Chapters (47)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Epigraphs
- Prologue
- Part One
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- Part Two
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Newsletter Sign-up
“I’m sorry,” Ann said to Maureen, not sure exactly what she was apologizing for. Flirting with Anthony, letting it get out of hand? For not telling Maureen a long time ago? She was sorry she’d hurt Maureen, but she was also deeply sorry for her. She had to live with Anthony. At least Ann hadn’t been stuck with him.
“Why?” Maureen asked. “Why didn’t you tell me before, a long time ago, when it … when it happened?”
“I was scared,” Ann said, still shaking. “He threatened me. I was young. Young and stupid and scared. And pregnant. And then Michael came up with this plan. He’d say he was the—”
Maureen interrupted her. “My boys. They’ve had a brother all these years. They don’t even know, they never knew. I never knew.” It seemed to Ann that Maureen was speaking to herself instead of to her. Maureen snorted and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Nobody takes me seriously.”
“I’m so sorry. You’ve always been kind to me. I can tell it’s been hard. I should go.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying for twenty-five years: I should go. And then he gets better, you know? He can be charming. For all his faults, for all his gruffness, he really could sometimes be a good dad. The boys adored him. I’d try to leave and they’d beg me to stay because he needs someone to look after him. He makes all these threats. The doctors can’t do much. Now here I am.”
At that very moment the house was rocked by a loud crack that made the walls shake. It stunned Ann and Maureen, who could only look at each other with questions in their eyes. The crack was followed by a heavy silence.
Maureen’s face turned white. “Oh dear, I thought I hid all the guns.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Michael
When Michael returned home from work, Deedee took one look at him and knew something was wrong. That couch had thrown him off balance. The couch, and before that, the Starbucks cup and the broken glass over the photo.
Deedee pointed at the small kitchen table covered in invoices and gestured for him to sit.
“Avery,” she said, “go upstairs and do your homework.”
Avery looked from Deedee to her father. “I thought you were going to take me to the harbor.” She was a stunning child, everyone said so. She had his thick, dark hair and Shelby’s pale skin. Her features were delicate, and her eyes were big, soft, and brown. At eleven, she was just beginning to shape-shift, like a human anibitz—not exactly a child, not exactly a teenager.
“I need to talk to Deeds,” Michael said. “I’ll take you to the harbor when you finish your homework.”