Page 15 of Wood Riddance
Parker took her gloves off and held my water bottle out to me.
“I’m on your team, and I’m outraged for you. But let’s establish the facts here. There is no evidence—truly none, whatsoever—linkinganyof the six Hebert sons toanyof their father’s crimes. In fact, it appears he went to great lengths to keep them out of the bad stuff.”
Tearing off one glove, then the other, all I could do is blink at her. She’d been kidnapped by this man and almost killed, yet she didn’t have a problem with his sons? Even the men who worked alongside him at Hebert Timber day in and day out?
She put up her hands defensively. “I’m only stating the facts. You can hate them, but calling them complicit isn’t accurate or fair. From what I’ve heard, they’re devastated.”
Dropping to the floor and leaning against the cool cinderblock wall, I gulped my water. Usually, physically exhausting myself helped. Punching and sweating and lifting heavy things was how I coped with all the sadness and uncertainty. For the last few years, from one shitty problem to the next, it had kept me focused and sane.
Parker slid down the wall next to me, bumping my shoulder gently.
“You suffered a huge loss. The trauma of your dad’s death, as well as all that followed, will take a long time to heal.”
“I don’t think it’ll ever heal. Not entirely,” I said.
I had lost so much. And I’d almost lost even more.
And seeing Mitch Hebert and his associates in jail? It did nothing for me.
For years, I dreamed of discovering the truth surrounding my dad’s death. Obsessing over every detail, meticulously going through the wreckage of his truck to look for clues.
Back then, I thought it would help. I thought knowing would help the pain, the loss, the emptiness inside me.
But the emptiness remained even after we discovered the cause of his death. Then I told myself that seeing those responsible brought to justice would ease the pain. But as much as I wanted to show up to every preliminary hearing and read every submission on the court docket, I couldn’t do it.
Dad was still gone, and nothing would bring him back. So I kept going. Slogging along, knowing that nothing would stop the loss that gnawed away inside me.
“I’m not healing. I’m not moving past this. I’m going to stay angry,” I said.
“Wow that sounds healthy,” Parker sneered.
“Fuck off.” I pushed against her with my shoulder. “Why can’t I be a rage monster forever?”
“You can’t.” Her voice was softer than I’d ever heard it. “You are capable of so much more. This plan, to stay mad and never work through it all, is dumb as shit, and you know it.”
I looked over at my friend and cocked a brow.
She mimicked the gesture. “You don’t keep me around for my makeup tips, bitch. I’m not going to lie to you.”
I put my arm around her. “Thank you.”
* * *
* * *
“Who knew you were such a good cook?” I said, carrying my dish to the kitchen.
Paz shrugged. “I’m only trying to prevent Parker from cooking. Keeps me from having to clean up the giant mess she’ll inevitably make in the kitchen.”
Parker flipped him the bird while snagging the bottle of wine to refill both our glasses. Prior to Parker’s arrival in Lovewell, I had seen the inside of my brother’s house maybe once, but now we had dinner here regularly. They even kept dog bowls for He-Man, who was currently lounging on the couch.
At first, I felt like a third wheel. Early on, I tried to beg off or cancel on their dinner plans, but Parker eventually wore me down. After homemade jambalaya and some really excellent white wine, my heart rate was finally slowing.
* * *
Wineglasses in hand, we headed to the back deck and sprawled out on the beautiful lounge chairs that faced the mountains. Parker set the wine bottle on the table between us and tipped her head back to look at the stars. He-Man zoomed around the yard a couple of times before tiring out and falling asleep in my lap.
She chatted about the cases she was working on, filling me in on what she’d discovered since the last time we’d hung out. After solving my dad’s murder and singlehandedly bringing down an international drug trafficking organization, she was in demand, but she was trying to take things easy.
