the game. Playing dirtier. I just wish I knew what their next move was.”
“I told you this was going to happen.” My voice sounded dead, even to my own ears.
Bell leaned forward between the seats. “You’re not going to stop fighting, are you?”
A part of me wanted to. I wanted to run fast and hard. I made enough at my job to rent a decent place in town, maybe even buy something. It would be mine and mine alone. There would be no threats or memories hanging over my head. But I couldn’t do that to Harriet. She wanted The Gables to be a home full of messy life, the ups and downs of it, but with joy through it all. I was going to find a way to make that happen for her. But not just for Harriet. For myself, too. Because I deserved a life full of that messy joy. I wasn’t sure what it would look like just yet, but I’d figure it out along the way.
“She’s smiling,” Bell whispered.
Crosby chuckled. “I think that means she’s planning.” He tucked a strand of hair that had fallen free of my bun behind my ear. “You okay, Brown Eyes?”
“No. I’m not okay. But I will be.”
35
Crosby
I let out a growl of frustration as I pushed back from my desk. I’d been digging through Janet Morgan’s arrest record, reaching out to Kenna’s old teachers who were still on the island, neighbors from the house Kenna had spent the early years of her life in, anyone who might help convince a judge that Janet was a manipulative liar. Judge Moore was no fool, but I wasn’t sure we had enough for him to discount Janet’s testimony completely. I wanted a slam dunk, and that seemed nearly impossible when all I had were sworn statements that basically amounted to opinions.
“You need to take a break.”
I looked up to find Penny leaning against the doorjamb of my office. “I don’t have time for a break.”
She made a tsking sound and gave me her patented mom stare. “You’ll make a lot more progress if you give your brain a rest. Get up and go outside. Breathe some fresh air, feel the sun on your face. Take a walk and get some lunch. You’re no good to anyone if your eyes are crossing.”
She had a point. I’d read the same page of a police report three times in the past ten minutes. “How’d you get so wise?”
“Raised three boys who gave me gray hair before I turned forty.”
I chuckled. Those boys doted on their mother, but she loved to bemoan all the torture they put her through in their childhood and teen years. “I think they keep you young.”
Penny rolled her eyes heavenward. “More like give me weekly heart attacks. Now, come on. Get up and get going.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I gave a little salute as I pushed to my feet. My back muscles protested the action—too many hours in one position. A walk to loosen everything up was just what I needed. I had the urge to head towards Cornerstone, to check in on Kenna and see how she was holding up. I could couch it in an offer to take her to lunch, but I knew she’d see right through it. And Kenna would see the check-in as me thinking she was weak. Fragile. But that wasn’t the case, I was simply worried.
I grabbed my sunglasses, wallet, and phone from my desk drawer and shoved them into my pocket. “You want anything from The Catch?”
Penny’s lips pursed. “I brought a salad for lunch, but I wouldn’t mind some onion rings to go with it.”
“Coming right up.” I headed out into the sunshine, slipping on my sunglasses and starting the trek to The Catch. As soon as my feet were moving, my mind was filled with thoughts of Kenna again. The look on her face when her mother was called to the stand. How she’d turned off every emotion as I asked questions about her childhood in open court. And she’d been just a little bit distant since then.
I was sure some subconscious part of her was angry at me for my questions. Kenna was a private person. Understandably so. And I had made the childhood she was so embarrassed by a matter of public record.
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw and fought the urge to kick something. I hated any hint of distance between Kenna and me. The realization had my steps faltering.