Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

NEIL

The drive back home was suffocating and silent. The kind of silence that felt heavy, pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe. I kept my eyes on the road, the world outside the car a blur of muted colors, Mom and Bessie as quiet as me. Connor followed in his car with Eric and Jason. We theoretically had time to process, but none of us said a thing.

Leaving Dad at the care home had been one of the hardest things I'd ever done. Seeing him so vulnerable, so … diminished, it was like watching a giant crumble before my eyes. Dad had always been this larger-than-life figure—strong, capable, unshakeable. And now? Now he was a shell of that man, lost in a world where I couldn't reach him, not really.

I couldn't reconcile the man who had been so strict, the sheriff who had always stuck to the letter of the law, with the one who admitted he'd lied to cover up a death. Did Dad know what Edward had done to his wife? That was a question I knew we'd never get an answer to, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't understand his motives. The more I thought about it, the more it twisted me up inside. How could the man I looked up to, the one who taught me right from wrong, have crossed such a line? It was a part of him I'd never truly grasp, and it left me with a knot in my chest I wasn't sure would ever untangle.

How did I stop the grief and disappointment from breaking down my walls?

Bessie elected to stay with Mom tonight, so after dropping them both off, I headed home and parked next to Connor's SUV in the driveway. I killed the engine and sat there, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. Now what?

Eventually, I forced myself out of the car, my legs feeling like lead as I trudged to the front door. Connor opened the door for me, and as soon as I stepped inside and the door clicked shut behind us, the weight of the day crashed over me like a tidal wave.

Connor didn't hesitate. He reached out, tugging me closer, and before I knew it, I was in his arms, my face buried in the crook of his neck. The dam I'd been holding back all day broke, and the tears came, hot and angry and bitter.

"He was always so strong," I choked out, my voice barely more than a whisper. "He was … he was everything. We used to fight so bad, and he wanted too much from me, and now … now he doesn't even know who I am half the time. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

Connor's arms tightened around me, one hand rubbing slow, soothing circles on my back. "You did everything you could, Neil. You've been there for him, for your mom, for everyone. You've held it together when most people would've crumbled."

"It's just…" I trailed off, trying to find the words for the storm raging inside me. "It's like he's already gone, but he's still here, and I don't know how to … how to deal with that."

Connor pulled back enough to look me in the eyes, his expression fierce with determination. "You're not supposed to have all the answers, not all the time. And it's okay to be sad, angry, and feel like it's all too much. But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

I wished that were true, and I wanted to believe he'd stay in Whisper Ridge, but the grief was so overwhelming, so suffocating, that I couldn't see a way out of it. "I don't know how to do this, Connor. I don't know how to watch him slip away."

"You don't always have to be the strong one." His thumb brushed away a stray tear.

"He suggested he'd talked to Rebecca Lennox, and I think maybe he turned a blind eye to what happened so the kids were safe." I blurted that out before I could second-guess myself, and for a moment, Connor was quiet.

"Did he write that in the journals he kept?"

"No. I couldn't make much sense of it, but he started to tell me, and then he closed down and got confused."

"What are you going to do with that information?"

"What information? He didn't say anything concrete. Fuck. Connor." The sheer weight of my emotions threatened to pull me under. But he held on, grounding me, making me feel as if I didn't have to face this alone. Even when I felt like I was falling apart, he would be there to catch the pieces tonight.

"Maybe you share with Micah and Rachel," he murmured after a while. "Maybe you don't say anything because your dad isn't thinking straight. Who will it help, now?"

"I'm the sheriff; it's my job to uphold the law."

"Everything will be okay," he whispered, kissing my temple gently. "Maybe not right away, maybe not for a while, but you'll figure it out."

I nodded against his shoulder, taking a deep, shaky breath as I tried to let his words sink in.

"Thank you," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "For being here. For … for everything."

"It's all good," Connor replied, his voice strong and sure. "I've got you, babe."

For the first time that day, I let myself believe him. I let myself lean on him, let myself accept that I didn't have to do this alone. And as we stood there, wrapped up in each other, the world outside our door could wait. For now, this was enough.

It was some time before the ME could give us a definitive answer on the bones in the well—they'd found trace DNA and matched it to Micah. All evidence suggested that the bones were the remains of Micah and Rachel's mom, Rebecca. Xavier had been blunt in his delivery, explaining that the tests on medications came up empty, but it didn't prove anything as too much time had passed. The bones showed evidence of trauma, but that could have been from hitting the side of the well. Tally had a collection of items from the luggage she wanted to share with Micah and Rachel, and they were being couriered. I was curious, of course, and got to see photos of everything, but the originals were reserved for the Lennox siblings, as they should be.

