Page 136 of Just Let Go

Grady held up a hand. “No, sir. Nothing like that.”

Gus eyed him, as if making up his mind whether Grady was telling the truth.

“I swear.” Grady sighed. “But maybe what I did was worse?”

Two wide, expectant eyes waited for him to explain.

Grady rubbed his face, wishing this weren’t a story he had to tell. But it was the truth, and whether he liked it or not, Gus was going to find out eventually. Might as well be from him.

So he told him. The whole story rolled out so quickly he couldn’t have stopped it if he tried. When he finished, he couldn’t look at the older man. How much more pain would he cause?

“Wow,” Gus said after too many seconds of silence.

“I’m sorry, Gus. I didn’t mean to hurt her—or you.”

The sheriff took a slow sip of his coffee, then slid the empty mug across the counter. “Mind topping me off?”

Grady frowned.

“Now it’s my turn.”

He refilled the mug and handed it to the other man, who stoodand walked through the dining area and out onto the back porch. The cottage had a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, and truth be told, Grady had thought more than once that he’d buy the place if he could. It felt like home in a way that nowhere else had.

It wasn’t logical, of course. A professional skier couldn’t make his home in a small town that lacked a decent slope, but sometimes he entertained the idea anyway.

Grady grabbed a jacket and followed Gus outside. It was cool, but not frightfully cold like January could be. Still, he wondered how long Quinn’s dad planned to keep him outdoors.

“You blame yourself for this?” Gus stared out over the water, a slight wind rustling his white hair.

“I do, sir. I’d like to make it right, but I don’t know how.”

“This isn’t your fault, Grady. It’s mine.”

He frowned again. “What do you mean?”

“Carly told me that Quinn’s been sort of stuck for years. In a holding pattern, she said. I just thought cautious was her way, but Carly seems to think she’s waiting around for Jacie to come back.”

“You never asked her about it?”

Gus pressed his lips together, still staring out at the water. “I should’ve, but no. I didn’t have the courage.”

Grady leaned against the railing, facing Quinn’s dad.

“Quinn’s mom didn’t just leave one day. I asked her to go.” His eyes fell to the ground just below the porch. “I think Quinn only remembers the good about her mom. None of the bad. None of what she put us through. She’s got her up on a pedestal, and I let her keep her there.”

Grady watched Gus, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening as he spoke.

“Jacie was troubled. She drank too much. Usually she kept it hidden from the girls—heck, the whole town. I mean, everyone loved her. But I always knew. I begged her to get help. I researched hospitals and treatment centers, but she refused. She’d disappear for days at a time, and we always had to cover for her. Mimi wasworking at the flower shop then, and that’s when she stepped up and learned the business. She came to me after Jacie left, wanting to buy the place. Of course I agreed—what was I going to do with a flower shop?” Gus paused for a long few seconds, his eyes glassy.

“One night I was working late, and I always checked on home when I had to work late. I didn’t trust her. It’s an awful feeling not to be able to trust your spouse. You tuck that one away for the future, okay?”

Grady nodded. “I got it, sir.”

“It was just after eleven o’clock, and I drove by with my partner. Told him I wanted to grab something from home, but when I went inside, I smelled that foul odor of natural gas.” Gus’s eyes glazed over, the memory seeming to transport him back through time. “Jacie was passed out on the couch, but the gas stove was still on. The flame was out, so the gas was just leaking into the house. The girls were asleep upstairs. They could’ve all gotten sick—or worse, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. I still say it was the nudge of the Holy Spirit that led me there.”

Gus leaned down, elbows on the railing, hands wrapped around the warm mug. “That night I told her she had to make a choice. She could go to the treatment center or she could leave for good.”

Grady could see the weight of this decision, heavy and unwavering. “She chose to leave.”

---