Chapter 3 - Eleven Nights Earlier
Lucía told the story in the library, between shelves of old travel books and a window stained gold by the afternoon sun. Daniel sat on the carpet beside her rather than towering over her. Rosa stayed near the door.
"You can tell it slowly," Daniel said.
Lucía rubbed one thumb over the seam of her shoe. "It was the storm with the big lightning. You were helping fix Mrs. Keating's roof. Harper said you might not come home until morning."
Daniel remembered. The call had lasted longer than expected. He'd checked on Lucía by video before bed and then trusted Harper to look after her.
"I got thirsty," Lucía went on. "I went downstairs. The back door was open, and rain was getting on the kitchen floor. Harper was outside under the porch roof with Mr. Beck."
"Are you sure it was him?"
"He had the bright orange raincoat from the wedding barn. And his voice. And the funny way he says 'listen.'" She looked up. "They were kissing."
Daniel's face tightened, but he kept his tone even. "What else?"
"Harper said, 'You know the baby's yours, Silas.' Then she said she couldn't keep lying to you. He got mad. He said after the wedding you'd sign the guarantee, and everything would be fixed."
Rosa sat down heavily in an armchair. Daniel felt the room tilt. He had accepted Harper's pregnancy as good news after three years of grief. He'd even started repainting the spare room.
"Did they know you were there?" he asked.
"Harper saw me by the stairs. She didn't say anything until later." Lucía's voice shrank. "At midnight she knocked on my door. She said if I loved you, I wouldn't tell. She said you'd get sick from being sad and it would be my fault."
Daniel reached for his daughter, but stopped. "Can I hug you?"
Lucía launched herself into his arms. He held her as she sobbed into his shoulder. "You did nothing wrong. Not one thing."
For a while all he could hear was the humming air conditioner and his child's breathing. Then she drew back and opened the little satin bag she'd carried with the flowers.
"I picked this up from the kitchen floor," she said. "I kept it so somebody would believe me."
May you like
She placed a folded, rain-stained receipt in his palm. Across the top were the words BELLWEATHER DEVELOPMENT LLC. Beneath them was a transfer amount and a date.
The amount was eighty-six thousand dollars.
