while. I’ve listened to the clanging and clattering of dishes and pans. “What are you doing in there?” I shout from the couch where Dad still has his arm heavily draped over my shoulders.
Mom ambles out of the kitchen with two teacups and hands them to Dad and me. “I just called Tanner. He’ll be here shortly.”
Shit. No.
“Why did you call him?” I haven’t told Hayes what’s going on yet, and after what happened the other night, I don’t want to complicate things again.
“I think he should know, dear. He cares deeply for you, and he might know more about what was happening between Aspen and Blake. Don’t you think we should at least ask?” She sits and places a coaster in front of me.
“I think he would have told me already,” I say. And I honestly believe that. I set my cup down on the coaster and excuse myself.
Stepping out onto the back porch, I pull my phone out and dial Hayes.
“Hey, Blondie-locks, how’d it go?” he asks.
I fall back heavily against the wall, inhaling sharply. “Not good. It turns out my roommate was sleeping with my brother. And they just happened to be caught on the day of the fire. I want to believe it was all some big coincidence, but…I don’t know right now.”
“Hang on,” he says. I hear him fumbling with something. “So, Aspen was with Blake in the freezer the day of the fire?”
“Yeah; it happened during the lunch shift.”
“Was Aspen still on for the night shift?” he asks.
“Yes, but I cut her around eight because it was pretty slow. After she left, Grant told me I needed to let her go. He said she would know why, and I assumed it was because she came in late all the time.” Not because she was fucking my brother in the freezer.
“I’m writing this all down—compiling notes—to help us with the case.” How can he not be regretting running into me at this point? All I’ve done is bring way more stress into his life. And from the little I know about him, I can tell that stress is the last thing he needs.
“Hayes, I’m at my parents. And they just invited Tanner over to tell him what’s happening. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Pay attention to everything he says; he might know something. Every piece of information you can get right now is crucial.”
“Okay,” I say. I should feel relieved that he doesn’t care about Tanner coming here right now, but I don’t. I don’t want Tanner here at all.
“Call me when he leaves.”
Back in the living room where Mom and Dad are whispering over tea, I can see Tanner pull into the driveway. “He’s here,” I tell them.
Mom hustles back into the kitchen, to fix more tea I presume. “Is this how she’s been?” I ask Dad.
He nods. “She can’t stop moving, or she breaks down. There have been a lot of baked goods and roasts for the past couple of weeks. She’s not doing well, honey.”
Tanner rings the doorbell even though the front door is open, leaving only a screen between us and him. “Come in,” I say.
“What’s going on?” He looks startled. “Where’s your mom. Is she okay? She was a mess on the phone.”
I nod toward the kitchen. “She’s making you some tea, I believe.” He looks around the corner into the kitchen.
“And why is she so upset?”
You mean, other than the fact that her son just died? I think to myself.
I just ask him outright, “Did you know anything about Aspen and Blake?”
He looks as confused and taken back as I felt when Grant told me. “What about them?” he asks.
“Evidently, they were together. And they got caught…uh, you know, in the freezer at work. It all happened the day of the fire.”
He looks confused. “Are you sure?”
I nod. “My boss walked in on them…he told me about it today.” He says nothing. “And I can’t help but think that Aspen had something to do with the fire.” I may be jumping to conclusions, wrongfully accusing her, but it feels good to shift the blame a little, though.
“What makes you think she’d do something like that if she was involved with him?”
“Grant said she didn’t want me to know, but Blake said he was going to tell me. He never did…and of course, she wouldn’t have. And then, the house burns down, with Blake inside.”
I can tell that he isn’t seeing it the way I am. He’s looking at me like