Authors: Angela Fristoe
“What I fucking needed was the truth.”
“You weren’t ready for the truth.”
“That wasn’t your call,” Gavin snapped. “How the fuck are we going to find this guy now?”
“Find who, Gavin? Cora couldn’t even give a description of the vehicle let alone the driver. There’s not any evidence to even start looking.”
“What about the person who stopped to help? They might have seen something.”
“You don’t think we looked? It’s a dead end.”
“We? Who else knew about this?”
“The family and Merrick.” Not surprising; their family didn’t keep secrets from each other.
Gavin rounded the side of the bar and came face to face with Noah who stood just outside the entrance of Porter’s. He hung up and shoved the phone into his back pocket.
“We looked into it,” Noah said. “Merrick pulled every piece of surveillance footage he could get his hands on to see if someone followed them. Dad and I questioned every possible lead, but it was weeks too late.”
“We could have gone to the media, offered a reward. Something.” The ache of helplessness settled inside his chest.
“The cops advised us against that.”
Gavin stared at his brother, shocked. He couldn’t believe they’d roll over for the cops without some good reason.
“You let Lela’s killer get away with this because the cops told you to back off?”
“There wasn’t anything else we could do.”
Believing his brother would have been so much easier if Noah would have looked at him. Instead, Noah gazed off to the side.
“That’s bullshit. You’re hiding something.”
Noah ran a hand down his face, rubbing his short beard and then craned his head to the side until there was a crack from his neck.
“Sinclair. He was the guy Cora saw on the river bank. We think he or one of his lackeys also forced them off the road.”
Gavin’s stomach clenched and he almost hurled right there in the street. Instead, his fist swung out and he landed a solid punch on Noah’s jaw.
Noah’s head snapped back, and he stumbled a few steps to the side. When he steadied himself, he lifted a hand and touched the spot where Gavin had made contact.
“Two minutes ago it was a dead end. No evidence. Too late. And now it’s Sinclair? How the fuck did you decided to keep this from me?”
“This wasn’t my call,” Noah said. “It was too late for the cops to find anything. Merrick and Caleb, on the other hand, weren’t bound by the need for warrants. It took a couple months for them to find anything.”
“That doesn’t explain why I wasn’t told.”
“You needed time to heal. To get past losing Lela.”
Gavin clenched his fists, every ounce of his being wanted to pummel Noah or anyone in his way.
“Who decided?”
“Gavin …”
“Who?”
“Mom.”
He spun around and strode through the parking lot to his Jeep, ignoring Noah’s calls.
Of course, Mom made the call. She was the boss. From the moment the five of them walked into that house, the pecking order was established. Everyone shared their opinion, they even got a vote, but Sarah Walker had the final say.
This time, though, she’d been wrong.
The overwhelming desire to go to the house and confront her pulsed through him, yet he realized it would be pointless. He drove around aimlessly, making it almost to Billings before turning around. He pulled off the main highway onto the back road to town. He slowed to a crawl before eventually coming to a stop at the entrance to Thompson Creek Bridge.
He got out of the car and walked out to the middle of the bridge. With his forearms resting on the wooden barrier, he peered over the side at the water below. At that time of year, the creek was shallow from the hot temperatures, only a few feet of muddy water concealed the rocky bottom, nothing like in the spring, when rainwater and mountain runoff caused it to surge to a couple meters deep.
His head dropped into his heads and his shoulders jerked.
Where did he go from here?
THE MORNING SUNLIGHT STREAMED through the thin curtains and Cora reached across the counter to drop the blinds. It might have been almost nine in the morning, and she might have been up for over an hour, but with her raging hangover, it was way too early to be so bright.
She took a sip from her glass of orange juice, then poured the rest down the sink as the acidic liquid settled uneasily in her stomach. Definitely not what she needed.
Glancing around her apartment, she contemplated what she would do with the day. Working full time and then spending her spare time at the pub watching over Gavin left her with a pretty sad personal life.
Every vision she’d had with Sinclair showed him making his move in the evening, so there was no need to torture herself all day. She needed to do something other than stew.
Her gaze fell on the long forgotten sketchbook wedged into the top shelf of her bookcase. She wandered over, tugged it free and leafed through the pages of her work.
They were a documentation of her artistic growth since her brother first gave her the book for Christmas eight years before. There were the standard still lifes and portraits, but her favorites were the fantasy-based sketches she’d done of mythical beasts.
The sketches trailed off during her time in college and finally stopped after Lela’s death. She loved art, but day-to-day life took over and she’d been busy with her job at the museum.
She closed the sketch book and tossed it onto the coffee table. Going to the bedroom closet, she searched through boxes for her art pencils, but couldn’t find them. She’d need to go to the art supply store in Billings for a new set.
She grabbed her cell and dialed her brother’s number.
“What’s up?” Darren asked when he picked up.
“Hello to you, too.”
