My father didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
“She never does,” I said again.
I looked at my sister. My mother. My father.
“You’re right,” I said. “I never have.”
Ezoic
I turned to Deputy Hale.
Ezoic
He was standing beside me. Holding the folder. He hadn’t said anything. He’d just been listening.
“Deputy,” I said. “Can you give us a few minutes?”
He looked at me.
“Take as long as you need, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll be on the porch.”
Rhonda and Kayla looked at me.
“Should we keep loading?” Rhonda asked.
I looked at the suitcases.
“Yes,” I said. “Please. Everything. Into the shuttle.”
Melissa made a sound.
“Morgan—”
“I’m not changing my mind,” I said. “You’re leaving my house this morning.”
Melissa’s face crumpled.
Ezoic
“But first,” I said, “we’re going to sit down. All of us. At my kitchen table. And we’re going to talk. Like a family.”
