Page 113 of Starcrossed Colorado

“I messed up with my big sister. But I apologized. We started talking again before she died.”

“I know. I saw her call log. You refused to tell me why she called you the night she died.”

“No, I told you the truth. Her voicemail was garbled. Like the connection was bad. But we did talk other times. We had reconnected. We were friends.”

“Then why didn’t she tell me?”

“Ashford,” she said softly, “there’s a lot Lori didn’t tell you.”

I knew that. But still, it stung. That same old hurt.

“So you’re admitting you knew something was going on with Lori. Yet you didn’t tell the police about it after she died. If you didn’t want to talk to me, fine. But there was an investigation. There are still questions about what happened. And you’re the only one who might have any answers.”

“I never told you because I suspected you.”

“Are you kidding me? Why would you think I’d do anything to hurt Lori? She was my best friend.”

Ayla burst into tears.

Dammit.

I handed some napkins to her. She accepted them and wiped her face. Then I noticed the goosebumps on her skin. She was shaking, hugging one arm across her middle. I didn’t even know how long it had been since she’d slept. Maybe longer than it had been for me.

Leaving the kitchenette, I grabbed a plaid flannel I’d left in my office.

“Wear this.” I draped the flannel around her shoulders. “It gets cold down here at night.”

Ayla stuck her arms into the shirt and took a big gulp of tea. I went to get the kettle to fill up her mug.

Eventually, her sobs quieted. “Thanks. Sorry. I just miss my sister.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I sat across from her, wondering if we shouldn’t have this conversation tonight. But if we didn’t do it now, when would we? How did I know that Ayla wouldn’t disappear again?

“At Dad’s funeral, Lori got my number from my assistant.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“I called her back. We talked about Maisie a lot. About old times. About how it was when we lived in that house growing up. Our father was so cruel.”

“I remember.” I spoke without emotion, but it had seemed like she needed an acknowledgment. She nodded and took a breath.

“When I left home, I just wanted to put all of that behind me. I know it was wrong of me to cut off Lori along with our dad, but I was sixteen. I wanted my own life. After we reconnected, Lori and I worked through it. She forgave me. And then she startedto open up. She always said you were a wonderful father. There was never any doubt about that. But she admitted she was really unhappy in your marriage.”

I looked down at my hands on the tabletop.

“Then Lori told me she’d met someone. A man. Someone who lived here in town.”

“Who?”

“She never told me his name. She only ever called him by his first initial. L. Same as hers. It started out great. She used to joke around, sayingL and Llike she thought it was the funniest thing. Lori told me she was falling in love, but her biggest concern wasyou. What you would think.”

“I was okay with her seeing other people. We made that clear to each other from the beginning.”

“But she was still anxious about how you would react. That’s why she wanted to keep it secret until she knew for sure if it was going to last. She didn’t want to change the life you guys had with Maisie unless this new guy was the one.”

“But something happened. A friend of mine said she walked in on Lori crying at the dentist’s office.”

“Yeah. Lori told L aboutme.” Ayla pushed the last of her tea away, like she couldn’t stomach any more of it.

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