Page 67 of A River of Crows

Ridge’s mouth dropped. “What! For real?”

Sloan laughed. “He was my first kiss, first boyfriend, first love, first . . . everything.”

“Ew!” Ridge punched her arm. “You and Noah. Who would’ve thought?”

Sloan shrugged. “Like most things, it worked till it didn’t. Well, it wasn’t working for me, at least.”

“Did you break up with him to be with Liam?”

Sloan’s skin tingled. “How do you know about Liam?”

It was Ridge’s turn to shrug. “I kept up with you. On the internet.”

That hardly seemed fair, but Sloan knew better than to say so.

“So,” Ridge fidgeted with his watch, “does that mean you haven’t seen Dad in that long?”

“I hadn’t,” Sloan said. “I did recently. There had been some . . .” she searched for the right word, “some developments that led me to believe he was innocent. Obviously, I was right.”

Ridge’s face reddened. “Just because he’s not guilty of murder doesn’t mean he’s innocent. Dad had another family, Sloan. Plus, the way he hurt you. Why would you ever consider seeing him again?”

Sloan’s mind raced, searching for answers. “Hurt me? What are you talking about?”

“Mom told me,” Ridge said. “About the abuse.”

“Abuse?” Sloan moved back slightly. “You mean during his episodes?”

“Come on, Sloan. You told Mrs. Evans you were being abused.”

“Wait, what?” Spit flew from her mouth. “Dad never laid a hand on me.”

Ridge touched the base of his neck. “What if you forgot? Blocked it out?”

Sloan thought about the recent memories she’d recovered. Was this another one? “No,” she said aloud. “I would absolutely remember if that happened. If I told my teacher about it.” The sound of a car door slamming made them both jump. Sloan looked in the rearview mirror. “It’s Dylan.”

“Dylan?” Ridge folded his body over, and sweat appeared instantly on his forehead.

“It’s fine; he doesn’t know you. Just go inside. The door’s unlocked.”

Ridge jogged to the house as Sloan walked in the opposite direction toward Dylan.

Dylan stood outside his jeep, hands shoved into his pockets. “Hey,” he said to Sloan, but his eyes were on Ridge. “Is this a bad time?”

“No, not really,” Sloan lied.

Dylan rocked on his feet. “Who’s the guy?”

Sloan looked at her shoes, formulating a lie when all she wanted to do was tell the truth. “Just a friend.”

“Oh.” Dylan shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I came because I’m sorry how last night ended, but it looks like you’re busy.” He walked around the vehicle, back to the driver’s door.

“Dylan, wait. I’m sorry about last night too. It’s just that you hit a nerve with Felicity—a nerve my dad exposed by daring to have a daughter that wasn’t me.”

Dylan let go of the handle. “I get that. I know how it feels when someone rubs against an exposed wound. I mean, I kinda feel it now. I came to apologize, and you’re sneaking another guy into your house.”

“It’s not just another guy, Dylan.” Sloan raked her fingers through her hair, wincing as she broke through a painful knot. “I want to explain, but I can’t. Not yet.”

Dylan narrowed his eyes. “Is that Brad? Is this about Eddie Daughtry?”