“Forgive me, Coraline, dearest sister of mine. How is your health?”
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
“Oh, you know me. Your health and well-being is my top priority.”
“Yeah, sure.” She did know him, and that meant he was focused on his work, and she was lucky he even bothered picking up. She went to the front closet, and wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder, slipped on her sneakers. “How are things going?”
“I’m doing good. Went up to Mom and Dad’s place last week. Mom said you were busy and haven’t been up to see them in a while.”
“I’ve been working. Besides, I don’t trust my car to make it up the mountain.”
Their parents lived in Thompson Creek until Cora finished school, but shortly after she moved to Denver, they bought a new place in the mountains. She’d gone for a visit once, and her car had barely made the trip—no way she would risk it again. It was a convenient excuse that she was more than ready to use.
“So? What’s up?” her brother asked.
“I’m heading into Billings and hoped we might be able to meet up for lunch.”
“I’d love to, but I’ve already got plans. How about next week?”
“I’m working,” she said. “I could maybe do Thursday?”
“Yeah, sure. Give me a call on Wednesday to remind me, K?”
They chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. Cora finished tying her shoes then grabbed her keys and purse. It wasn’t until she got into her car that she began debating whether it was even worth the drive.
She could probably find a set of pencils online and save the gas money. Not that Billings was far away, but it was a trip she didn’t like to make. Going to Billings meant going past the Thompson Creek Bridge unless she took the longer route, but the idea of sitting in her apartment all day reliving her conversation with Gavin was just too much. She needed to clear her head and she couldn’t do that in her apartment.
What she didn’t expect was to find Gavin’s car at the entrance to the bridge. She pulled up behind and parked, scanning the bridge. For a moment, panic set in when she didn’t see him, and she wondered if she should be searching the water, but as Cora got out of her car, she saw him sitting on the hood of his Jeep.
“Gavin?” She walked quickly around to the front of the car. “Are you okay?”
He didn’t say anything simply sitting there staring straight ahead. He wore the same clothes he’d been wearing the night before. The stubble along his jaw and his red-rimmed eyes confirmed he hadn’t even been home.
Had he been here all night?
“Gavin?” She laid her hand on his arm, and he jerked in response as if just noticing her presence.
“Hey. What are you doing out here?”
“I’m going into Billings for the day. Have you been here all night?”
He glanced around possibly realizing night had long since passed. “Yeah, I guess. I just … I needed to think, and this place …”
“Come on,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “I’ll drive you home.”
“No, no. I’m okay.”
“Gavin, there’s no way you’re okay to drive. You haven’t slept all night.”
“I’m not ready to go yet,” he said. “I’ll call one of my brothers to come pick me up in a while.”
He looked so lost. She wanted to say something—
anything
—to comfort him, but there wasn’t anything to make it right.
If she hadn’t
—Cora pressed her lips together. She couldn’t think like that, not anymore. Gavin deserved the truth, and telling him what actually happened was something she should have done a long time ago. But she wasn’t alone; his family had known what happened and they made the choice not to tell his as well.
“All right,” she said. “But you need to promise you’ll call someone.”
“I promise.”
She gave his arm a gentle squeeze then went back to the car. She sat there a moment before eventually driving off. A few miles down the road, she pulled over and took out her cell phone.
“Hello?” Noah answered.
“Hey, it’s Cora.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Well, not really. Gavin …”
“Yeah, I talked to him last night. Did he go back to your place?”
“No.” Cora sighed. “He’s at the bridge. I think he’s been there all night. I offered him a ride but he won’t go.”
“I’ll come and get him.”
After hanging up, Cora turned the vehicle around and drove to the top of a small hill that crested before the bridge. She could make out Gavin still perched atop his Jeep. She waited until she saw Noah’s car drive up, and then satisfied Gavin was safe, she made her way to Billings.
The entire drive, she kept thinking about Gavin struggling to make sense of what he’d learned. She fought against the urge to go back and see him. There was nothing she could do now. If anything, she’d done too much already.
She reached the edge of Billings and tried to get her bearings. She’d only been into the city once since moving back. It wasn’t difficult to do. Compared to Denver, Billings was a small town. When she first returned to Thompson Creek, she’d anticipated missing the bustle of the big city. She’d grown accustomed to all the conveniences that came along with the metropolitan area. Now, after a few months in Thompson Creek, Billings was more than big enough.
Using an app on her phone, she found the new art supply store nestled in-between two jewelry shops downtown. A string of bells hanging from the door jingled lightly as she entered. She inhaled deeply, loving the odor of paint and other raw materials. Some people might have found it overwhelming, but for Cora, she loved the flood of memories it brought back.
She took her time wandering around, her mind racing as she visualized all the pieces she could work on. The temptation to grab a basket and completely fill it with paints, brushes, and charcoal and graphite pencils was almost too strong to resist.
