Page 35 of Promise Me Never

“I checked the state court website and didn’t see any cases with him listed.”

“That’s a good start.” I take the soda she offers and pop the top. “Maybe Luke would go with you, just to hang back and make sure he doesn’t try anything.”

“Hard pass. He’d either be annoyed or overbearing.”

“What about Sam or Colt?”

“Oh, fuck no. That really would be a circus. Sam and I hooked up once, a long time ago.”

“Really? What happened?”

“Luke.” She takes a sip of her beer. “We decided it would be best to act like it never happened. He was just coming back to us following Amy’s death and Mom’s diagnosis.”

“Was it bad?”

“Yeah.” She looks around the room. “It really was. He didn’t talk to anyone, just did the work expected of him and holed up on your grandparents’ ranch. Has anyone told you what happened?”

I shake my head, feeling uncomfortable at the turn of the conversation but also so damn curious.

“She was a ski instructor and also did backcountry ski patrol. One day she was out looking for a skier who got separated from their group, and she had an accident. She crashed into a tree pretty hard and hit her head. Because she was so experienced and had been wearing a helmet, the doctor at the hospital that treated her let her go without doing a brain scan. She died in her sleep that night of a brain bleed.”

Tears gather in my eyes. I can’t imagine how painful that would have been for Luke. No wonder he was so freaked about my concussion.

She wipes a stray tear. “It was hard for everyone in town. Amy was so loved. She was like a big sister to me. But obviously it was hardest on Luke.”

I round the counter and wrap my arms around her in a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine.” She hugs me back and then releases me with a pat on the back. “But the reason I called you over is to talk about what happened at the party. I hope Luke was tolerable on the drive back to the ranch.”

“Yeah, he was actually really nice.”

She arches a skeptical brow at me. “Lucas Stone? Nice?”

“Yes.” I hold my hands up. “Stranger things have happened.”

“An alien invasion is more likely than my brother being nice.”

“Maybe it was pity as I threw up all over the side of the road.”

“Well, on to bigger and better things than Wyatt. Maybe you should come to Denver with me. I’ll have my date bring a friend.”

I can only imagine what Luke would say about this idea. “Maybe. When are you going?”

“I’m on call until Thursday, so I was going to drive out after work and stay with a friend from college. The date is on Friday.”

“This week?”

“Yeah.” The oven timer goes off, and she turns to pull them out.

“I’m not sure. My grandparents are going up to Montana for the week, so I might have more responsibilities than usual.”

She waves me off. “Please, Luke could run that ranch blindfolded.”

We dig into the pizza and drop the subject for now. In fact our conversation turns to the latest reality tv scandal and then morphs into a conversation about living in LA from there. Everyone thinks it’s so glamorous, and I loved it at first, too. But now I’m just jaded to the point of thinking about moving away once I graduate. Maybe going to the east coast for work.

It’s late by the time I get back to the ranch. All the lights are out except for the foyer and the hallway upstairs, so I make sure to move quietly. I don’t have a curfew or anything, but I still want to be respectful.

My phone lights up with a message as soon as I flip my lamp on.

---