Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(53)

He smiled and said, “Wonderlust.”

“Ah, thank you for clarifying. It’s beautiful.”

“Okay, Mom. That’s enough gawking at Alex. We’re going to my room.”

“Leave the door open,” Nora told her.

“So lame,” Hailey said. She then stomped off toward the stairs and up to her room, leaving Alex standing there.

“Where are you from, Alex?”

“I was born in San Francisco in the back seat of a taxicab.” He smiled. “But I was raised in Oakland. My parents divorced, and now I live with my dad in Sacramento.”

“Well, it is nice meeting you. I better not keep you too long or Hailey will never forgive me.”

“Sure,” he said before he walked away, following the path Hailey had taken.

Nora wasn’t sure what to think about her daughter having a boyfriend, but Alex seemed like a nice boy.

Mom and Dad joined everyone at the house for lunch. When they were done eating, they all drank hot cocoa with marshmallows on the deck overlooking the lake.

“How’s the cottage working out?” Nora asked Mom as she followed her into the kitchen with some empty mugs.

“It took a little getting used to, but it was the right thing to do . . . for both of us. I keep a bell around the knob on the bedroom door and close it at night. If Dad leaves the room in the middle of the night, I hear him.” Mom looked around. “I miss this big house, but it makes me happy to know you and your family are enjoying it.”

“I can’t thank you enough. I haven’t felt this content in a very long time.”

“I’m glad,” Mom said. “It’s been nice having the kids drop by. And I’ve been meaning to thank you for the bowl of fruit and beautiful poinsettia.”

“Bowl of fruit?”

“It wasn’t you who left the gifts on the welcome mat?”

“Not me. Was there a note?”

“I looked. No gift card at all.”

“Maybe Gillian’s mom?”

Mom shook her head. “She would never walk this way. Ghosts, remember?”

“That’s right.” Nora laughed. “Have you gotten gifts left on your doorstep before now?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mom said. “We’ll figure out the mystery. I’m just happy to have you and the grandkids close by.”

Nora peered deeply into her mom’s eyes. “Coming here, being close to you and Dad, spending time with my family, breathing in all this fresh air . . . it’s only been a few days, but it has already been life-changing for me.” She chuckled. “Does that sound crazy? I’ve always thrived on staying busy, running from one errand to the next while working full-time and raising the children, and now suddenly I’m realizing it’s all sort of a blur. I’m ready to take life one day at a time and live in the moment. Cheesy, I know, but it’s how I feel. I’m just happy it didn’t take me another ten years to figure out what I really want out of life.”

“I’m glad.” Mom rinsed her mug in the sink. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about—”

David entered the kitchen with Grandpa at his side, bringing Nora and her mom’s conversation to a halt. “Your dad asked me to let everyone know he has to leave now. He has something important to do.”

Hailey and Alex entered the house behind David. Next came Trevor and Tank.

“Want us to walk with you and Grandpa back to the cottage?” Hailey asked Grandma.

“That would be great. I have some chocolates I forgot to bring that I’ll give you to share with everyone here.”

Grandpa was already at the door. “Come on,” he said to Grandma. “We need to get to the hospital. Lucas is waiting.”

“Who is Lucas?” Hailey asked.

Grandma watched Grandpa walk out the door before she said, “Lucas was a very special little boy who was in a coma for a month before he passed away. Your grandpa would go to his hospital room nearly every day and read to him.”

Nora was shocked to hear Mom talk about Lucas. For years, Nora had begged her parents to discuss what had happened, put it all out there so they could mourn and deal with the events of that tragic day. Instead, it had become a deep, dark secret that only festered and grew inside each of them. Her parents were the reason she’d never told David or the kids about the accident. They hadn’t wanted Nora’s husband or kids to ask questions. Her parents wanted it all to simply disappear as if it had never happened. People like her parents tended to think a secret could lay dormant inside them, disintegrate piece by piece until poof, it was gone. But secrets were toxic.

“Was Grandpa a volunteer at the hospital?” Hailey asked.

“No,” Grandma said. “Grandpa was not a volunteer. He first met Lucas after your mom was in a car accident and taken by ambulance to the hospital.”

Nora’s jaw dropped.

David, Hailey, and Trevor all looked at Nora as if she’d grown three horns.

“It was a long time ago,” Nora said. “Grandpa didn’t like to think about that time in our lives, so I had to find a way to put it behind me and move on.” She looked toward the front entry. “We’re going to lose Grandpa again if you don’t go after him.”