The Mortal Groove by Ellen Hart Page B

morning, but it was a small price to pay to feel alive again.
    Larry planned to meet with Melanie Gunderson again tonight. Randy’s stomach vanished every time he thought about that woman scrutinizing his past. He prayed that she’d take the money and back off, because if she didn’t, he was afraid Del and Larry would push for something more drastic. He was even more afraid that he might go along with it. Randy had tried to bury his past, but in the process, he’d come to the conclusion that he’d buried himself along with it. Maybe that’s why Sherrie had left him. She couldn’t stand to live with the smell of a stinking corpse.
    â€œAm I alive or am I the walking dead?” he whispered. He really wanted to know. “I’m good at my job. I’ve made a difference in the world. But what’s that prove when I won’t let myself ever feel anything. My wife’s left me and I’m depressed, but hell, I’m always depressed.” Except, this morning, the blood pumped in his veins a little harder. Last night had been good for him. He felt opened up today, the sun hotter, the sky bluer, his skin alive. It wasn’t just Larry’s sudden appearance, although that may have been part of the catalyst. This morning, as he walked around the house, it was as if he was waking from a long sleep. Sherrie wasmere inches from being lost to him forever. He wanted her back, wanted forgiveness and absolution for his past. He wanted a goddamn second chance.
    When Sherrie’s Lexus pulled into the drive a few minutes later, he trotted down the steps to meet her.
    â€œHi,” he said, smiling and opening the passenger door for his daughter, Katie. He gave her an extralong hug. It meant more to him than just the usual hug, but it didn’t even put a dent in her sullenness. She’d made her feelings very clear weeks ago. She didn’t want to be dragged from house to house for the next two years. If her parents were gonna get all stupid on her and ditch their marriage, she wanted to live with her mother until she finished her senior year of high school, and then she’d be off to college somewhere, hopefully far far away.
    Grabbing an overnight bag from the trunk, Katie disappeared up the steps. Randy moved around to the driver’s side. “You coming in?” he asked Sherrie, trying to look serious, even though he felt like pulling her out of the car and spinning her around.
    â€œNo,” she said. She looked about as cheerful as Katie.
    â€œWe should talk,” he said. “Come on, just sit on the deck with me for a few minutes.”
    She seemed torn.
    â€œPlease?” he asked, hoping that he still had some pull with her.
    Finally relenting, she turned off the motor and got out.
    Sherrie and Katie were both brunettes, although Sherrie’s hair was short and Katie’s was long. Both were slim and athletic. Randy hadn’t seen either of them in a couple of weeks. Was it possible that they’d grown even more beautiful in that short period of time?
    â€œYou want something to drink?” he asked on his way up the steps to the upper deck. “I think the coffee’s still on from breakfast. Or I could fix us a drink.”
    â€œA little early in the day for that.”
    â€œCome in the house for a second,” he said. “There’s something I want you to see.” Entering through the second-floor patio doors, he could tell that Katie had already made it up to her bedroom because he could hear Blue October blasting from the speakers in her room. She was trying to erase her parents’ existence. He didn’t blame her.
    When he turned around, Sherrie was walking silently around the kitchen—her kitchen—a tentative, almost forlorn look on her face. She was living in a small apartment now. He’d only seen it from the outside, but he knew it was small because Katie had told him about it one night on the