The Endless Road to Sunshine - Nicky James Page 0,156
wrong with your eye, Uncle Jason?”
“Got a bump.”
“Ouch.” She prodded it a few times before dashing her gaze to Skylar. “Who’s that?”
“That’s my boyfriend, Skylar.”
Jessica had only been two when Morgan was arrested, so she didn’t remember him. Thank god.
“Hello,” Skylar said, shaking her little hand. “Nice to meet you. Is this the princess castle?”
Jessica buried her face in my neck, nodding.
Levi came into the room, greeting us as well. There was a commotion in the rest of the house—other guests who’d arrive before us. He took one look at my face and flinched. “What the hell happened to your face?”
“Yeah, yeah, I told you, sleeping with this one is a contact sport.”
Skylar flushed crimson. “I said I was sorry.”
Levi laughed and shook his head. “Better you than me. That’s nasty.”
The girls danced around our ankles until Levi shooed them off. “You two munchkins go play. Stay out of the way, you hear? Or no cake later.”
The girls ran off squealing and chasing one another.
Levi pulled me in for a tight hug before shaking Skylar’s hand. “There’s a ridiculous amount of food and drinks, so help yourselves. This guy can introduce you around,” Levi told Skylar. “He should know everyone.”
Levi guided us into the main room, and Autumn came to say hello. When she noted my eye, Skylar sighed dramatically. “I punched him in his sleep. Do I need to make an announcement? Where’s the microphone? Attention, everyone. I’m a violent sleeper, and yes, I gave my boyfriend a black eye. He still loves me.”
Autumn laughed.
Skylar was the furthest thing from shy. He opened up and chatted away with guests as though he’d known them all his life. If there was one thing he was good at, it was carrying on a conversation.
He seemed taken by Levi’s girls too and made a friend in Claire right away, carrying her on his hip everywhere he went.
“Can I talk to you a minute?” Levi asked when Skylar was occupied. “Before you mingle.”
“Sure.”
He took me down to his office and shut the door. For a minute, Levi seemed hesitant.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure how to tell you this.”
“Tell me what? Just say it.”
Levi held my gaze a long time, then crossed to his desk. He fished an envelope off the surface and held it tight, staring at it. “I got a phone call this morning. Francis Gable.”
My heart kicked up a notch. As predicted, Morgan’s lawyer had played games and had had our court date postponed the previous month, some excuse about a family emergency that we all knew was bogus.
Levi wet his lips and thrust the envelope in my direction. I took it, but my focus remained on my friend.
“What is it? Did he sign? Is it over?”
Levi sighed. “It’s over.”
But there was more. I could see it in his eyes. I waited.
“Last night, there was an incident at the prison.”
“An incident?”
“Morgan and a small group of other inmates were involved in a riot. They brutally attacked a bunch of guards.”
“What?” I wanted to say that wasn’t like Morgan, but I’d learned over the past twenty-one months that I didn’t know my ex at all.
“A team was pulled in to take care of it, but things got pretty ugly before they got it under control. At some point during the brawl, Morgan had his feet swiped out from under him. He went down pretty hard. Cracked his head on the edge of a concrete step. Split his skull. Bleeding in the brain. He died a few hours later.”
I felt cold and hot at the same time as I processed the information. Morgan was dead.
“I’m sorry, Jason.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Don’t you dare be sorry.” I spun in place, the pieces still trying to fit together. “He’s dead?”
“Yeah.”
I glanced at the envelope in my hand. “What’s this?”
“A letter from Francis’s office informing us of the death of his client.”
“Why wasn’t I notified?”
“It happened last night. When Francis called, I asked him to let me tell you. I contacted the prison and requested the same courtesy.” He nodded at the envelope. “They’re closing his case. You’re officially widowed. There is no longer anything to contest.”
Morgan was dead. Twenty years by his side. Twenty years of not knowing who he truly was. I expected to hurt. I expected to feel some element of sadness or remorse, but I felt nothing.
If anything, the darkness I’d been carrying around in my mind receded a fraction. Was this justice? I wasn’t sure anything could make up for