The medical records might have told us that she'd only had a few months to live, but that didn't lessen Micah and Rachel's pain. I did admit to Rachel and Micah some of what my dad said to me, even though it felt like betraying my dad, who wasn't there to defend himself. His ramblings hadn't made a lot of sense, but I told them, and at least I'd been honest. Rachel hugged me after, Micah shook my hand, and somehow, I felt as if I was finally doing the right thing by them and my dad. The discovery had reopened old wounds and cast a shadow over everything they thought they knew, but they were a strong family, and they were getting through it all together. They were focused on the future, and they didn't want the past to become more than a memory.

They released Rebecca Lennox's remains in late October, and today, the family was burying her. The wind carried the scent of approaching winter, where the chill settled deep into your bones and made the ground beneath your feet feel harder than it should. The sky was overcast, a muted gray matching the somber mood of the gathering. Almost the entire town had turned up, a sea of dark coats and solemn faces, their breath visible in the crisp air.

The small cemetery, nestled in the corner where the graveyard butted up against Lennox land, felt like a fitting resting place for Rebecca Lennox. She was being laid to rest in the peace she had been denied in life, far from the man who had made her final days a misery. The only consolation any of us could take was that Edward Lennox was dead too, buried somewhere in this graveyard, though no one in the family had bothered to mark his burial site.

Micah and Rachel stood together at the edge of the open grave; their hands tightly clasped. On either side of them, Daniel and Scott provided silent support, their presence a reminder that the Lennox siblings weren't alone in their grief. Rachel's eyes were red-rimmed, but she held her head high, a quiet strength radiating from her that reminded me of her mother. Micah was more stoic, his face a mask, but I could see the pain in his eyes, the kind that comes from losing something you never had the chance to hold onto.

How Rebecca had died would remain a mystery, but in my gut, I knew it was Edward's doing. The memories Rachel had recovered seemed to suggest that her mother had taken her own life, a final act of defiance before her husband could end it for her. He'd tossed her body down the well, not even giving her the dignity of a burial. Maybe it was for fear that the town would find out she'd committed suicide, or maybe that they would suspect he'd had a hand in it .

What was worse was we'd never know the whole story.

From what Connor had learned, Edward had left town and stayed away long enough to make the story fit, and then he'd come back and pretended she'd gone. He refused to talk about it, kept his fucking pride, and never let anyone know how he treated her.

Or how he'd treated Micah and Rachel.

It was a tragic story, one that left a bitter taste in my mouth, but at least now, Rebecca was being laid to rest away from him. Her grave, a peaceful plot beneath the bare branches of a large oak, was far from where Edward lay.

The minister spoke quietly. His words were lost to the wind as the townspeople bowed their heads. I found myself staring at the fresh mound of dirt that would soon cover Rebecca's casket, wishing there was more I could do, more I could say.

As the service ended, people began to disperse, and family and close friends headed back to the Lennox Ranch for the wake. My feet felt rooted to the spot, my eyes lingering on the grave as the crowd thinned around me.

Connor stepped up beside me, his hand brushing mine in a silent offer of comfort.

"You should go with them," I said, my voice low, almost lost to the wind. "Be with your friends."

"What about you?" he asked, his tone gentle, but there was an edge of concern there too.

"I'm covering the office," I replied, my eyes still on the grave. We'd talked last night about people wanting to talk about my dad, how he was doing, and how long he had.

I wasn't ready to stand in a crowd and tell them the truth—that he was living on borrowed time in a world of confusion.

"Babe—"

"I promise you I'm okay."

Connor hesitated as if he was going to argue, then he kissed me. "All right," he said, though I could see the reluctance in his eyes. He squeezed my hand before stepping back. "I'll see you later, then."

I watched him walk away, heading toward the line of cars that would take everyone back to the ranch. The sound of car doors closing, engines starting, and murmured voices filled the air as the town departed, leaving the cemetery quiet and still.

The cold seeped through my coat as I stood there, alone with my thoughts and the grave of a woman who had suffered more than anyone ever should. The only sound was the wind through bare branches and the distant hum of the town waking up to another day.

Rebecca was at peace, and that was something. But the weight of her story and how it had ended hung heavy in the air. I knew I'd carry it with me, just as Micah and Rachel would, and in some small way, that felt right. We couldn't change the past, couldn't undo the wrongs that had been done, but at least now, there was some small measure of justice in the fact that Edward Lennox would never harm anyone again.

I took one last look at the grave before turning away and heading back into town. There was work to be done, and life would go on, but today, at least, we had done something that mattered. And that, I hoped, was enough.