Page 4 of Whispers of Redemption

Cassie turned away from the view and leaned back against the iron railing. She rested her elbows on it and looked at Ani. “I’m not as concerned about your ankle as I am about why you wanted me to race in the first place.”

Ani lifted one shoulder. “I just know how much you used to love it. And you’re so good at it!”

“Careful, your ‘gushing little sister’ is showing,” Cassie said drily.

Ani laughed. “Besides, I love watching you kick Brett’s arrogant butt.”

Cassie couldn’t suppress her grin at this. “Yeah, I like kicking his butt, too. And you’re right, I do love street racing. Always will. But that’s part of an old chapter of my life that I want to put behind me. You know how much Rachel and Mark have done to help me turn my life around. If it weren’t for them, I would never have even considered college. Now, for the first time in my life, I’m actually doing well in school. And I’m trying to make a solid plan for my future.”

“I know,” Ani said. “I’m so proud of you, Cass. You’re inspiring me to do better, too. And to recognize that my circumstances don’t have to define me.” Her dark eyes were suddenly moist, and she swiped at them with her sleeve.

Cassie, seeing the emotion on Ani’s face, opened her arms. Without hesitation, Ani fell into the embrace. Cassie was a full head taller than her sister, and she rested her chin on the top of Ani’s head for a moment before letting her go.

Then she gave Ani a pointed look. “Now, I don’t want to be a nag, but you need to be extra careful if you intend to keep racing. That one cop in particular seemed pretty intense about it. It’s not worth the risk of getting busted and sent to juvie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ani grumbled. She was leaning on the rail now, chin resting on her folded arms. Suddenly, she straightened up and pointed. “What is that down there?”

Cassie followed her finger and could see something small and white moving through the fluttering dune grass below. She frowned. “I don’t know.”

But Ani was already clambering down the lighthouse steps. “Ani, wait!” Cassie followed after her. She came out through the bottom doorway to see Ani tripping over the sand to approach the object in question.

“It’s a dog!” Ani cried.

Cassie caught up to her a moment later. Sure enough, a small, white dog stood shivering amid the sharp spikes of dune grass. Two black button eyes and a dark, wet nose peeked through a mass of fluffy fur as the pup looked up at them.

“Oooh, he looks cold!” Ani exclaimed, moving closer to the dog.

“Ani, don’t touch him!” Cassie warned. “You don’t know if he’s dangerous.”

“He’s not dangerous,” she said, scooping the animal up into her arms. “He’s sweet.” The dog licked Ani’s face and settled comfortably into her arms.

Cassie looked around. There was no one in sight. Although farther up the beach, there was an old blue Impala parked at the side of the road. Cassie shaded her eyes and studied it. “Hey, I think there are two people in that car up there,” she said. “We should go see if it’s their dog.”

“Okay,” Ani said. “Can you hold him, though? I need to tie my shoe.”

“All right.” Cassie reluctantly took the dog, who immediately licked her cheek and settled his soft, furry head against her chest, protected from the wind.

After Ani tied her shoe, the two of them walked along the beach toward the car. As they drew closer, Cassie could see that there were two older women inside it.

Ani smiled and waved at the woman seated in the passenger seat. She smiled back and rolled the window down.

“Yes, dear?” The woman had a classic grandmotherly look, with soft, gray, perfectly coiffed hair and gentle, pale blue eyes.

“Is this your dog?” Cassie lifted the small animal toward the woman.

“Nope.” The abrupt answer came from the woman behind the wheel of the car. She sat low in the seat and had small, dark, penetrating eyes. Her hair was dyed a flat brown that had been teased and hair sprayed into an immobile helmet that didn’t move when she turned her head. “Never seen it before.”

Ani looked worried and turned back to Cassie. “What are we going to do? We can’t leave him here!”

“Oh good, our ride has finally arrived,” said the driver, looking up the road.

Cassie followed the woman’s gaze and saw with dismay a black-and-white police car rolling toward them. The car drove past and then circled around, coming to a stop behind the Impala.

Unbelievable! Cassie thought as she saw officers Riley and Garcia step out of the car.

“Well, hello again, ladies! Are you the ones who called for help?” Officer Garcia actually looked delighted to see them again.

In the daylight, Cassie could now see them both much more clearly. Officer Garcia was in his mid- to late fifties. He was thickset with a little roundness to his belly. His salt-and-pepper hair was neatly trimmed, and a warm grin curved beneath a thick mustache. When he looked at them, his kind, dark-brown eyes crinkled at the corners. Cassie thought he had the type of face that seemed like it was always ready to smile.

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