Forbidden With Me - Leigh Lennon Page 0,10
right, it seemed safe, and when Jules and Mrs. Montgomery ran down the three houses, the faces I’d been the most familiar with, I retained my hold on Wells, not letting go of him.
The street is as suburban as apple pie and baseball are to the United States. It’s not changed, and in my nine-year-old memories, it seems smaller. The first house on the street is as beautiful as I remember it. I wonder if Ms. Becket still lives here, working in her garden come rain or shine. In Seattle, the rain issue is as often as I remember. The rose bushes are as vibrant as they were when I was young, and the swing is still attached to the side of the porch. Ms. Becket used to call us down for baked cookies. And if she didn’t, we’d sometime sit on her front steps until she brought us out the cookies we loved so much.
Across from Ms. Becket is the Wayne house. If I remember it right, their kids were the hoodlums of the neighborhood, and one reason we locked our doors at night. The house is in better condition than I remember it being when I lived on the street, and I’d say the Waynes no longer live here.
I take inventory of every house, comparing all of them to my memory from eleven years ago. It’s funny how my recollection is so vivid, showing me things I would have claimed to have forgotten in such a long time.
I purposely twist my head away from the left when I pass my childhood home. Mally couldn’t sell it. I’m not sure why she felt it was a good idea to keep. Maybe it was unsellable since an entire family had been slaughtered there, but deep down, knowing my namesake as I had, I think she hoped the house would hold some clue as to who had killed her family.
She’d often hear from the detective on the scene in the past, and he alluded to Annie’s ex-boyfriend as the main person of interest, though he didn’t believed Smith Turner could have murdered my entire family. I never saw this either, and as I grew older, it only strengthened my intuition. Smith and Annie had been best friends before they dated, and he’d always been so gentle with all of us, plus they had broken up three months prior.
When the house is out of my immediate view, I rotate my attention to the Montgomery home—the neighborhood house known as the family house. They opened their home to us, to everyone. Annie had the biggest crush on Caleb Montgomery, who’d been on a mission overseas. Gracie’s affection had always been on Matt. Both men were older, much too old for it to ever come of anything, but I assume it was fun to dream—just as I have with my police angel.
I stop instinctively when I see a blonde at the steps, holding a toddler in her hands. She’s not changed. Jules is beautiful, more beautiful than her social media profile illustrates. Her eyes focus on my car, and she recognizes me, right away. Jules’s husband is handsome with dark hair sitting right above his shoulders. He sidles up next to her as she erratically waves me down. She passes their daughter to him and begins running to the front of my car, blocking my path.
“Get out,” she demands with a broad grin, but there’s resolve with her hands on her hips, and to the side, her husband angles his head with a shrug. I don’t know the man, but what I remember about Jules Montgomery is when she has her mind set on something, it’s a wasted effort to resist. I’ve been quiet on all my accounts for the past year after Mally had been diagnosed. I’ve had nothing worthwhile to post.
In the middle of the road, I’m beat as I put the ten-year-old vehicle into park. Pushing out from the car, I stand as the tall blonde attacks me. Her playful tone begins to tease me. “I’m so excited to see you. Matt just called me a couple of minutes ago, telling me you were back in the area.” How did she know? How did Matt know? I haven’t told anyone. She’s squeezing me, and I think I may pop. “And you’ve stopped by at the right time. Several of us are having dinner with Mom and Dad.”
Sweat begins to form under my arms, and my hands vibrate in a quick quiver