River Bodies (Northampton County #1)(13)

He held her for a long time, kneeling on the floor in front of her. She squeezed his back and shoulders tightly. Neither one spoke. All the anger and frustration she’d felt toward him for his failure to come home the night before slowly dissipated. She kissed his neck and ear, suddenly wanting to take back what was hers, her life here with him, and forget about her troubles across the river.

Matt scooped her in his arms, laid her on the floor in front of the fire. His kisses were deep and full of apology. She lifted his shirt over his head and pulled him to her, running her hands over the muscles along his spine, clinging to him as though it were the first time.

When they separated, she rolled to her side, stared at the crackling fire. Matt tucked his body behind her. They lay on the floor without speaking for several long minutes. It was Becca who broke the silence first.

“My dad wants me to come home,” she said. “To be with him.” She swallowed hard. “In the end.”

The muscles in Matt’s arms constricted, his body tensed up. “Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay.” His voice was low, guarded. He was quiet for a long time. “If you decide to go, what will you do about the clinic?”

“Vicky can cover most of it for me. I’d just hate to lose the money.” She wasn’t a partner in the clinic yet, and she relied on her paycheck. She had student loans to pay back and credit card bills. She’d put herself through veterinary school on her own, and she took a tremendous amount of pride in that, but it had been costly. She lived from one paycheck to the next, knowing in a few years her loans would be paid off and things would turn around. Until then she made do on a tight budget.

“I wish you wouldn’t worry about money. I have plenty for the both of us.” Matt kissed the back of her head. He paid for the condo they lived in, prime real estate in the most sought-after address in the gated community at the top of the hill. They had spectacular views of the river and woods, man-made trails for biking and running, a community gym and pool, all contained inside the four walls of the complex. Condo living was convenient. The grounds were well kept. The place was beautiful in a manicured way.

She should be grateful to Matt. She could never have afforded such luxuries on her budget. But sometimes the walls of the condo, the whole place, closed in on her. How could she tell him without sounding ungrateful that she preferred the open air, running the unkempt trails, the slopes and turns covered with dirt and rocks, the brush and trees surrounding her, the sound of rushing river rapids or the slow trickle where the water came to rest? How could she tell him she preferred the solitude the woods and river provided, where she didn’t have to maneuver around walkers or baby strollers or offer friendly hellos to neighbors? The woods were the one place where Romy could run free without a leash.

Of course, Matt loved condo living and the security of its walls, a safe place to park his ninety-thousand-dollar car. And the condo was close to Route 80, about an hour’s drive to his New York City office, a two-mile drive to the private airstrip he utilized whenever he had to jet to Washington, DC.

But she didn’t want to think about any of that right now. She didn’t want to think at all. The day’s burdens settled on her shoulders, making her weary and tired. Making love had taken the last scrap of emotions she had left. She closed her eyes. She wouldn’t think about her father or why he’d uttered John’s name.



Sometime later, unaware of time passing, Becca opened her eyes. A blanket covered her. Romy lay a few inches from her face. The fire had long gone out, and the condo was dark. She guessed it was well past midnight. Matt was no longer curled up behind her. She lifted her head; her neck was stiff. She rubbed her left shoulder where it ached from lying on the floor.

She was about to call for Matt, wondering why he hadn’t woken her to go to bed. The floor was no place to spend an entire night, not when there was a king-size bed in the next room. But before she had the chance to call his name, she heard his voice, a murmuring coming from his office.

She peeled herself off the floor, wrapped the blanket around her. The night was chilly, and the heat had kicked on. The door to his office was ajar. She peeked inside. His back was to her. He wasn’t wearing any clothes, and his backside was lit by the moonlight that bled through the cracks of the blinds.

“Of course I want to see you again. As soon as I can get away. It’s just not safe for me to talk right now.” His voice was smooth, seductive.

Becca shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, but she couldn’t turn away. She stayed tucked outside the door in the shadows, straining to hear every word, invading his privacy the way she had with her father a long time ago. She picked up on something in Matt’s tone, the way he softened his demeanor whenever he was talking on the phone with a woman.

Becca had noticed a subtle deepening in her own father’s voice, the purring in his throat, by the time she was a teenager. She’d been standing in the kitchen doorway, and like Matt’s, her father’s back had been turned. His voice had been slick and velvety. Even though she hadn’t been able to make out everything he’d said, she’d heard enough. She’d run from the kitchen and locked herself in the bathroom, refusing to come out. Hours later when her mother had come home, she’d found Becca standing in front of the mirror, scissors in hand, the sink full of Becca’s long hair.