Page 7 of Silverstorm

Stopping her car in the neat, circular driveway, she got out and surveyed the double-story, wooden house. A wide veranda beckoned her up the stairs toward an eggshell-blue door. Unsure, Aria bit her lip. But she was here now, this was no time to chicken out. Mounting the steps one at a time, she saw a lovely cane outdoor setting and farther along two comfy-looking armchairs set to overlook the grassy vista spreading out below. Aria hadn’t heard if Iliana had had any children, but the lack of toys on the veranda or in the front yard pointed to either no children, or her sister was obsessive about cleaning up.

Shaking her hair back from her forehead, she raked her fingers through it a few times, hoping to tame her wispy locks. What would Iliana think of her little sister? She hadn’t changed that much in eight years. Surely Iliana would recognize her?

There was a brass knocker in the middle of the door, so she tapped it a few times, listening to the dull thud echo through the house, and waited. And waited. Clenching and unclenching her fists by her side. There was no sound from the inside. No movement. Now that she thought about it, the place looked deserted. Nobody was home.

She expected a wave of relief, but instead she felt flat, like she’d lost the chance at gaining something good. Iliana and her husband must be out. Of course, Aria couldn’t turn up on the front door without letting them know she was coming and expect them to be waiting for her with open arms.

Stomping heavily down the stairs, she stopped for a second beside her car. Then curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to take a look around the back. Perhaps they were out in a shed somewhere. If this was a working farm—which it seemed it was—then, of course, they’d be out doing jobs. Feeding cattle, or fixing fences, or whatever it was you did on a farm. She followed the gravel road around the side of the house, which led to a cleared area with a large vegetable patch running away at a tangent from the rear of the house. Two cars were parked side by side next to a large, metal shed. A big, shiny Ford F100, and a smaller compact SUV. She was pretty sure she could guess who owned which car.

So, if the cars were here, then did that mean Iliana and Craig were also here somewhere?

A tortoiseshell cat appeared from underneath the back porch and wound between Aria’s legs, meowing loudly. “Hello, kitty.” She leaned down to stroke the cat’s silky ears. “What’s up with you? Where is everyone?” But the cat merely continued to rub against her legs, meowing for attention. “Well, you’re no help,” Aria chuckled, standing and peering around the rest of the farm.

Past the vegetable garden, a pretty green lawn ran down for a hundred feet or so, enclosed by a wooden picket fence. It seemed Iliana had developed a green thumb, because she could see big fat red tomatoes ready to be picked, and the last few green heads of summer lettuce, along with neat rows of runner beans and what looked like radishes and carrots, all coming to the end of their growing period.

Neither she nor Iliana had taken much stock of gardening when they were younger. When their mother had been alive, she’d tended a vegetable patch, used to supplement their meagre food supply, but after she died… Well, it’d always been a choked tangle of weeds and long grass. A good place to hide when their father was in one of his ranting episodes. Aria stared at the vegetable patch, trying to imagine her sister bent over with a trowel in her hand, perhaps swiping at the perspiration on her brow. A scene of happy domesticity, something Aria had never imagined for Iliana, until now.

Right before Aria had knocked on the front door, she’d wondered if Iliana would recognize her. But now she turned that thought around; would Aria even recognize her sister? Did Iliana still have long blonde hair and that same slight stature and quick, intense gaze? The same big laugh? Aria used to tell her she sounded like a donkey when she laughed. Now she wondered how she could’ve been so mean. Back when they’d been children living under their father’s roof, neither of them had had many friends. Most kids and parents were wary because of the rumors and half-truths floating around town about their father. About the fact that he’d belonged to some cult, and he was a man to be avoided because of his beliefs. But instead of bringing them closer together, two sisters fighting a common obstacle, they’d actually drifted farther apart, each existing—surviving as best they could—in a world of their own. At the time, Aria had never blamed her sister; she’d done what she thought she needed to do to protect herself.

Aria had never really dissected her feelings toward Iliana; she’d just boxed them up with the rest and put them away, getting through each day as best she could. But now she was struck with sudden insight. Seeing this farm, seeing everything Iliana had—her nice house, a husband, her cute vegetable garden, everything that Aria didn’t have, had never had the opportunity to obtain—made her slightly resentful. Her sister had all this because she’d only ever looked after herself. Put herself first. But Iliana was the oldest sibling, it was her job to protect her younger sister, wasn’t it? Deep down, Aria resented Iliana for leaving her to cope on her own. Standing there in the weak fall sunshine, Aria felt the surprising fact hit her like a blow to her solar plexus. Wow, that was an interesting revelation. How come she’d never come to that conclusion before? Was that the reason she’d refused to come to the wedding? Cut off all contact. Until now.

