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The back of the bench had the words, For My Theodora carved into the top slat

I went around the bench and sat down next to Vaughn I leaned into hi on his chest He put his arm around me

“Was this her spot?” I asked

Vaughn began playing with ht ocean breeze blew it around I could feel a slight tremor in his hand

“She’d come out here and walk every day, even when the weather was bad”

“Will you tell me what happened to her?”

“It was a few days before Christ room in the townhouse our parents owned in the city Our one there for a few days The plan was to spend Christmas out here”

“You said your ht?”

“Right,” Vaughn murmured “Luca and I went to public school, she did all the cooking and cleaning and grocery shopping herself, even though our father had hired people to do all that… she just wanted to live a quiet life It wasn’t even really this house that she loved – but the water, it called to her”

“Like trees called to you,” I said

He chuckled, the sound of it ru beneath my ear “Yeah, like that”

“What about your father?”

“My father,” Vaughnpeople were afraid of hi and he was a full-blown junkie”

I sighed because I’d heard Remy use that ters beforeto Seattle He’d been clean for two years, but I kneas soled with on a daily basis I didn’t understand addiction, but I understood power Vaughn’s father may not have hurt kids the way Father and Brian had, but he’d gotten off on having that power over someone or lots of someones

I had a pretty good idea of as included in that list of someones

“Did your father live here with you?” I asked