Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
“Was that before you moved back or right about the same time?”
“Right around the same time. I didn’t go to their funeral.”
“I think it would have been hypocritical if you had.”
“Thank you. Some people thought it was odd of me.”
“Oh, I don’t,” I assured him.
His gaze locked on mine. “You’re a very understanding man, Tracy Brandt. If you weren’t already involved with the inspector, I would ask you to dinner.”
“And I would have accepted.” I smiled at him.
He was a handsome man with his short blond hair and expressive blue eyes, but sadness clung to him. His regrets would never go away.
Changing the subject then, he asked me what I’d seen of the town, and I gestured around me.
“You haven’t been off the property?”
“No.”
“There are some lovely covered bridges to see, and just walking down Main Street is a treat. You should let me take you and the inspector out.”
“I’ll ask him.”
“Excellent. Let me give you my number.”
He excused himself a few minutes later, and I wandered the grounds, sat in the gazebo, and eventually drifted back into the house and through the crowds. I went into the great room and took a seat on the couch, and I was just about to get my phone out when Bethany took a seat beside me.
“Oh, hey,” I greeted her.
She was studying me.
“What?”
“You know, I was really surprised by you.”
“Sorry?”
“I just—and please don’t take this the wrong way, but when I first saw you, I was certain my mom got it wrong.”
“Got what wrong?”
“She told me what the inspector said on the phone, but when I saw you and Celia, I thought maybe Mom misheard and that you were Breckin’s husband and Celia was your friend who was also your surrogate or something like that.”
“That’s an interesting assumption to make,” I teased her.
“I know, but…” She cleared her throat, leaning forward, closer to me. “When he was in high school, he told me he was bi, so I’ve known forever.”
“Ah.”
“And you’re totally his type.”
“His type?”
“Well, yeah. You look just like him. You must know that.”
“Like who?” I asked, even though, after talking to Lucien, I could hazard a guess.
“Turi Carrera. He was this guy Breckin fooled around with in high school.”
“And what happened to him?”
“He killed himself because Breckin wouldn’t come out to, like, the whole town.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It was really sad. I guess he thought Breckin was going to take him to college with him, but that wasn’t going to happen if Breckin wanted my folks to pay for it.”
It was interesting, the little differences and nuances in the story. “Go on.”
“But my folks didn’t know that Breckin borrowed money from my grandparents against his trust fund. Plus, he had a couple of scholarships for track.”
“So he had the means to go to school when he left.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think he had the means when he told Turi he wasn’t going to take him with him?”
“No. I think he was still working it out when he told Turi he couldn’t come with him. That was before the graduation ceremony. At that point, he must’ve still been thinking all he had was our parents, so what they said went.”
“Too bad he didn’t wait to talk to Turi until he actually knew something.”
“Yeah. I think so too. But I also think, maybe either way, Turi wasn’t going to get taken along, you know?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because when Breckin used to talk about college with me, he never talked about taking Turi along. I caught them a million times kissing, all hot and heavy, and it looked like love to me, so when Breckin started talking about California, I was like, what about Turi?”
“And what did he say?”
“He said Turi would be okay with or without him. He told me they weren’t serious.”
“Turi must have thought so.”
“Yeah, he did, poor guy. The note he left was heartbreaking. Lucien—he was another friend of Breckin’s that used to hang out with him and Turi—he was given the note by Turi’s folks, and then he gave it to Breckin.”
“What did Breckin do?”
“He left the next day without a word to anyone.”
“I feel bad for all of you.”
“Thank you,” she said, giving me a bittersweet smile. “I mean, we’ve been in touch like I told you yesterday, it’s just not like it was before he left. I think of him like some distant cousin now, not like a brother. Not like how I think of Brian.”
“I get that.”
“I mean, I know everything that’s going on in Brian’s life, but Breckin is a cipher. Like he never mentioned either Celia or you, so this all just came as a bit of a shock.”
“I bet,” I replied, even as I thought that Breckin and I had been together for two years and he hadn’t mentioned me to them. That said so much about my lack of importance to Breckin.