The cat meowed again, pulling her out of her musings, and she lifted her head. Beyond the vegetable patch sat a big, red barn, with all its doors shut up tight. She guessed this might be where the tractors and other farm equipment were kept. But it was all locked up, and so perhaps they weren’t working today, after all.

Aria spent the next ten minutes checking the nearby buildings and sheds, with the cat following along, her tail held high like a flag, but they were all locked, and Aria trudged back around the side of the house.

She would’ve loved to have been able to tell someone about her job offer, share the good news with someone who might be interested. In addition to Jude, of course. Maybe that was one of the reasons she’d chosen to seek out Iliana today. If things had worked out, perhaps they might be sitting on the front veranda right now, having tea and chatting about all the things they’d done over the past few years. Maybe they could’ve mended some fences. Or at least started up a conversation to try and heal the rift. A rift that Aria hadn’t truly understood until now.

But today was a dead end, and healing their relationship might well be a pipe dream. Because she wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive Iliana. With her sudden revelation today, she needed more time to think about it. The tortoiseshell ran up the front steps, meowing as if she wanted Aria to follow her. But Aria ignored her and got back into her car.

She drove away, her guts roiling, not sure if she was happy to put the meeting off for another day or sad because she was no closer to finding out if Iliana still cared.

CHAPTER FOUR

JUDE PULLED HIS cruiser up in the parking lot of the ranger station just as Levi walked down the front steps of the building. Shit. The day had got away from him. He’d been meaning to call in and see Levi all afternoon, and now he’d left it too late and the ranger would be heading home for the day. But this couldn’t wait, so Jude jumped out of his car and strode across the parking lot to meet Levi as he approached his vehicle.

“Jude. Nice to see you, man.” The two friends fist-bumped a greeting, but Levi’s dark eyes watched him shrewdly. “I’m guessing this isn’t a social call.” Jude was on more than friendly terms with Cat and Levi, along with most of the Stargazer staff. They were of a similar age and often hung out together when off duty. But they also had a shared history with all the troubles at the ranch recently, and strong bonds had formed, especially with Levi, Cat, Penny, and Clayton.

“You guessed right,” Jude replied, ducking his head. “You’ll probably hear this from Cat tonight when she gets home, anyway.”

“Oh, yeah?” Levi drawled. “It must be something to do with Stargazer, then?” He opened the door to his vehicle, threw his ranger hat and jacket inside, and turned to give Jude his full attention.

“Yep, I’m afraid so.”

Levi cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything, waiting for Jude to continue.

“Dean reported some cattle missing today.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jude gave him a look full of meaning. He’d know without being told how two missing cattle would put Dean on edge. A normal person might be annoyed at the inconvenience, as the loss of cattle would be worth a pretty penny. But that wasn’t what would be worrying Dean. He’d be concerned that something untoward was happening on his ranch. Again. Even though Stargazer was renowned as a luxury ranch with only the best experiences for guests and did incredibly well in their field, they’d also had some terribly bad luck, and it wouldn’t be the first time they were targeted by a person with a grudge.

“Tom thinks he saw some footprints leading up toward Canyon Peak.”

“And you want me to check it out?”

Jude liked that Levi got the gist of the conversation with minimum effort. He was a man of few words, but when he said he’d do something, you knew he’d always follow through.

“Yes, if you’ve got time tomorrow, that’d be great. It’s probably nothing, but to put Dean’s mind at ease, well, you know…”

Levi stroked his beard thoughtfully and Jude watched him consider his words. Levi was of a similar height to Jude, ebony shoulder-length hair pulled back in a ponytail, and the same ebony eyes which regarded him with a studied frown from beneath lowered brows. Even from his male perspective, Jude acknowledged Levi was a good-looking man, if you liked the outdoorsy type. Which Cat clearly did. Cat was lucky to have found him, and they made a great couple. Levi balanced out her spirited nature, with his calm demeanor. They were the perfect example of opposites attracting.

---