Page 44 of Burn Me Down

If you happen to see this before I die, then please bury me by the lemon trees and visit me often, for I will miss you, and you will always be able to find me there. Take care of yourself, Derek.

Love, Dora

P.S. I’ve been making extra meals every day and freezing them for you because the Good Lord knows you would go without otherwise. You will find the freezer in the basement full, and yes, there’s lemon pie.

Beck clutched the letter to her chest and began to cry so hard her body was shaking. I wrapped her in my arms and held on as tight as I could while she let out all the emotion I knew so well. I’d already traveled this road and had months to deal with the sadness.

“She loved you,” Beck said. “Wow, this is insane. Talk about six degrees of separation.” Pulling back, I tried to wipe away some of her tears, but they still ran in steady streams. “Do you believe in fate?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t. How can I believe that I was fated to be tortured, you know?” Beck nodded as she snuggled closer to me like I needed the comfort. “But now…this is pretty strange. After everything I’ve been through, the one person I connect with is you, and you see me as Dora did. I just…I can’t explain that.” Tilting her head up, I kissed her lips and tasted the saltiness of her tears. “Maybe she found a way to send me to you. She told me to find my brother after all.”

Beck smiled. “I don’t think she meant for you to kill him and Vi, though.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that.” Standing, I walked over to the box and rummaged around until I found what I was looking for, then handed it to Beck. “She also left this.”

Beck took the letter and read the front of the envelope.

To my beautiful granddaughter, please open this on your wedding day.

“How did she know I’d ever see this?”

I lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “Like I said, maybe she was hoping I’d look for you and found a way to help that along. I really don’t know.”

Beck went to open the back, and I held out my hand. “What are you doing? It says you don’t open until your wedding day.”

“I know, but…I may never get married.”

“You don’t want to?”

Her mouth fell open and then snapped closed. “I don’t know. I mean…I always thought I did and certainly came close with all the wrong people a few times, but…I guess I just gave up on the idea of a happily ever after.”

Taking a leap of faith was not in my vocabulary, but I took one now. “Give me a month,” I said, sitting beside her. “One month to prove that you not only want to get married but that I’m the guy for you.”

Her brows shot up. “You want to marry me? I mean, I know the sex was mindblowing and all, but this is whirlwind fast.”

I smiled as the mention of last night brought up all the things we did together. “I may be new to you, but remember, I’ve been watching you for a while. That sounded better in my head.”

“So you’re really that confident that you can convince me to spend the rest of my life with you in thirty days?”

My pulse spiked, and red flags waved around inside my mind. I shouldn’t say yes. I never should’ve brought it up at all if I wanted her to have a semblance of a normal life. The problem came when I thought about what my life would look like without her in it. It was bleak and dark. She had kicked open the door to a whole world of possibilities, and I didn’t want to go back to counting the flowers on the wall.

“Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you thirty days to convince me that I want to get married. If you promise not to back out of the dinner, I’m planning with Asher and Vi.”

My smile fell. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“No, I’m not. Vi is like my sister, and Asher is your brother. No matter the anger and hurt between all of you, I can’t spend my life plunked in the middle.”

I went to the window and stared at the citrus trees that would be heavy with fruit come summer. Could I really set my resentment and anger toward Asher aside? I didn’t know. I’d spent so much time carrying that anger around with me that I didn’t know what life would be like to be free of the weight. I glanced back at Beck sitting quietly on the bed.

“Alright, one dinner, but they better not call the cops, or things will get ugly because I won’t go back to a cage.” Beck’s face turned ashen. “I’m sorry, but that is my one stipulation.”

She nodded and smoothed her hand over the letter Dora had given me. “Did you bury her under the lemon trees like she asked?” I nodded. “Can you take me to her?”

“Of course.” Walking to Beck, I hugged her and sighed as she wrapped her arms around me. There were still some things in this world that surprised me, and this was one of them. Could my luck actually be turning around, or was this just the setup for the next crushing blow?

Rebecca