The Bad Daughter(63)

“Down there. Under that big tree.”

Robin strained to see through the darkness. “I still don’t see…Is that a car?”

“A patrol car, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Sheriff Prescott?”

“Or one of his deputies. He’s been on my tail since I left the house this afternoon.”

“You knew he was watching you when you took Blake’s car?”

“Not right away, no. But we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere. Not hard to figure out when you’re being followed.”

Robin sank down onto the grass at the side of the road. “I’m not taking another step until you tell me what’s going on.”

Alec lowered himself to the ground beside her, crossing his legs and tearing at the surrounding grass with his fingers. “I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t plan to take your fiancé’s car.”

“Then why did you?”

“I don’t know. I was tired, confused. Being back in that house, seeing the old mudroom, being around Melanie, hearing Landon rocking away. I guess I panicked.”

Robin nodded. Panic was a feeling she understood all too well.

“I saw Blake’s fob on the table by the front door, and next thing I knew, I was behind the wheel—car drives real nice, by the way—and heading for the highway. Until I spotted the patrol car in the rearview mirror and decided that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea.”

“But you didn’t come home.”

“This isn’t my home,” he said.

Robin sighed in frustration. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do. And I’m sorry about taking Blake’s car and sorry about not contacting you. It was inconsiderate, to say the least.”

“Yes, you’re very good at saying the least. So, that’s it? You just went for a drive?”

He sighed. “I went to Walmart.”

“You went to Walmart?” she repeated, the question out of her mouth before she could stop it.

“I needed some clothes, some fresh underwear, a toothbrush. Stuff like that. Figured I might as well buy them in case I’m here for a while. And if I’m being honest, I was probably hoping to lose that damn deputy, or at least bore the guy to death. I spent hours in that fucking store. I bet I can tell you the price of every damn item on their shelves.”

“Walmart doesn’t stay open all night. Where’d you go after the store closed? To see Dad?”

“Are you kidding?” Alec looked genuinely shocked. He began rubbing his jaw. “That’s the last fucking place I’d go.”

“So where did you go?”

“Well, I was pretty hungry by that point and I gave some thought to coming home. But then I remembered Melanie saying something about hot dogs and beans, and that didn’t appeal to me a whole lot, so I went to this new sushi restaurant over on Aloha Street. You been there yet?”

You went to a sushi restaurant? Robin repeated silently, biting her lower lip to keep from saying it out loud.

“It’s good. I was surprised.” He threw a fistful of grass into the air. It disappeared in the darkness. “Anyway, the patrol car was parked down the street when I got out, and even though I’d pretty much abandoned my plans for the great escape, I still wasn’t ready to come home. So I went to the movies. Saw the new one with Melissa McCarthy. She’s great. Sat through it twice. I actually went out and bought another ticket. Didn’t want the sheriff arresting me for trying to sneak in without paying.”

“I take it they were still waiting for you when you left the theater.”

“They were probably hoping for some kind of high-speed chase up Highway 5. Something to tell their grandkids about. But my heart wasn’t in it, so I just drove around until I figured everyone had gone to bed, then came back. Okay? Satisfied?” He pushed himself to his feet, brushed the grass off the seat of his pants. “Remind me to take my purchases out of the car when we get back to the house.”

Robin clambered to her feet. “Were you really on your way to Canada when the police picked you up?” she asked as they started back toward the house.

“British Columbia’s one of my favorite places,” Alec answered. “Tara and I talked about moving there one day.”

Robin held her breath at the mention of Tara’s name, waiting for him to say more.

“How are you and Melanie getting along these days?” he asked instead.

“Okay, I guess,” she answered. “She hasn’t changed much.”

“People don’t change, Robin. You’re the therapist. You should know that.”

“To be fair…”

“Oh, no, please. Don’t be fair. Our sister’s a cunt and you know it.”

Robin swallowed a gasp at the word “cunt.” It had been Tara’s favorite word for Melanie.

“Tara used to say that Melanie was Dad in a dress,” Alec said. “You know what she needs, don’t you?”

“Please don’t tell me she needs to get laid.”

Alec laughed, inadvertently kicking a pebble at his feet and bending down to scoop it up before throwing it back into the night. “How long do you think it’s been, anyway?”

“I can’t say I’ve ever given the matter any thought.”