Page 117 of Forever Enough

He cleared his throat, took a sip of the tea, and then set it down on a table that was off to the side. “Anna Reeves Larkson is your mother, correct?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

When he looked at his notepad, then up at me, I could see whatever he was about to tell me wasn’t good news.

“I regret to tell you that Mr. Larkson took his own life, along with your mother’s, two days ago. They were both set to appear before a judge in Atlanta on charges of violating your restraining order. There appeared to be a struggle, we think your mother might have tried to run out the door, but…”

His voice trailed off, and it only registered to me then that Merit had sucked in a breath.

“Mackenzie… Oh, Mackenzie,” she said softly, making her way over to me. She wrapped her arm around me and held me tightly.

I forced myself to take a breath, then looked at the detective. “Has anyone told my sister?”

He paused for a moment, then answered, “Not yet. I know you’re the older sibling, and I thought it might be better to come from family. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”

All I could do was nod. I was glad it wasn’t going to be a stranger telling my sister.

“Are you okay, Ms. Reeves?” he asked, concern both in his voice and on his face.

I felt my entire body relax against Merit. “Yes, I am. Thank you for asking. This may sound cruel, but for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I no longer have to look over my shoulder for one of them to appear.”

He nodded, as if my response wasn’t cruel at all. “I’m not certain if they had a will or anything.”

“We don’t want anything that was theirs. My sister and I will sign whatever we have to, but neither of us were in contact with my mother or stepfather. As a matter of fact, she recently got a restraining order against them both as well.”

That didn’t seem to be news to him. “Your stepfather’s sister has made arrangements for a funeral for both.” He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. “She’s asked me to pass this along to you.”

I unfolded the paper and saw the information for the service and funeral. Neatly folding it again, I handed it back to him. “I won’t need that information, as I have no desire to attend. But thank you.”

With a nod, he stood, and I did the same.

“Detective Brice, why did you fly all the way to Montana to tell me this?”

He looked away for a few moments, before his eyes met mine. “When I heard the name come in on the murder-suicide, I wanted to be the one to tell you, and I felt I had to do it in person.”

Frowning, I asked, “Why?”

“You don’t remember me, Mackenzie…but your father was one of my best friends. I didn’t know your stepfather, but I did hear your dad talk about him often. He never had a bad thing to say about him. If I had known…” His voice trailed off.

“Detective Brice,” I said, reaching for his hand. “Please don’t feel guilty. George was very good at hiding who he truly was, just like he was good at putting bruises where no one would see. The only person I blame, and I’m not entirely sure I blame even her any longer, is my mother. I think she was so lost and broken after my father’s death, maybe she hoped for something with George that she just never got. We’ll never truly know. The only thing I know for certain is that my sister and I are now free of their hold over us. I know it’s terrible that we lost our mother, but if I’m being honest, we actually lost her a very long time ago. So her death is less of a blow than you’d expect.”

“Your father was a good man, and he would be proud of both of you.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. I also appreciate you flying all the way here to tell me in person. And for letting me tell my sister.”

“I’m just sorry it was to bring you bad news, Mackenzie.”

I squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Detective Brice. You brought me sad news, not bad. I hope you at least get to stay in Montana a few days.”

“Unfortunately not. I’m heading back to Missoula and flying out tomorrow. But my wife is with me, so I think we’ll find a nice restaurant to enjoy this evening.”

Merit smiled as she released my other hand. “I’ll give you some suggestions while I drive you back up to your rental.”

The detective nodded. “That sounds wonderful.” Turning his focus back on me, he said, “I wish you and your sister the best of luck.”

Shaking his hand, I replied, “Thank you so much.”

“Of course.”