Page 101 of The Lost Book of First Loves

“I would appreciate that. I’m more determined than ever to find the manuscript.”

“I’ll be in touch tomorrow about a time that works.”

“Sounds good.”

He studied her as he rose. “Don’t be too hard on Ali for not telling you right away. She adored her father and I think she was conflicted for a long time about even reaching out to you. In the end, she decided it was the right thing to do. I’m glad she did. I hope in time, you will be, as well.”

“I would like to see the verifying DNA results first. Then we’ll see.”

“Understandable. Good night, June. Thanks for dinner.”

“I forgot we even had dinner,” she said with a raw-sounding laugh as she rose, as well. “It feels like a lifetime ago.”

Now he couldn’t resist following through on the impulse he had been fighting since Ali left. He pulled her into his arms.

She sagged against him, her arms around him. She didn’t cry; she simply held on as if they were caught in a flash flood and he was the one solid thing keeping her from being swept under.

They stood that way for a long time, until he felt the slight tremors of her body ease, then he stepped away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, then he kissed her forehead and walked out of the cabin.

Chapter 33

Alison

“So now I don’t know if she’ll ever speak to me again. I finally have the sister I’ve always wanted, but now I’m afraid I will lose her before I really have the chance to know her.”

In the passenger seat of the ranch pickup truck, Xander sent her a compassionate look. “I’m sure she’ll come around. It must have been a huge shock to her.”

Ali sighed, making the last turn toward the trailhead. It had taken her the entire drive after she picked up him, his gear and his brother’s horse to tell him everything that had happened at the cabin the day before.

“Which is exactly why I didn’t tell her before! She didn’t need another huge shock right now.”

“All you can do is wait, I guess. Seems like the timing isn’t the greatest for us to take this trip. Do you want to forget about it?”

She had considered it several times during the mostly sleepless night she suffered after telling June everything. Now, as she drove through the dawn mist toward the mountains, she was glad she hadn’t backed out.

“We’ve been planning this for a week. I wasn’t going to cancel on you. A few days’ wait before we take the DNA test to verify our connection won’t make any difference. And maybe some time apart from each other will do us both good.”

She hoped she hadn’t pushed her sister away completely. Maybe when she returned to the ranch, she would find June had fled and wanted nothing more to do with her.

No. June wasn’t someone who ran away from her problems.

“So how was your date the other night?” Xan asked. “Was Clint everything you ever dreamed?”

With all that had happened since then, she had almost forgotten about going out with Clint.

“It was fun. We didn’t have a chance to talk much, since we were so busy dancing.”

“Did Tank and Smitty stick with you all night?”

She made a face. “Not the whole night, thank heavens. They met up with some Danish tourists who were much more interesting.”

“Are you seeing him again?” he asked, his tone unreadable.

“He wants to go to dinner some night this week. I told him I wasn’t sure of my schedule.”

“Ah.”

---