“I’ll manage,” he said, not wanting to sound pompous by mentioning the Tesla he had sitting in the garage. “I’ll come by later, after Lily arrives.”

“Okay.” She smiled, as he placed a strong hand on the side of her face, his fingers wrapping around her neck, as his thumb caressed her cheek.

“There will be a day when you question if this was real,” he said. “It is. It always has been, and it always will be. No matter how flawed it becomes, or how wrong it is, or how much it ends up hurting.”

He pulled her face to his and kissed her so intensely that she shivered. She pulled away and walked out. She made sure she was silent, as she hurried to the guest room and slipped back into her clothes from the day before. When she stepped back into the hallway, Bella was standing in her doorway, rubbing her eyes, sleepily.

“Alani?” she called out.

Alani froze like a deer in headlights, as her mouth fell open.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” Alani asked. “I was just…um…”

“How’s your aunt?” Bella asked.

“She’s not so good, baby girl.”

It was Ethic who answered, and Alani turned around, so grateful that he had intervened. “Alani was upset after seeing her aunt in the hospital,” Ethic continued. “So, I let her stay the night, so she wouldn’t have to go home alone.”

“Good,” Bella said. She walked up to Alani and hugged her, taking Alani by surprise. She looked up at Ethic in shock, as she hugged his daughter back.

“You give the best hugs, Bella. Thank you,” she said. “Must be something that runs in the family.”

Alani winked at Ethic and then released Bella.

“Are you staying for breakfast?” Bella asked.

“Oh, um…no, I can’t,” Alani said. “I’m sorry, I have to get going. I want to check on my aunt. Next time; okay?”

Bella nodded, as Ethic said, “Come on, B. We can get breakfast started before Eazy wakes up.” He turned to Alani. “The keys to the truck are in the study inside my desk.”

Alani was so glad her encounter with Bella hadn’t been awkward, but she didn’t want to try it again with Eazy. She hurried into the study she had passed the night before, when she was looking for Ethic, and walked over to his desk. She opened the drawer and picked up his keys. Her hands froze when she saw the funeral program with Kenzie’s face on it. Her breath caught in her throat, as she picked it up and, instantly, her legs gave out. She sank into the plush, leather chair behind her. She opened the program with shaky hands and a handwritten note fell out.

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