when the hugs begin. When the sorry’s and memories and regrets pour out of everyone like a river of sorrows.
Breathing hard through my nose, I exit the showing room, down the hallway, through the foyer, and out the front door of the funeral home. Gripping the staircase handrail, I suck in deep breaths in an effort to calm my pounding heart.
Breathe, Isa. Just breathe.
Opening my eyes on a long exhale, I find a familiar face standing before me.
“Hey there, Isa.” Mayor Boyd stands with one foot propped on the staircase, his hand resting on his thigh. “How are you?”
“I’m good. What are you doing here?”
“I just, uh … I saw in the paper that Jenny passed. She was a student of mine. Back when I taught high school.” As he talks, my mind replays the pictures of him I found in my mom’s yearbook. “Haven’t seen her in … decades.”
“She moved around a lot.”
“Yeah. I heard that.”
An awkward pause hangs between us, and I hike my thumb over my shoulder. “You want to … go inside? The service is over. Everyone’s just doing the final respects thing.”
“No, no. I don’t want to intrude. I am curious, though. How do you …. How did you know her?”
“She was my mother.”
“Your mother?” There’s an edge of surprise in his tone, and he clears his throat, adjusting his glasses. “That’s interesting. I don’t suppose she had anything good to say about her favorite government teacher.” The laugh that follows is goofy and awkward, and somehow inappropriate for the mood.
“Um. We didn’t get along very well when she was alive.”
“Ah, that’s too bad.” He rolls his shoulders back and clears his throat again. “Say, I don’t suppose we could--”
“Hello, Isa.” The voice that interrupts is a deep rich sound that tickles my ear, and I lift my gaze past Boyd, to where Lucian stands behind him. Decked out in a perfectly tailored, crisp, black suit, he’s almost hard to look at, and my body instinctively responds, in spite of the bad terms we left on. Tucked in the pocket of his suit is a black rose that’s actually fitting for Lucian. Even at a funeral, though, he doesn’t belong in this town.
Boyd cranes his neck, and in doing so, stumbles back a step, chuckling as he catches himself. “Well, speak of the devil …”
I frown at that, not recalling any mention of Lucian in our conversation.
With one hand shoved in the pocket of his slacks, Lucian steps toward me, his other hand running across a day’s worth of stubble that draws my eyes toward the scar at his jaw. My heart literally aches at the sight of him.
“I’ll just … let the two of you have a moment of privacy.” Boyd steps down onto the sidewalk, twitchy and rolling his shoulders back, like he’s uncomfortable around the looming darkness that stands behind him. “Isa, we’ll catch up later.”
Ignoring him, I keep my eyes on Lucian, as he ascends the staircase. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard about your mother. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Crossing my arms, I peel my gaze away from him, noticing his car at the curb. The same car we almost had sex in, when I swore Lucian Blackthorne was the most incredible human being I’d ever met in my life. “I’m fine. I take it the roses were from you?”
“Yes. You look good.”
“It’s only been a week since I saw you last.”
“And I’ve thought about you every minute of every day since. It’s fucking maddening, the way you’ve infected my brain.”
I don’t bother to tell him that every night I’ve awakened in cold sweats, calling out his name. I’ve imagined his hands on me, his lips on mine, the lack of breath, the pounding of my heart, all the chaos that explodes around me when I think of him.
“Yeah, well. Too bad I don’t have a clue who the hell you really are.” I spin around to leave, but at the tight grip of my arm, twist to face him. “Let me go.”
“You’re the only person in the world who really knows me.” He gives a sharp tug that yanks me forward, and I fall into him. “Everything I’ve shown you is what I am.”
“I want to believe that. Believe me. I want to think I’m the only girl who cracked the Devil of Bonesalt. But I don’t think you’re that stupid, Lucian. I don’t think you’re that careless, to let some local girl into your world.”