Brenda Novak - Big Girls Don't Cry

“According to the article I read, it happened just before your plane landed,” Elizabeth said. “You must’ve driven right into it. It’s a miracle you weren’t hurt.”

Keith dropped the letters he’d been holding, but he kept his eyes averted while he pulled on his overcoat and closed his briefcase. “I guess I was too preoccupied to pay any attention,” he told her. “You know how much stress I’ve been under.”

Keith’s response made Isaac even more uneasy. He liked his brother-in-law, who was a hardworking, sincere, honest guy. So what was going on with Keith today?

“The fog was so thick no one could see a thing, Keith,” Elizabeth said. “Eighteen people died. How is it that you—”

“I’m telling you it was the stress,” he interrupted. “And speaking of stress, I’ve got to go or I’ll miss my plane.”

He came forward to kiss her temple. She hesitated as though she was going to stand up and give him a proper send-off, but he didn’t allow her the chance. He was working his way around the table, saying goodbye to the children.

“Do you really have to leave so soon?” eight-year-old Mica asked.

“Every two weeks, babe. You know that.”

The misery that entered her brown eyes seemed magnified by her glasses. “But the spelling bee is next Wednesday. I wanted you to come watch.”

Finally showing a response that felt authentic to Isaac, Keith mussed her hair, which was the same dark blond as his own. “I saw you beat your whole class, didn’t I?”

“It’s not over yet. Now I’m going up against the rest of the school.”

“I’m proud of you, honey. But you know how demanding my job is.”

“I hate your job,” she grumbled.

“Daddy’s job is what puts food on this table, young lady,” Elizabeth said. Obviously, she was trying to teach Mica to give her father the proper respect—but Liz didn’t look any happier about Keith’s leaving than the children did. Isaac knew her husband’s long absences were hard on her.

“Mom will tape your spelling bee for me,” Keith told his daughter. “We’ll watch it together when I get back.”

Mica frowned over what was left of her breakfast and didn’t answer. But she allowed him to give her a quick squeeze. Then he moved on to his five-year-old son, who had golden hair and wide hazel eyes like his mother.

“What about my soccer game?” Christopher asked.

“I’ll catch the next one, buddy,” Keith said. “And then we’ll go get ice cream again, okay?”

Chris brightened considerably. “Okay!”

“You took him out for ice cream?” Mica gasped. “What about me?”

“You were at your friend’s house.”

“You could’ve brought me a cone.”

He winked at her. “You can come with us next time.”

The natural affection between Keith and his children made Isaac wonder if he’d jumped to the wrong conclusion a few minutes earlier. Keith wasn’t the type to do anything that would hurt his family. So what would he have to lie about?

By the time his brother-in-law came around to shake his hand, Isaac had convinced himself he’d been imagining things. This was the man he’d been so happy to see his sister marry—as opposed to, say, Matt Dugan, the guy she used to date.

“I guess you’ll be gone when I get back, huh?” Keith said.

Isaac nodded. “I’ve been here a week already. I need to get home and organize my notes.”

“On the forest elephants?”

“Exactly.”

Keith grinned and shook his head. “I don’t know how you Tarzan types do it, man. I’d go nuts camping out in the jungle for so long.”

“You wouldn’t if you loved it as much as I do.”

“Maybe not. You certainly make it look easy.”

“I’m single. I have only myself to worry about.” Isaac liked it that way. After taking care of Liz for so long, he enjoyed having the chance to focus solely on his work.

“Well, come and see us again before you head back to Africa, okay?”

“I’ll try. A lot depends on whether or not I get the grant money.”

“It’ll come through eventually. It always does.”

Isaac had been lucky so far. “We’ll see.”

Scooping his keys off the counter, Keith headed to the living room. The front door banged shut. Then silence fell over the table—except for the sudden chime of the clock.

“I hate it when he has to go,” Mica complained.

“Me, too,” Christopher said.

Isaac checked Liz’s reaction and found her staring into her coffee cup.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Her sudden smile appeared forced. “Nothing. Why?”

“Are you still thinking about that accident in Sacramento?”

“Not really.”

“Where’s Keith off to this time?”

“Phoenix. He goes there a lot. He’s training personnel on how to use the new software he’s developed.”

“He must like what he does.”

She sighed. “So much he won’t put in for a change.”

“Is everything—” because Mica was watching, Isaac purposefully veered toward the generic, using only his tone to convey that he meant something deeper “—okay, Elizabeth?”

His sister’s delicately arched eyebrows lifted. “Between me and Keith?” she asked in a low voice. “Of course.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” She waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “The constant traveling gets to me occasionally, that’s all. It’s hard to maintain a normal family life when he’s away half the time.”

“Would you like me to stay here with the kids this week so you can fly to Phoenix and be alone with your husband?” Isaac was really anxious to get back to the university. Classes would be starting soon. He had to get his syllabus prepared for microbiology, which he’d be teaching in the spring semester, if the grant money didn’t come through before then.

But this was Elizabeth. He and his sister had grown up with the understanding that no matter what the world threw at them, they’d always have each other.

He thought she might need him now.

She tucked her long blond hair behind her ears, then took a sip of coffee. “No,” she said, her cup clinking against the saucer. “That’s sweet but, to be honest, I don’t think he’d want me there. He doesn’t like me to bother him while he’s working. We rarely hear from him when he’s out of town.” She rubbed her temples as if battling a headache. “His company demands so much from him. But he enjoys his work, so…what can I do?”

Isaac rubbed his knuckles against his jaw. “Are you sure he wouldn’t like you to join him? He’s been traveling for years. All that work has got to get old after a while.”

“Like your trips to the Congo get old for you?” she teased, her perfect teeth glinting at him as she smiled.

Isaac returned her smile, then sobered and reached out to touch her arm. “Liz?”

She took another sip of coffee before answering. “Hmm?”

“How do you think he missed that big accident in Sacramento?”

Her forehead wrinkled as she considered the question. “I don’t know.” Although her plate was still nearly full, she pushed it away. “It’s possible I have the dates mixed up. He comes and goes so often.”

Despite her attempt to sound casual, her response didn’t ring any truer than Keith’s answers had earlier.

“Do you really think so?” Isaac asked, afraid he was missing something important.

Another flicker of a smile—and an almost imperceptible glance at the children. “I do.”

Dundee, Idaho

IT WAS STILL AWKWARD. Even after nearly two years.

Taking advantage of a moment when Lucky Hill was studying the menu, Reenie O’Connell made a face at her brother to let him know she expected a more valiant effort from him. Then she curved her lips into a bright smile as the half sister they hadn’t known about—until their father spilled the secret after Lucky had returned to town as a grown woman of twenty-four—looked up.