Page 36 of The Woman Left Behind

“They’re all still with us. And they’re in Indiana.” Again, she gave him that, but no more.

So he said, “Okay.”

“They, you know, came out. Back when Mom and Dad took off. They used to come out a lot. They said it was because they had to replace the washer and dryer, or check on the roof, or fix the fence, which they did. Mostly, it was so they could look after me. They’re older now, it isn’t as easy, but I mean, obviously, they went through all of that with me.”

“Yeah, honey,” he said gently, deciding sitting out on his porch with the stables in his face was not how he wanted to have this conversation.

So he got up and his dogs got up with him. They all went into the house.

“I’m not telling them yet because we don’t know anything yet,” Lillian went on. “George said that’s the right thing to do. I was just wondering if you agreed.”

She knew he’d agree because her grandparents were probably at the very least in their seventies, they were too far away to provide the love and support Lillian needed right then, and if those bodies weren’t Sonny and Avery, there was no reason to upset them.

This meant Lillian didn’t want to know if he agreed.

She just wanted to talk to him.

Harry didn’t even try to ignore the warmth that made him feel as he stretched out on his couch, his head to the armrest, and his dogs jockeyed for position on the floor beside him.

“It was the right thing to do,” he assured her.

“Okay,” she mumbled.

They lapsed into silence.

Christ, it’d been so long since he did this, he didn’t know what the fuck to say. And he didn’t want to talk about the files in the dentist’s storage or anything about her parents that couldn’t help but distress her.

Though, Lillian knew what to say.

“Do you want to go see a movie?”

Harry’s entire body got tight.

Man, she put it right out there.

But it came out like she was blurting, and he knew that was true when she kept talking, doing it rapidly, at the same time backpedaling.

“Or is that not appropriate? With me being a witness and all. Or, um…you might not want to just because you might not want?—”

He forced his muscles to relax and said softly, “Yes, Lillian, I definitely want to see a movie with you.”

He could feel her relief come over the line and it made him smile.

Even so, he had to speak on.

“Though, first, you aren’t a witness. You’re a family member.” What he left unsaid was of two possible victims. “That said, even if there’s no policy against it in my department, it’s still not entirely ethical that I take you out. If one of my deputies did this, we’d be having a conversation about his or her intentions.”

“But, just to say, I asked you out.”

That coaxed another smile out of him, but he said, “Yes, honey, but the bottom line is you’re vulnerable at the moment, and it can be seen as me taking advantage of that.”

“What people see and what is are different most of the time,” she retorted. “But you’re not Dern and everybody knows that. And honestly, it’s not like half the town isn’t gabbing about it already. So if you haven’t received an avalanche of ethics complaints, we’re probably good.”

They probably were.

“I just want you to go in understanding where this is considering who you are and who I am.”

“I understand,” she said swiftly.

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