Page 6 of You're My Person - For Always

"I remember what he told us." Kenna inhaled a trembling breath. "I overheard him on the phone later that same night. I think he was talking to the police, and he'd gotten angry, demanding answers about why they weren't looking for the person responsible for killing his wife."

River closed her eyes, shaking her head. Kenna glanced at Kingsley. His dark gaze locked onto her, silently questioning her. She'd never told him that information because it hurt too much to replay that day in her head.

Turning back to the monitor, she scrolled online, looking for a later entry. Finding the jury's ruling, she opened the page.

The twelve jurors voted unanimously. Burt Shay was found guilty of four counts of capital murder, which carried the death penalty.

She stood and walked away from the monitor. "He wouldn't kill someone—four men, for nothing. They had to have done something to him."

River sniffed. "Maybe he went crazy after mom was killed. Maybe raising two daughters on his own, since mom was always the one who handled getting us to school and watching us when we were home, was too much for him."

Kenna turned around and looked at Kingsley. "Did they ever find my mom's killer?"

"I don't know, but I can look." He moved around the chair and sat in her place, typing on the keyboard. “What was her full name?”

“Louanne Pruitt,” said Kenna and River at the same time.

As quickly as the name came, she shook her head. “Try that one and Louanne Shay.”

River frowned. She shrugged. At this point, they had no idea what her parents' real names were.

She paced the office, unable to sit down. To her, her father would never be a killer.

Not the dad she remembered. He adored her mom. In the evenings, she often watched her mom sit on her dad's lap in front of the television. They never paid attention to her or the TV. They'd talk quietly, whispering in each other's ears. Her mom would smile, smothering her laughter behind her hand, while her dad's hand liked to pat her mom's hip. But she could tell by how he rocked the recliner that he was happy.

"I'm not finding anything except the reference that Burt Shay's common-law wife was killed outside the gas station,” said Kingsley.

“Look for a murder in St. Maries without using a name." Zane hugged River from behind. “For whatever reason, Burt Shay could’ve given his family new names. River and Kenna could be aliases he gave to the state.”

"Those are our names. I don't remember any others," said Kenna.

“Could he have done that?” asked River. “Birth certificates and everything?”

“Anything is possible.” Zane’s voice hardened. “At this point, we must accept that anything could’ve happened as we unravel the mess.”

“Neither name shows anything.” Kingsley swiveled in the chair and met Kenna’s gaze. “Let’s take a break and get something to eat.”

She followed everyone out of the office and into the clubhouse. The music, loud conversations, and general hum of the room made it feel as if she was walking in a dream. She couldn’t make sense of what was happening around her.

Outside, silence cloaked them.

Zane and River headed toward his motorcycle. Kenna walked straight, heading toward the bar.

“Hey.” Kingsley motioned her toward his Harley. “You can ride with—”

“I’ll walk.” She kept going, not giving him a choice.

It'd only take her a few minutes to walk down the hill. She wasn't in the mood to be close to Kingsley. When he was around, it muddled her thinking. She had a hard enough time as it was trying to make sense of her life.

She questioned her parents, who she was, and even her sister. All the years she'd spent separated from River had strained their relationship. Or maybe growing up had added an additional hurdle she'd have to climb over to feel the same security that she once had with River.

Maybe she'd never gain that closeness back.

Maybe too much had happened for her to return.

Trusting others would never be easy for her. Foster parents, social workers, and Kingsley had lied to her.

The rumble of the motorcycle deafened her to her thoughts. Kingsley pulled up beside her, cut the engine, and let his bike roll down the hill, keeping the machine beside her.

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