finally asked.
Miles took his time in answering. “I followed you,” he said. “I figured you’d be leaving the house sometime and I wanted to be alone with you.”
Brian swallowed, wondering how long Miles had been watching him.
“You bring flowers, but you don’t even know who she was, do you?” Miles said quietly. “If you knew her, you would have been bringing tulips. Those were the ones she would have wanted here. Those were her favorite—yellows, reds, pinks—she loved them all. She used to plant a garden every spring with tulips. Did you know that?”
No, Brian thought, I didn’t. In the distance, he heard the whistle of a train.
“Did you know that Missy used to worry about the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes? Or that her favorite breakfast was French toast? Or that she always wanted to own a classic Mustang convertible? Or that when she laughed, it was all I could do to keep my hands off her? Did you know she was the first woman I’d ever loved?”
Miles paused, willing Brian to look at him.
“That’s all I have left now. Memories. And there will never be any more. You took that from me. And you took that from Jonah, too. Did you know that Jonah has had nightmares since she died? That he still cries out for his mother in his sleep? I have to take him in my arms and hold him for hours until it finally stops. Do you know how that makes me feel?”
His eyes pierced Brian’s, pinning him to the patch of ground where he stood.
“I spent two years looking for the man who ruined my life. Jonah’s life. I lost those two years because it was all I could think about.”
Miles glanced toward the ground and shook his head.
“I wanted to find the person who killed her. I wanted that person to know how much he’d taken away from me that night. And I wanted the man who killed Missy to pay for what he did. You have no idea how much those thoughts consumed me. Part of me still wants to kill him. To do the same thing to his family that he did to mine. And now, I’m looking at the man who did it. And this man is putting the wrong flowers on my wife’s grave.”
Brian felt his throat constrict.
“You killed my wife,” he said. “I’ll never forgive you, and I’ll never forget. When you look in the mirror, I want you to remember that. And I don’t want you to ever forget all that you took from me. You took away the person that I loved most in the world, you took my son’s mother, and you took two years from my life. Do you understand?”
After a long moment, Brian nodded.
“Then understand something else. Sarah can know what happened here, but only her. You take this conversation—and everything else—to your grave. Tell no one else about any part of it. Ever. Not your parents, not your wife, not your kids, not your minister, not your buddies. And make sure you do something with your life, something that doesn’t make me regret what I’m doing. Promise me those things.”
Miles stared, making sure Brian had heard him, until Brian nodded again. Then, Miles turned to leave. A minute later, he was gone.
Only then did Brian realize that Miles was letting him go.
Later that night, when Miles opened the door, Sarah simply stood on the doorstep looking at him wordlessly, until Miles finally stepped out, closing the door behind him.
“Jonah’s home,” he said. “We’ll talk outside.”
Sarah crossed her arms and looked out over the yard. Miles followed her eyes.
“I’m not sure why I’m here,” she said. “Thanking you doesn’t seem very appropriate, but I can’t ignore what you did, either.”
Miles nodded almost imperceptibly.
“I’m so sorry for everything. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been going through.”
“No,” he said. “You can’t.”
“I didn’t know about Brian. I really didn’t.”
“I know.” He glanced toward her. “I shouldn’t have believed it otherwise. And I’m sorry for the accusations.”
Sarah shook her head. “Don’t be.”
He looked away, seeming to struggle for words. “I guess I should thank you for letting me know what really happened.”
“I had to. I didn’t have a choice.” Then, after he grew quiet again, Sarah brought her hands together. “How’s Jonah doing with all this?”
“Okay. Not great. He doesn’t know anything, but I think he sensed that something was going on by the way I was acting. He’s had a couple