Bloodline by Jess Lourey

Author:Jess Lourey [Lourey, Jess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542016315
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 31

I shouldn’t have to manipulate Deck to leave for work an hour before he planned—early bird catches the worm, honey!—or lie about why I’m driving to Saint Cloud (shopping!). I especially shouldn’t have to slouch in my seat as I motor out of town, worried that someone will see me and stop me.

But I do, aware that I’ve gone from being afraid to leave Lilydale to desperate to escape.

Hunched in the driver’s seat, I drive past the lonely ramblers at the outskirts of town, feeling their sleepy, sticky pull: a life of work, family, growing more familiar every day as responsibility and inevitability pour like gravedirt onto my shoulders. But that’s dramatic. The situation doesn’t call for it. I agreed to move to Lilydale. We have a nice house, Deck’s job is solid, and I’ve just been granted the biggest story at the newspaper. The pregnancy is making me unreasonable.

Hysterical.

Barbara’s and Ronald’s behavior last night could be explained away as completely normal. Of course Barbara went pale when we talked about a car accident. Obviously they would be concerned about my health. And a porkpie hat does not a man make. Still, it’s not until I pass through the dark sentinel trees surrounding Lilydale, pass through the thick skin of the town with a pop—just like the day I arrived, except out rather than in—that my neck relaxes, that I can loosen my grip on the steering wheel, that blood returns to my fingers.

Saint Cloud is charming, a river city that’s so open it feels familiar. On the drive, I unclasp my purse, locate the bottle of Valium, and swallow one dry. Then, I close my eyes and anchor myself in the memory of my mom. She understood how important my stories were. She didn’t think it was foolish how I saw the world. She loved my imagination, and she loved me.

I park in front of Grover Tucker’s house.

“What do you think, sweetheart?” I ask my stomach, stroking the firm bump. “You ready to go inside?”

The house is a cozy Cape Cod with a well-kept lawn. I park and walk up the granite walkway. A soft breeze murmurs through the neighborhood trees, making the honey-scented pink rosebushes on each side of Mr. Tucker’s front porch wave. I knock on his door.

He answers immediately.

My jaw drops.

He laughs, a wheezy sound. “Not what you expected?”

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