The Seacrest Read Online Free

full force ahead without even discussing it with me before she registered and bought a dozen books.
    I hadn’t resented her going back to school, not at first. Until it seemed I was no longer a part of her life. Then I resented the hell out of it.
    Had I failed her somehow? Aside from not providing a luxurious living, I had never cheated, had never lied.
    Well, there was that one lie. The thing I never told her. That thing I’d never tell her. That thing I’d buried deep down inside and didn’t let come up except sometimes in the dark of night. No, I’d never mentioned that one.
    A knock came at the door.
    Ace sat up and gave a soft woof.
    “Who is it?” I croaked.
    “Me. Open up, Finn.”
    Libby sounded pissed off. Great. Just what I needed.  
    “Hold on.” I dragged myself to my feet and went to the door, cracking it open, squinting in the late morning sun.
    “Finn, for crying out loud. Put some pants on.” She pushed past me and flopped sideways on my overstuffed chair.
    I looked down, realizing my shorts had opened, revealing far more than I wanted. I pulled myself together and shuffled over to the pile of clothes on the floor. I slipped on my jeans, zipped them up, and faced her. “Better?”
    “Yes.” She fished around in her pocket and drew out her iPhone. She typed a short text and then shut it down. “Listen. I think you should get off your duff and get back to work.”
    Silence.
    “I mean it. Look at this place.” She got up and kicked at the pile of clothes on the floor. “I know you’re hurting. I know you have good reason, Finn. But this isn’t healthy. You need to keep busy. To get outdoors.”
    “It isn’t healthy? ” I felt anger building. “Are you fucking kidding? Not healthy ? My wife and brother just died. It’s only been a week.”
     For a moment, a soft look crossed her face. Her mouth trembled. “I know.” She turned to me, her pretty eyes bright with purpose. “I understand how hard it is.”
    I dropped onto the side of the bed and looked down at my hands. All emotion suddenly drained from me. “I know you do.”
    She returned to the chair and perched on the edge of the seat. “I never thought it would happen to both of us.”
    “I know. Me, neither.”
    “It’ll be three years, next week, since he went MIA.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I’m pretty sure he’s not coming back, Finn.”
    “I know.”
    “You and Cora were so good to me when I heard about it. I’ll always be grateful.”
    “He was a brave man, Lib. A good man. Served his country, and all that.”
    Tears filled her eyes. “That’s the problem.”
    “What do you mean?” I sat forward with my hands on my chin. “I thought the problem was he disappeared in that wretched war.”
    “That was just part of the problem.”
    “What else was there?”
    “He wasn’t a good man, Finn. He was a…a monster.”
    I stared at her. “What?”
    Tears ran down her face, flooding her cheeks. She bent her head and covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking. “Ian hurt me. It started a few months after we were married.”
    My heart splintered in two. “He hurt you?”
    “All the time.”
    I leaned forward and touched her hand. “Oh, Libby. Why didn’t you tell me? Or your father?”
    She stared at me through reddened eyes. “You?” A harsh laugh burst from her lips. “Of all the people I longed to tell, you would be the last person on my list.”
    My brain swam in confusion. “I don’t get it. Why?”
    She shot me a dirty look. “I don’t believe you.” With that, she leapt out of the chair and stalked to the door. “Get yourself cleaned up and get back to work. The lawn needs mowing.”
    I stared after her, wondering what the hell she was talking about.
    Ace nosed my hand, standing beside me. He uttered a low whine, as if he were trying to understand what just happened.
    “Me, too, buddy. Me, too.”
     

Chapter 6
    July 9 th , 1997
    12:30 P.M.
     
    I loved my brother, but there was always