Total pages in book: 198
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 186242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 931(@200wpm)___ 745(@250wpm)___ 621(@300wpm)
“No,” I told him honestly.
“Aurora and her mom used to live here in Pagosa, you know that already?”
The teenage girl nodded, glancing in my direction. “And something happened and your uncle and aunt took you in, Ora?”
I nodded. “When I was thirteen, my mom went for a hike and never came back.”
It was then Mr. Rhodes happened to lean forward, finally deciding to speak. “Now I know why your last name was familiar. De La Torre. Azalia De La Torre. She went missing.”
He knew?
There was more to the story. More to my mom and the mystery, but those were the basics of it. I didn’t have the heart to bring up the other parts of it. The parts that some people had whispered about but had never really been confirmed.
How, for so long, they had thought that she had abandoned me instead of getting hurt and never making it back out.
How she had struggled with depression and maybe whatever had happened to her hadn’t been an accident.
How I was supposed to have gone with her but hadn’t, and maybe if I had, she would still be around.
This crushing sense of guilt that I’d thought I’d moved on from weighed my chest down—my very soul down, honestly. I knew my mom would never abandon me. She had loved me. Adored me. She had wanted me.
And something had happened and she hadn’t come back.
My mom hadn’t been perfect, but she hadn’t done the things that they had accused her of.
“That’s so sad,” Jackie murmured. “They never found her body?”
“Jesus Christ, Jackie,” Clara yelled from the kitchen. “Could you ask that any worse?”
“I’m sorry!” the teenager cried. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know,” I assured her. I’d heard the same question stated about a dozen different ways that were genuinely more hurtful. And it was fine. She was curious.
“What made you want to come back here?” Mr. Nez asked, his face thoughtful.
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? I shrugged. “I’m just starting over. It felt right to do it here.”
I didn’t need to glance at Mr. Rhodes to know he was staring at me intently.
“Well, we’re glad you’re home. You’ve got a family with us now, Aurora,” Mr. Nez said gently.
And that was just about the nicest thing I’d heard in a really long time.
I had just gotten out of my car when I heard the crunching of tires on the gravel driveway, and I sighed again, preparing myself for whatever might be potentially on its way.
I knew I hadn’t gotten away with anything; I wasn’t trying to get away with anything. I had felt the heat of Mr. Rhodes’s eyeballs the entire time I’d been at Mr. Nez’s house. He hadn’t said much after confirming he knew about my mother’s case, but I had felt his stare. I’d pretty much been able to hear the gears in his head going as he processed the conversation I’d had with the older man.
I hadn’t figured out how exactly he knew Mr. Nez, and I hadn’t wanted to just outright ask Clara about it, at least not in front of Jackie. I didn’t trust she wouldn’t repeat it to Amos and then he’d say something, and the next thing I knew, Mr. Rhodes thought I was stalking him.
What I was, was . . . curious
I had so many questions. And way too much time.
Anyway, I didn’t try and run into the garage apartment as I spotted the Bronco pulling up to the house. I took my time, ducking into the passenger seat to pull out my purse and a small shopping bag I’d gotten from a candy and treat store in Ouray, and had just slammed the door shut with my hip when I heard Mr. Rhodes’s “Hey.”
I blew out a breath and turned toward the voice, already ready to smile up at him. “Hi, Mr. Rhodes.”
My landlord stopped just a few feet away, hands going to his hips. But looking at his face, I noticed he didn’t seem irritated or mad that we’d both somehow ended up at the same place. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? I still had some time left here.
Part of me was just expecting him to be annoyed that we’d accidentally met up. He hadn’t said more than five words to me after Mr. Nez had brought up my mom and he’d asked about where I’d been. I’d skimmed Nashville and settled on my years in Florida lightly, until Clara had come out of the kitchen and asked if I was ready to go.
Now though, Mr. Rhodes’s mouth twisted to one side and he pierced me with that gray, nearly purple gaze.
What was he thinking about?
“Did you find somewhere else to stay yet?” he finally asked in his gruff, serious voice.
“Not yet.”
Those eyes kept on burning a hole into me before he finally blew out a breath so harsh I wasn’t sure if whatever he’d been thinking about was a good thing. Then he surprised me again. Shocked me, really. “If you want it, the garage apartment is yours.”