As he drove towards the house, Remington didn’t have any feelings nostalgia. It was more like dread.
Remington didn’t have any qualms about leaving or divorcing Bella. Not one. Well, maybe one. He never should have left Charlie behind. He should have at the very least bought a home closer. Maybe if he had, she wouldn’t be in the hospital learning how to live a very different life than what he planned for her. In his defense, Remington hadn’t wanted to uproot her from the only home she had ever known. Dealing with divorcing parents was difficult enough. It was worth it to him to pay over a hundred grand a month if it meant his little girl could hold on to a piece of normalcy.
“Thank you for giving me a ride home, Mr. Kneeland.”
He had almost forgotten Yolanda was sitting in the passenger seat. “No problem. I hope I won’t have to remind you again that taking the bus to the city at your age is dangerous.”
“No, sir.” She nodded. “I can’t believe I did the same thing that I told Charlie not to do the night she was injured.”
“What? What was Charlie planning the night she was injured?”
Yolanda started talking to herself in Spanish. “Oh, God. I promised. Me and my big mouth.”
She didn’t realize Remington was fluent in Spanish. “You promised what? What happened that night, Yolanda?”
Her eyes widened. “I said I wouldn’t say anything.”
Remington’s chest began to feel tight. “I don't know how to help Charlie if I don’t know what really happened?”
She thought about it for a moment and decided it’s was best to be as honest as she could without betraying too much of Charlie’s trust and jeopardizing her mother’s job. “Charlie had planned to run away. She was having some problems at school and was afraid of how Mr. and Mrs. Langston might react to her getting kicked out.” Yolanda left out the details about the abuse.
His voice had an edge to it. “Why was she afraid of how they might respond? Should she have been scared?”
Yolanda’s eyes were downcast. “I don’t know, Mr. Kneeland. I just know she wanted to leave. I can’t tell you anything else.”
Remington inhaled deeply then blew it out slowly. He didn’t want to scare the child, but if there was something nefarious going on, he needed to know about it. Something in his gut told him something other than the story he had been fed happened that night. Remington didn’t want to come across as too much of a hardass. He attempted to soften his voice. If there was more information to be gleaned from Yolanda, the whole flies and honey analogy came to mind. “Thanks for telling me what have. If you remember anything else, or if there is ever something you need,” He reached into his inside suit jacket and handed her his business card. “Call my assistant, Ashleigh. She’ll get in touch with me.”
Slowly, Yolanda lifted her head and one corner of her mouth ticked up into a small smile. “Thanks, Mr. Kneeland.”
“No problem.” His rental car rolled to a stop in front of his former home. Yolanda’s mother was standing outside in her maid’s uniform wringing her hands. As soon as Yolanda exited, she received a tongue lashing in Spanish.
As Remington stepped out of the car, Sophia spoke. “I’m sorry that my daughter bothered you, Mr. Kneeland.”
“Yolanda is not a bother. She’s a good kid. If I’m honest, I should have thought to ask if she wanted to visit sooner since the girls have always been close. It did Charlie good to see her.”
“REMI?” He saw Bella walking towards them as she sang his name.
Dammit. His goal of making a quick exit was foiled.
“Goodnight.” Sophia and Yolanda moved quickly to enter the house.
“How is Charlie?” Bella asked.
“You would know if you spent more time at the hospital.”
“Don’t start.” Her voice softened as she ran a finger up and down his arm. “We just got back into town last night and were recovering from jet-lag.”
One minute Bella hated him. The next, she was unabashedly flirting. The woman was mental. He thought. Remington ignored her and used the back of his thumb to scratch the side of his head. He asked the question that had been on his mind for weeks. “Bella, what happened the night of the accident? Why was Charlie out in the wee hours of the morning?”
She wrapped her arms around her body. “There is not much more to the story than I’ve already told you. She fell off the horse.”
His voice began to rise. “She had no damn business out that time of night, to begin with. Something is not adding up.”
“Why do you always look for more to a situation than there is? If you don’t believe me, then ask her.”
The rage in his chest was about to burst out. Remington clenched his teeth. “She doesn’t remember.”
Kane came bounding out of the house and down the stairs towards them. He was pissed. “Remington. What are you doing at my house?”
“Your house? Are you fucking kidding me?” The prick had a lot of nerve. “I suggest you take your ass back inside before I lay you out where you stand.”
Bella got
