Cane nodded, barely smiling.
“Come inside,” she insisted, ushering me in. I went into the house, smelling something sweet in the air. It smelled like her snickerdoodles, which she only baked when she was stressed. Cane followed behind us, closing the door after him.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked, rounding the corner and checking the living room. He wasn’t there.
“Man cave.” Her tone was flat. “He’s been down there a lot lately…drinking.”
My eyes stretched, and Cane let out a harsh breath. “Any stunts?” he asked.
“Fortunately, no. I think his new role as Sergeant makes him think first now.”
“So he got the position?” I asked, excited.
She smiled, nodded.
“That’s good!” I tucked a piece of hair behind my hair. “I tried calling you a few days ago.”
Mom’s eyes fell. “I know.”
My brows strung together. “Why didn’t you answer? Or at least call back that same day?”
Her throat bobbed. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess I was being selfish? I knew you were happy, and I didn’t want to hear the happiness in your voice when I missed you so much.” That surprised me. I opened my mouth, but clamped it shut a second later. “Not only that, but I didn’t want to ruin that happiness. This whole thing with you finding yourself? Clearly, it paid off when you left. You look healthy and well-rested again.”
“I feel better.”
“Good. As long as you’re happy…” She didn’t complete her sentence. I didn’t expect her to. Of course I’d broken her heart. She looked happy to see me, but also ashamed and hurt.
“Well,” she breathed, “if you want to see your dad, he’s right downstairs.”
I bobbed my head, going to the door that led down to the basement.
“Coming?” I asked Cane over my shoulder.
“Nah.” He held up a hand. “I think I’ll hang out up here, let you talk to him alone.”
“You can try my snickerdoodles,” Mom insisted, gesturing with her hand for Cane to follow her. “It’s a new recipe. I had a craving, but instead of my original recipe, I added caramel. You’ll let me know what you think? I plan on taking some to work tomorrow.”
Cane smiled, following her to the kitchen. “Of course.” Before he disappeared around the corner, he looked me in the eye, and that look said it all. You’ll be okay.
Sighing, I gripped the doorknob belonging to Dad’s man cave and pulled it open. It creaked a bit, but was nowhere near as loud as the TV down there.
I walked down, and with each step, the stairs moaned and croaked.
“Mindy, you got that beer?” Dad called. The sound of whistles blowing came from the TV, and Dad cheered, “Oh! Yes! Hell yes! Go, go, go!”
I stepped around the corner, and he had his hands in the air, clearly pleased with who was winning whichever sport he was watching. I rested my head on the corner of the wall, watching him briefly before noticing three beer bottles on the table beside his recliner, all empty.
I softly cleared my throat, and he finally pulled his eyes from the TV to see who’d made the noise. When his brown eyes found mine, his excitement morphed into shock.
Brows narrowing, he stood up straight, taking a step away from the TV. “Kandy,” he breathed, and the sound of his voice was enough to do me in. I hadn’t heard it in what felt like an eternity. I knew I would miss my parents, but didn’t think the feeling would be so powerful. I didn’t realize it would consume me whole the moment I placed eyes on them.
I rushed his way, and without a moment of hesitation, he opened his arms. My face pressed into his chest, and he sucked in a breath, holding on tight. “Kandy. You’re here…but…”
I looked up. “I’m here, Dad.”
“But…why? I thought…I mean, I figured you were happy with him. Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened and I am happy with him,” I confirmed, and his mouth twitched. “I just came back to see you and Mom.” I pushed a tendril of my hair back. “I miss you guys so much.”
He huffed. “We miss you, too. Every single day, sweetheart.”
My eyes burned with hot tears, my vision so blurry I could hardly make him out anymore. “Dad, I’m sorry that I—I mean, I didn’t mean to make you feel like you and Mom aren’t enough.”
“You didn’t make us feel like that.” He wrapped a hand around the back of my head, kissing my forehead. “How is he treating you?”
“Better than ever.”
He studied my eyes briefly, dropping his hand. “You know…I, uh…I know about Kelly.”
I swiped my tears away with the back of my arm. “What do you mean?” I tried to play dumb, when really my heart started beating a little faster.
“Come on. Don’t play dumb with me. If I know, I’m sure Cane knows, and he’s probably filled you in about it. One of the detectives was on the case of her random death. He called me, told me what was going on. It was on the news, too, but they’ve kept Kelly’s name out of it so your mother doesn’t know about it. I don’t plan on telling her about it, either.” Dad frowned a bit. “Did this have anything to do with Cane?”