The house seemed unusually quiet, and the pickup was gone as they approached. Sterling hustled to the barn while Paige peeked in the kitchen. It looked like Linda had only gotten through the first three molds before she’d been interrupted. The wire was still laced through a block of hardened soap.
The slam of the screen door signaled Sterling’s entrance. “The boys are gone, too. Dad must have taken everyone out for lunch.”
“Great.” Paige said. “I’ll take a quick shower and be ready in a few minutes, alright?”
“And I’ll shower in the garage.”
She laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.” Sterling ducked in the laundry room to grab a towel. “Dad’s office is out there with a full bath. Believe me, it’s best to avoid temptation. Especially if dad comes home while I’m sneaking in on you.” He pecked her cheek.
She shoved him lightly toward the door. “Then get a move on. I’d like to be ready before your family comes home.”
With the house empty, Paige mounted the stairs and walked down the hall. The normal groans and creaks of an old house was something she was used to, but another sound came to her ears that didn’t fit. It was so soft, she could barely hear it, like muffled breathing or someone with a cold. Instead of turning to the right at the hall, she went left and came to a closed door. She rapped on it gently.
“Come in.” It sounded like one of the little boys, the tenor was so high.
Turning the knob, Paige immediately recognized the master bedroom. On the other side of the bed next to an end table with an ancient phone on it, Linda held a tissue balled in her fist. Her nose was red. Her eyes puffy. She gestured for Paige to come in.
Paige sat beside her. She didn’t want to pry but wanted to help in some way. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Not unless you can change history.” Linda wiped her nose. “It amazes me that a man can chew on the same bone for twelve years and still hasn’t had enough of it.”
“This is your husband you’re talking about?” Paige said, still unsure what was going on.
She bobbed her head. “Yes, Darryl.”
The glowing name on the ceiling suddenly made sense. “So you’ve known each other since high school?”
“Before that.” Her cheeks lifted in what must have been pleasant memories. “I knew I wanted to marry Darryl since the second grade. Everything would have been fine if he hadn’t gotten appendicitis as a senior. He had an allergic reaction to the pain meds and missed three months of school. They decided to let him repeat his final year of high school.”
“That’s got to be hard, but why would it affect him for twelve years?” Paige was still trying to understand.
“You don’t know?” Linda looked at her, seeming a little dazed.
“Nothing about this,” Paige said.
“Darryl’s wanted to play professional baseball all his life. A bunch of scouts were scheduled to come to the game he missed because he got sick, so the next year he was given the same position on the baseball team. The problem was that Sterling was a year behind us in school and planned on taking that spot.” Linda bowed her head.
“Oh, I see,” Paige said.
Linda turned toward Paige. “It wasn’t just baseball for Sterling, like it was for Darryl. Sterling had been captain of the football team and the basketball team. He wanted all three, and when Sterling latches on to something, he’s a pit bull.”
“I believe that.” From what she’d seen of his business dealings, Paige knew it was an accurate statement.
“Anyway, when Darryl was named captain of the team instead of Sterling, my brother threw him a party. We all thought he was being a great sport. What I didn’t know until we got there is that Sterling had talked the Freeman boys into bringing a keg.” Linda stared at her like it was significant.
“That seems like something all stupid seniors do,” Paige said.
Linda lifted one brow. “Except the school board had signed a zero tolerance rule for drinking if you wanted to play on a sports team. No one knows who called the cops on us, but we all had to take Breathalyzer tests. Sterling was the only one who hadn’t had a drop.”
“Really?” Paige was getting the picture.
“And none of the other key baseball players were even invited to the party.”
“Oh,” Paige said.
“When Dad found out, he was furious. You could hear them screaming at each other all the way from the barn. Dad felt Sterling had hurt our family’s good name. Sterling said what he did was entirely legal and thought Dad was overreacting. The next morning Sterling was gone, but Darryl was still off the team. They haven’t spoken since.”
Paige looked at the old rotary phone. “So now Darryl knows Sterling’s here?”
Linda nodded. “It’s funny. The night I came here we were fighting about this very thing. Darryl still blames Sterling for his failures. I couldn’t take it anymore and came home for a break.” Linda huffed out of frustration.
“How did he find out about Sterling?” Paige asked.
“Josh told his father about Daffodil. I suppose it had to be faced some time. He’s on his way.” Linda stood. “I guess I’ll go warn Sterling.”
Paige’s hand shot out and caught Linda’s. “Don’t. We’re going to the high school gym to dance. That should give you time to calm down Darryl enough for them to face each other. I knew something was up with Sterling being gone for so long. This makes total sense. If he can fix this, it will help them both.”
Linda put her other hand over Paige’s. “I thought the same thing, but I couldn’t do it alone. Dad didn’t want to talk about it, and Sterling was in hiding. With Mom gone, I didn’t know what to do.”
“We’ll tackle this together,” Paige said. “It’s time we all face the monsters in our closets.”