As much as she wanted to dive back into her art, she knew her wallet couldn’t afford it. Rather than torturing herself anymore, she went over to the graphite pencils and looked for her favorite brand.
After a brief chat with the store clerk about the benefits of various sketchbook paper, she made her purchase and headed to the mall for lunch.
An hour later, she sat in the food court eating her lunch. The greasy cheese pizza wasn’t the best thing for her diet, but with such limited choices she figured she may as well enjoy what she was going to eat.
Her eyes flitted around the tables as she sipped at her drink then choked when she spotted Hailey. She groaned as the other woman noticed her and moved toward her.
For the past few months, she and Hailey had obeyed an unspoken agreement not to interact with each other at all costs. Unspoken because they didn’t speak to each other. Cora considered her options; she could bail on her lunch but then she be hungry on the drive home, or she could wait and see how bitchy Hailey wanted to be.
“Mind if I sit?” Hailey placed her tray on the table and pulled out the chair across from Cora. “Thanks.”
Cora arched a brow and continued eating. Maybe if she ignored her, the other woman would simply disappear. That, however, would require luck, and lately it didn’t seem like Cora had any of that.
“This place is so sad,” Hailey said as she unwrapped her soft taco and proceeded to pour hot sauce on it before rolling it back up. “Every time I come here, it reminds me why I do most of my shopping online.”
“Mmhmm.” Cora ripped off a piece of her crust and dipped it into the small container of jalapeno ranch sauce.
“You don’t like me, do you?”
Cora looked at the other woman. “I don’t know you enough to not like you.”
Hailey made a disbelieving noise. “God, don’t you ever get tired of being so prissy?”
“Any reason in particular that you’re sitting here?” Cora glared at Hailey.
“I thought we should talk,” Hailey said. “I mean, we both got the hots for the same guy. Maybe we need to decide who gets him when.”
“What are you talking about?” Cora’s cheeks flooded with heat. It was a stupid question to ask. She knew what Haley was talking about, or rather
who
she was talking about.
“Please.” Hailey rolled her eyes and not for the first time. Cora wondered how she could see through so much mascara. “I’ve seen you watching him. He may not have noticed yet but trust me everyone else has.”
“Gavin and I …”
“Are friends?” She leaned over the table. “Yeah, I think we both know that friendship isn’t what you and Gavin have. Try again.”
Cora pursed her lips and let her eyes wander the food court. This was not the conversation she wanted to have with Hailey. And definitely not right then. With all the crap that went down the night before with Gavin …
“He’s a good guy,” Hailey said. “But he’s got some serious issues. If you let him, he’ll hurt you.”
“I’ve known him for a long time,” Cora said.
“That has nothing to do with it. We both know that he’s still dealing with what happened to Lela.”
Cora snorted. “So what? You’re warning me away from him because you think I might get hurt? Or because you want him for yourself?”
“See? That’s the difference between you and me. I know exactly where I stand with Gavin. We have a good time, we hook up, and that’s it. You want something more.”
“And you don’t?”
Hailey laughed. “If he was offering, yeah sure, I’d take more, but that’s not what he’s offering. To either of us.”
The pity reflected in Hailey’s eyes had Cora squirming in her chair. She did want more, and if she was honest, she was jealous of what little Hailey had with him.
“I’m giving you fair warning that as long as he’s offering something, I’m willing to take it,” Hailey said. “Now, if the two of you start hooking up, I’m out.”
Cora studied Hailey. She’d always taken her at face value, never thinking about the person underneath the heavy makeup and bleached hair.
“Do you love him?” Cora asked.
“No, but that doesn’t matter. He’s sexy as hell and a good guy.” One side of her mouth tipped up into a smile. “Don’t tell me, you’re one of those girls who thinks you only sleep with someone when you’re in love? Oh my
God
. Are you a virgin?”
“No!”
“You are in love with him, though.”
Hailey waited for her answer, but Cora wasn’t prepared to admit or deny it.
“Fine, enjoy living in denial,” Hailey said. “But be careful. He could hurt you, but I think you could hurt him just as badly, and if that happens, I won’t play so nice.”
With that, Hailey gathered her food back on her tray, picked it up, and found a new seat on the other side of the food court.
Cora finished the last few bites of her pizza and then tossed the garbage on her tray and dumped it into a nearby bin. She browsed at a few stores, picking up a couple new tops for work, and then headed back to her car.
On the way back home, Cora replayed the conversation she’d had with Hailey. She’d always considered Hailey to be a bitch, and then … Well, maybe she still was, but somewhere in that conversation, Hailey had shown she wasn’t the horrible person Cora expected.
As she turned off the highway to the rural road leading to Thompson Creek, she noticed the car behind her followed. In the rear-view mirror, she tried to see if she recognized the vehicle. Thompson Creek was well over six thousand, and if you included people in the unincorporated areas, it was closer to twenty so she couldn’t claim to know everyone, but some cars stuck out in a rural area.