Page 146 of Just One Kiss

He rushed to his truck, not daring to look back. On the porch stood the only good thing in his life, and he was running the other way.

Because that good thing deserved life’s best things—and it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to be able to give them to her.

37

The neighborhood felt stale in the thick summer heat. Josh sat in his truck, nearly a block away from his parents’ house. So far, there was no sign of life inside. His father was likely holed up as if nothing had happened and with no idea his mother had gone to Gus.

He was completely unaware of what was coming.

Josh had been sitting in the truck for nearly forty-five minutes when the first squad car pulled into the driveway. He sat up straighter in the seat, thinking of all the nights he’d hid from his father—and later, the nights he was caught up in the mess of the man’s anger.

This terrible secret had been eating away at him all these years—a secret so impossibly painful he’d blocked some of it out—but the truth had always been there, just beneath the surface.

Another squad car rolled up and parked in the street. An officer got out of the first car and walked toward the front door of his parents’ house.

A few of the neighbors materialized on their porches, watching with morbid curiosity, the way small-town neighbors did. Josh’s stomach rolled over as his father pulled the front door open.

He got out of his truck and shut the door, leaning against it with his arms crossed, watching in anticipation.

His father let out a hearty laugh, then said something Josh couldn’t hear.

His face heated.

An unmarked cruiser pulled up.Gus.

Carly’s dad exited his car and strolled to the door. He said something Josh couldn’t hear, then nodded at the deputy, who motioned for Jim to turn around.

Josh’s father was visibly agitated, and possibly drunk. He swore, but the two deputies wrangled the large man in, cuffed his hands behind his back, then turned him around. They walked him over to the squad car parked in the driveway and pushed him into the back seat.

One officer got in the driver’s seat and started the engine as Gus turned around and headed back toward his car. As he did, he spotted Josh, still frozen in the street.

The older man held his gaze for a three-count, then continued on toward his vehicle.

The squad car with Josh’s dad in the back pulled out into the street, slowly. Josh watched intently, eyes searching the back seat until they found his father—watching him through the glass. The car passed by slowly, and a shadow crept across his father’s face. He latched on to Josh’s gaze, and Josh forced himself not to look away.

A chill ran down his spine, and he felt like an eight-year-old all over again, under the watchful eye of a monster—the monster who’d stolen everything from him.

The image of Dylan’s face lying in the dirt next to the merry-go-round rushed back, taunting him.

He needed air. He needed to escape. He needed to run.

* * *

Later that night, Carly prepared dinner while Gloria rested upstairs. Jaden was on his way home, and she’d been struggling to figure out how to explain this situation to her son.

Her nerves had been shot since leaving the cabin earlier. Josh wasn’t answering her calls or texts, and frankly, she was worried about him.

He’d practically begged her for a second chance only a few weeks ago, and now he was pushing her to move away? It didn’t make sense. Surely he didn’t mean it.

Her phone buzzed.

Jim has officially been arrested.

Her father’s text sent a shiver down her spine. Okay, so Jim knew Gloria had turned on him—what would come next?

Maybe sheshouldmove away, and maybe she should take Josh’s mom with her.

The back door popped open and Jaden walked in. “What did you do?”

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