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“Not when the conversations are happening inside my house, in my study And when you just so happen to be the little tra my Andrew”

I flinch at the venom in her words At how easily she drops the f-bomb and possessively calls him ‘my Andrew’ “He’s not yours,” I whisper He’s uts to say it

Her s You’re teht you hoht actually want to be with so about the cavernous roo is if I walk past her, and I don’t want to She knows it The bitch has ?”

Adele laughs but the sound is brittle And there’s no hu to distract me? It won’t work” She crosses her arms in front of her chest “This holiday, it’s a very difficult time for hter’s death is this Saturday”

Shock courses through me at her words I’m literally stunned I can’t believe Drew never told me he had a sister and that she died Maybe his problems stem from her death? But that makes no sense, not from what I’ve witnessed in his behavior

“I’m so sorry,” I say automatically and I mean it The death of a family member is awful and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, even this rude witch of a worandparents They were the one steady constant in , since I couldn’t count onto kindergarten, drawing turkeys she traced around her hand on a piece of paper” Adele’s voice grows distant, as does her gaze The sadness e from her is palpable and I feel sorry for her despite how terribly she treated o “She was beautiful Looked just like her father”

Drew’s sister died when she was three—how? What happened? And right after Thanksgiving? No wonder he didn’t want to come back here for the holiday It’s probably a painful e difference between them He would’ve been what, sixteen, seventeen when she was born? I wonder what took his dad and Adele so long to decide to finally have a child together? “I’eous Your husband is a very handsome man” I don’t knohat else to say and it sounds so incredibly trite I iret it Especially when she shoots me such an odd look

“My husband…” Adele’s voice trails off and she shakes her head “You’re right Andy is very handsoht, when I called him Andrew, he didn’t like it At all He flipped the hell out, actually

Was that the trigger? Is she the trigger?

“The Thanksgiving meal will be served in thirtyand sadness gone “Afterwards, I suggest you go back to the guesthouse and pack your bags I’ll have a taxi come pick you up and take you to the bus station later this evening”

My mouth drops open in shock She can’t be serious