughter of ours. Of mine.”

I was torn between wanting to burst into tears and wanting to roll my eyes. I'd only been twelve years old and my memory wasn't the greatest when it came to stuff about Rosie but I knew I'd never been in any danger of being hauled off to juvie or anything. But I understood his sentiment. I knew what he meant. He'd sprung to my defense the minute the sheriff began insinuating that things weren't as cut and dried as they appeared to be.

“I'm not interested in debating your daughter's guilt or innocence,” Colin responded. “But I hope you understand the situation my family is in. We'd like to help with the investigations in whatever way we can. But we'd also like for life to return to normal. For both our family and our guests.”

I couldn't take it any more. They were talking about me like I wasn't there and Colin's cool, detached demeanor was more than I could bear.

“I'm leaving tomorrow.”

Both men turned to look at me.

“My car. It will be ready tomorrow.” I met Mr. Reilly's gaze. “And then I'll be out of here. For good.”