Page 55 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

She'd give up everything she owned, every item in her backpack, to have her sister back in her life.

"Five more minutes." Zane's gaze remained on the road.

She clung to his hand, knowing that he would soon need both hands on the steering wheel when he got into town. But for now, he was the only thing that kept her from falling apart.

The streetlights down the main street of St. Maries shown in the distance. She looked out the window. A passing sawmill with piles of uncut logs graced the side of the road.

At one time, this was where her family lived. Her mom took her to the grocery store, where they had a candy bin near the produce department. Her dad's warehouse was next to the river where the ducks swam. She closed her eyes. The gray house with three birch trees in a clump by the driveway was home.

"The motel is on the right." He squeezed her hand. "I'm going to ask you to let Kingsley handle your sister. We don't know what's going on, and until we know, I don't want to take the chance that she runs."

The idea that Kenna would run from her was absurd, but she opened her eyes and nodded, agreeing to anything. All that mattered was that her sister was back.

Pulling into the motel, Zane slowed through the parking lot. He braked, eyeing Kingsley's motorcycle. She had no idea how her sister could afford a car. As soon as the thought invaded her head, she dismissed the mystery. River could've bought a car, too, but she'd saved all her money in her goal to hire a private investigator.

Zane parked, shut off the truck, and texted Kingsley. River took off her seatbelt and turned in the seat. She wanted to read the phone, but Zane kept the exchange to himself.

"They're in Room 6, on the bottom," he said.

She scanned the two-story building, counting doors, and opened the truck door. Zane grabbed her wrist the second she zeroed in on the room, stopping her from running ahead.

"No matter what happens in there, you're returning to Gem Haven," he said.

"With my sister." She looked him in the eyes. "You'll still allow her to stay with me, right? I'll pay her part of the rent."

His cheek twitched. "Let's go."

Slipping her hand into his, she took his strength to convince her everything would be okay.

The door swung inward as they approached the room, and Kingsley filled the opening. Zane's brother motioned with his chin to come in.

She let go of Zane and hurried through, wildly searching for Kenna, and found a woman sleeping in the bed. Her heart pounded. She couldn't see her sister's face, only her back. A blanket covered the bottom half of her.

"She finally fell asleep," whispered Kingsley. "She's gone weeks taking only an hour here and there to rest."

River walked around the bed and kneeled on the floor, studying the face in front of her.

The black hair Kenna had as a child was almost blue-black now. There were mascara stains under her eyes, and a continual frown marred her brows even in her sleep. River looked down at the hand, clutching the blanket to her chest, and gasped.

As much as this woman was a stranger to her, it was her sister. The brown birthmark was on the back of her middle finger.

Dark blue eyes blinked at her. She held her breath, knowing she looked awful. They'd left Gem Haven in a hurry and traveled for what seemed like days but was only two hours.

Tears fell unchecked, afraid of blinking in case her sister disappeared again.

"River?" whispered Kenna.

"It's me." She nodded emphatically, grabbing Kenna's hand. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Kenna sat up in bed and looked over her shoulder. She brought her sister's hand to her cheek, needing to feel something familiar. It was hard to grasp that Kenna was here with her when her memories were of a different person. A younger sister.

Just as she had aged and changed, her sister had, too. The long braid was gone, replaced with hair that brushed her shoulders. River's chest tightened at the way Kenna looked more like their mom. She could see it in her eyes and how she held her mouth.

"I thought he lied about you, too." Kenna's gaze flickered over River's face and body. "Where have you been?"

"I live at Gem Haven with Zane." She glanced across the room at the brothers, both watching them intensely. "I've posted messages everywhere online and have been working hard to earn money to hire a detective to find you."

"I went to social services a few months before you were eighteen to try and find out where you were, but they told me you were taken out of foster care." Kenna's whisper turned hoarse. "I thought maybe you were put in a girls' home like I was, so kept traveling around. Once you turned eighteen, I kept—"

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