Page 31 of Mystery at Rescue Ridge

“I’m speechless,” Evie said after long minutes of silence.He could only imagine the thoughts racing through her mind about the discoveries.How little she’d known her sister.He couldn’t imagine being in a scenario like this one with any of his siblings.

Evie plopped down on her sweet backside.“Why didn’t she tell me she was having money problems?”

A few reasons came to mind.“Pride, for one.She’s your older sister and wouldn’t want to admit to being desperate for money.”

“I thought we told each other everything.”She frowned.“That we were each other’s confidants.What does this say about our relationship?About how much she trusted me?”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“Is there another?Because I’d love to hear it.”

He rubbed the day-old scruff on his chin.“This must have seemed like the best way to make enough money to support the family while being here for her children.As far as admitting to not having enough money, pride will do that to you.She might not have wanted to burden you with her troubles.”

“I didn’t call enough,” she said on a deep exhale.“She would’ve told me if I’d kept in touch, or I would’ve figured it out.”

“Folks tell you what they want you to know.Take my half-brother, for instance.The man was hidden from us for more than three decades.”

“No offense, but I would expect a secret like that from Beaumont.”

He appreciated that she never referred to the man asyour father.And he couldn’t argue her point.

“Simone was the picture of all things good,” she said.

“No one is perfect, Evie.”

“You are,” she blurted out.Her cheeks heated like she was embarrassed and wished she could take back those words the second they left her mouth.

“I can assure you that I am most certainly not.”

Evie opened her mouth to speak, no doubt to argue, but then clamped it shut.

“Though I may not cheat on my taxes or girlfriends for that matter, I’m generally accused of not speaking up when I should, I don’t pick up my clothes off the floor if I miss the basket, and I can be a real jerk when I want to be.”

Her lips pinched, and her eyebrow shot up in disbelief.Her emotions had become readable to him a long time ago.

“What?”

“You?A jerk?Never.”

“Then, you’re going to have to tell me what I did to make you run away from our friendship,” he said.

Once again, Evie clamped her lips shut.She didn’t make eye contact, which made it next to impossible to tell what she was thinking.

She called into the next room, “Hey, Travis.We found something in here that you should see.”

Owen got up and left the room.

Evie bitback a string of curse words.A growing part of her wanted to come clean with Owen.She wanted to tell him that she’d fallen in love with him and hadhadto walk away for her own sanity’s sake.She’d watched him date in high school, and it had nearly cracked her heart in two.There was no way she would’ve been able to sit back and watch him fall in love with someone else, get married, and start a family.Not see it and keep her sanity, too.

Leaving and cutting off communication had been the best of bad options.The fact that he was still single and determined never to have kids didn’t mean he couldn’t have already met the love of his life.

Travis appeared in the doorway.

“Come in,” she said, equal parts embarrassed and sad for Simone.She obviously felt like she had to put on a perfect front for everyone else while doing what she saw as necessary to take care of her family.Evie had bought every line about the fake business Simone had talked about.Believing her sister had been a habit, reflex.Simone had never given Evie a reason to doubt or question her.She thought it was funny how once you made up your mind about someone, you easily bought into the picture they fed you, even when it was a lie.

Travis stood over the box, taking mental inventory of the contents.

“Did Simone pick up a stalker?Is that what this is all about?The hiker?”she asked.

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