Page 37 of Luke

Their gallop came to a halt about ten minutes later when they had to move single file along the river. Eventually, Vixen called another halt in the shade of some very tall trees.

"I guess we're stopping," Lizzie said with a shrug.

"That was a nice ride."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"So, what happened with Kaitlyn? I know you said you punished her for lying; did she tell you what happened?"

"Not really. She actually turned the tables on me. I made the mistake of saying that I wanted to protect her the way her mother would have wanted me to do, and suddenly she was all over me about how I didn't know what her mother would want. She came out swinging hard, bringing up stuff I didn't know about and am not even sure is true."

"Like what?" he asked curiously.

"She said Kelly was angry and sad that I didn't go to visit her the last few Christmas holidays, that Kelly would cry when she got off the phone with me. She said Kelly thought I was selfish after all she'd done for me. Kaitlyn made me feel really guilty and really bad. Because I never meant to hurt my sister. I loved her. But Kaitlyn said that Kelly told her I loved music more. Maybe it's no wonder Kaitlyn doesn't want to live with me. It might have nothing to do with the tragic death of her parents and more to do with the fact that she doesn't like me, that she blames me for making her mother sad."

He saw the emotions run through Lizzie's eyes. "I don't know what you did or didn't do, but I know this: you loved your sister, and she loved you, no matter what distance was between you."

"I thought so," she said, looking like she really wanted to believe him. "We did drift apart a little, but we led different lives. Kelly was a wife and a mom, and she was entrenched in her world of suburbia, carpools, and PTA meetings. I didn't think it bothered her that I didn't come home for Christmas. She had her husband's family there, and Mom usually showed up." She sighed. "I'm rationalizing, aren't I?"

"It sounds like normal sibling stuff to me. I don't see my brothers all that much. We're all living our lives. I think Kaitlyn just wanted to make you feel bad, take the focus off herself."

"That's certainly possible."

"So don't let her get to you, don't let her doubt your relationship with your sister."

"I'm going to try not to. I just wish I could put a small dent in the wall Kaitlyn has put up around her."

"That will probably just take time. The more you're together—"

"That's the thing; we don't do much together. I've gotten her to go riding with me twice, but she doesn't talk to me. She'll sit in a lounger at the pool when I'm out there, but again, she doesn't talk to me. She's listening to her music or texting her friends at home. I can't get her to go on a hike or a river trip. She says no to every single invitation that involves leaving the immediate area, so I don't know how I'm ever going to get through to her."

"Well, I'm not a psychologist, but…"

"But you feel qualified to give me some advice? Why am I not surprised? You love to give advice."

"And you usually don't take it."

"Neither do you," she retorted. "Fine. What's your diagnosis, Doc?"

"Kaitlyn lost her whole life, her parents, her home, her school, and her friends. Maybe to survive, she has to find some part of her life she can control, like not listening to you, not doing the things you want her to do."

Lizzie nodded. "I get it. Saying no is her way of being in charge of something. That thought has occurred to me as well."

"Damn, I thought I'd come up with something brilliant," he said lightly.

She laughed. "You've never thought less than highly of yourself. The Brannigan brothers have never been short on confidence. Speaking of which, what are your brothers doing these days?"

"Knox works at a bar called The Wake in Santa Monica."

"Sounds about right. What about everyone else? Is James on his way to making his first million?"

"No, he's well past his first million. He runs a very successful hedge fund."

"I've never understood what those are."

"Let's just say he moves and makes a lot of money for a lot of people. He takes after my dad. So does Gabe. He runs a highly successful real-estate company. His last grateful client gave him an Aston Martin as a thank-you."

"Wow. He must have done some job."

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