Hannah Alexander - Collateral Damage

That brought a slight smile. “Sure do.”

“There are brothers and sisters who don’t know each other as well as we do. Don’t sixteen years count for anything?”

She smiled a little more as she recalled the happy times they’d gone fishing together, hiked the hills together and yes, even explored the cave before the adults discovered what they were doing and put a stop to it. He’d even confided in her one day when they were sixteen about a crush he’d developed on Shelby. Which had, of course, broken her heart.

“Your little sister looked kind of frightened,” he said.

“Why? Did something happen?” Sarah went on immediate alert.

“She got lost, and I don’t think she was sure of the reception she’d receive here.”

Good. “So what kind did she get?”

“Firm but fair.” There was a smile in his voice, and it warmed her.

“Don’t worry, Dad will be here before long. In fact, I’ll call him now and see what’s keeping him, but he’s out with old friends and probably forgot to check his watch.”

“I’ll get there as soon as I can.” She dabbed at her face and resisted checking her reflection in the mirror—and why on earth would she do that? It wasn’t as if he could see her. And it wasn’t as if she wanted to impress him with her appearance.

“Sarah, it’s late. By the time you’d get here we would all be asleep, including you, and that would be dangerous. There are two spare rooms for guests—you know how Mom loved company. They opened up the attic to make another guest suite just last year, and that’s where I’ll put Emma. She’ll be safe and warm and fast asleep before you could get here. I’m serious about making reservations for you in Springfield.”

“No. Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” Her parents had taken care of her responsibility all these years. This time she could handle it herself. “You’re right. I’ll get some rest and pick up Emma in the morning.”

There was a short silence. “Pick her up?”

“I need to get her back home to Sikeston where she belongs, and out of harm’s way.” And keep our lives from exploding in our faces.

“You know what? I’ve been thinking about that. School’s out for the year, right?”

Sarah grimaced. “Yes, but Emma’s been talking about getting a summer job, and I still have so much legal work to take care of for Mom and Dad.”

“Can it wait? Dad’s been through a lot these past weeks. He’s barely functioning. Same with me. You and Emma must be reeling.”

“And thus this crazy flight across Missouri.”

“You don’t need to be alone right now. Some time here could help.”

She grabbed a paper towel from the passenger seat and tore off a sheet to wipe her face. Again. “Jolly Mill isn’t exactly safe.”

“I had alarms put up in the house. We have a motivated neighborhood watch. Everyone’s on the alert, and Gerard has a lookout from his place on the hillside above the town, complete with telescope. He’s taking it seriously. Dad and I could really use your company. If it makes you feel any better, nothing else has happened since the explosions three weeks ago.”

She wasn’t up to an argument right now. She’d just have to convince him in the morning that she and Emma couldn’t stay there. He was being a gentleman about twisting her arm, but he was twisting. Why? Part of her felt a little thrill at the thought that Nick Tyler—the guy she’d adored for years as a teenager and had thought about constantly when Emma was growing up—now wanted to reach out to her. Another part of her wanted to hide.

She couldn’t respond. The longer Emma stayed in Jolly Mill, the more secrets might emerge.

“Your cousin lives right down the street from us,” he said. “Carmen even packs a pistol and learned how to shoot since our ex-cop moved to town, and I know for a fact she has plenty of room in her big old house for company.”

“And does Carmen have an alarm system in her house, as well?”

“Sure does. A woman living alone can’t be too careful. She had it installed a week ago.”

Sarah leaned her head against the headrest. On this long drive across Missouri, why hadn’t she considered what she would do about a situation like this? She hadn’t expected Nick to be so generous with his time. She hadn’t thought, period.

There was a sigh. “Sarah, I know you’ve got to be exhausted. Stop and sleep. Find a safe place. Everything’s covered here, so I’ll see you in the morning. Will that work for you? We’ll talk about the rest then.”

“It’ll have to. I’m afraid my brain’s on lockdown.”

His voice lowered and lingered, comforting and kind. “Then sleep.”

“Nick...you’ve always been the sweetest guy.” Always.

“And you’re everything I remembered you to be.”

“Um...I’m not sure what that means,” she said with a smile. “Good night, Nick.”

“Sleep well, Sarah.”

Her whole body tingled as she disconnected and placed her phone on the passenger seat. She buzzed. Excitement? Memories? Fear?

She pulled onto the deserted road that led to the airport. She would find long-term parking and catch a few hours of sleep, then wash up as well as she could, maybe even catch a shower at a nearby truck stop.

Tomorrow she could place the mantle of worry back over her shoulders.

THREE

On Saturday morning Sarah craved a shower. After a few hours of sleep at the far edge of the Springfield/Branson airport parking lot, she’d tried uncountable times to call Emma, but of course she was diverted to voice mail. The line for a shower at the truck stop in Mount Vernon was too long for her to wait.

At least she’d had a chance to brush her teeth and wash her face and grab a fast-food breakfast, so her stomach was full, but it rumbled with nerves. Last night, despite her fatigue, she’d struggled to fall asleep because she couldn’t stop thinking about Nick. After all these years, she wouldn’t have believed his voice would have the power to affect her. But it was more than just his voice—it was the sense of caring he’d related over the phone, the words of kindness. He’d brought back so many memories, and she caught herself wondering how their lives would have gone if they’d made different choices.

How often she’d longed to crawl back into the past and never leave town.

She pulled into Jolly Mill thirty-five minutes after finishing her breakfast and felt blasted by memories she’d believed had settled into the dust along the surrounding country roads. She admired the modest, three-bedroom brick house when she pulled into the Tyler drive. Someone had done a fine job of landscaping, with trimmed hedges, a freshly mown lawn and real grass—not the mowed weeds she’d always managed to grow on her own lawn.

She parked behind an old brown Ford pickup. Edward’s truck. It had been nearly new when her family moved away. Okay, this set of recollections was hitting a little too hard.

She glimpsed a flash of bright red peeking out from behind a juniper tree at the corner of the house, and felt a quick squeeze of her chest. It was Mom’s beloved VW Beetle, which Mom had been generous enough to share after Emma got her driver’s license. Soon it would belong to Emma, though the title wouldn’t be in her name until Sarah was convinced Emma could handle the responsibility. Maybe by the time she was twenty-one...

Lowering her squeaky driver-side window, Sarah sniffed the air. Bacon and other smoked meat scents combined with a sweetness of maple, reaching her from the restaurant a couple of blocks away, across the street from the big old wooden grain mill from which Jolly Mill had gotten its name. No telling who owned the restaurant now. Nick’s uncle, Will Parker, had once made the place the most popular hangout around for local high-schoolers—therefore, Shelby had loved the place, and Sarah had seldom gone there. Nick and his cousin, Billy, Will’s son, had never run in the same circles at school. Nick was more scholastically minded, and Billy hung out with the hard-partying crowd. Where Nick went, Sarah went. Why hadn’t it occurred to her during those years of innocence that there might have been a reason why she and Nick stuck so closely together?