“No worries. I just got here a few minutes ago.”
“Is that all your stuff?”
“That’s it.” He gestured to the plastic bag sitting next to one of his duffels. “I bought some sheets and a couple of towels at the department store. I can pick up anything else we need.”
“Kevin left a lot of stuff when he moved in with Chelsea. He said she already had most of what they needed.”
“That’s nice of him.” Jace stood and grabbed his stuff to follow her inside.
“Make yourself at home. You know where your room is.”
“Thanks.”
Jace dropped his bags on the floor of the room he’d call home. It had a queen-sized bed and a dresser as well as a small closet that had a few hangers. He used them to hang his work shirts. The rest he didn’t care about. It took him ten minutes to unload his clothes into the dresser and stuff the canvas duffels under the bed. Then he broke open the package of sheets and pulled the tags off the white towels.
He’d bought white ones because he recalled Lisa saying they could be bleached if they got nasty, whereas colored ones couldn’t. That random memory of her had come out of nowhere while he was in the store. Again, he’d been filled with sorrow to know she’d died before he could apologize for what he’d done.
He’d never seen or talked to her again after he was arrested. The only contact he’d had with her was through the lawyer who’d served him with divorce and custody papers that he’d signed, because what choice did he have?
She hadn’t come to the trial or visited him in jail or sent him pictures of his kids. His letters to her had come back undeliverable, and his parents had said they had no idea where she was. She’d taken their little boys and disappeared to a place where no one knew who they were or what he’d done.
Jace couldn’t blame her for doing what she had to do to survive the position he’d put her in. Armed robbery, of all things. In his right mind, he couldn’t conceive of such a thing. In his drug-addicted state, the only thing he’d cared about was the next score. He hadn’t given a single thought to his wife, sons, parents or anything other than getting more of what he needed to stay alive—or what he’d thought he needed. Turned out that was the last thing he needed. No one could’ve told him that then. The sad part was that even knowing how it would turn out, he probably still would’ve gone with Jess that night, because he’d needed a fix so badly.
That’s how fucked up he’d been then.
He ran a hand through his hair and released a deep breath as he stood to go see what his new roommate was up to. Anything was better than reliving shit he wished he could forget.
Cindy was in the kitchen chopping vegetables, a tall glass of ice water next to the cutting board on the counter. “Are you hungry? I thought I’d make you a welcome dinner since you’re always waiting on me at dinnertime.”
“I enjoy waiting on you.”
“Thank you, but tonight is my turn. I marinated some chicken for the grill.”
“Want me to handle that?”
“Sure, if you’d like to.”
“I used to be pretty good at grilling.”
“Aren’t most guys born with the grill gene?”
He took the plate she handed him. “Yep. It’s in our DNA.”
“I’m making salad to go with it, and I got a baked potato for you if you want it.”
“I’d love it, but only if you share it with me.”
“I avoid baked potatoes. Too many carbs.”
He wanted to tell her she could afford some carbs, but he kept the thought to himself. Outside, he lit the grill and waited for it to warm up while admiring the patio and landscaping Kevin and his sons had done while they’d lived there. While his grandmother had taught him the names of a lot of the plants, Lisa had known every bush and flower and could’ve identified them in a matter of seconds.
Jace wished he’d paid more attention when she was constantly reciting the names of every bush, tree and flower she encountered. She’d dreamed of pursuing a career as a florist. That was another thing he’d ruined for her. He’d asked around about her on the island and had heard she’d worked two waitressing jobs to provide for their sons. Lisa and the boys had been about to receive one of the new affordable housing units being built on land a wealthy former resident had left the town when Lisa fell ill and died.
It made him so incredibly sad to think about how hardscrabble her existence had been after he went to jail.
“Are you okay?” Cindy asked, startling him out of his thoughts when she joined him on the patio, bringing glasses of ice water.
He took the one she offered him. “Thanks, and yes, I’m okay. Honestly?”