Page 42 of Fake It True

She set her mug down, leaning across the table and reaching for my hands with hers. “You don’t have to talk about it, but if you want to, I’m here.”

I swallowed and took a shaky breath before the whole story poured out. Luna already knew the general details of what happened to my sister, but I’d been holding in all the stress around Nathaniel.

“You need to tell Officer Blankenship about those texts from him,” she insisted. “Don’t wait on this. Because if you wait, you’re just giving Nathaniel time to muck things up.”

“I know, I know. Leo wants to help, but there’s nothing he can do. I don’t want to break up with him, but he has Dora to think about. He doesn’t need to be worrying about this.”

Luna was sipping her coffee again and tipped her head to the side. “Casey, let Leo be there for you. What will that hurt?”

I shrugged. “I just feel like I need this resolved before more can happen with us. I worry about Dora.” I didn’t know how to explain it, but there was a lingering fear I couldn’t banish. Maybe it was because Nathaniel had already taken one person I loved.

Luna’s nose wrinkled, her ponytail bouncing as she nodded. “After everything she’s been through, I understand.”

“Talk to Leo about it. Better yet, talk about it with your therapist.” She paused, laughing a little at this. “You two have a couples therapist because you dragged him into that appointment.”

Her comment lightened the moment, and I giggled. “I havenoidea what I was thinking that day.”

Luna shrugged. “It’s not the craziest thing to do.” Her gaze sobered. “In all honesty, knowing what you’ve been carrying about your sister and the pressure from your parents, I don’t blame you. I’d make up a fiancé too just to get them to shut the fuck up. As painful as it is that your parents are struggling tobelieve how Nathaniel was involved, denial is a coping skill, even if it’s not healthy. Eventually, the whole truth will come out.”

Her observation echoed in my thoughts when I played a message from my parents later.

“We’re coming to visit! We decided it was time. See you soon!”

Chapter Thirty-Six

LEO

Dora peered up at me with her hands on her hips. “They need a bed.”

It was amazing how quickly I had come to know her little traits. Hands on hips meant she was prepared to put up a fight about something. In this case, it was totally unnecessary. If she wanted a bed for the cats, it was a done deal.

“We’ll pick out a bed for them,” I said simply.

When her brows hitched up in surprise, my heart twisted in my chest. I would never know all that she experienced with her mom, but I had enough sense to recognize money had been tight. I wasn’t rich by any means, but I could cover the bills and buy cat beds. Those were the things that mattered.

Dora’s hands fell from her hips. She blinked up at me before her face cracked into a wide smile. “Yay!” She clapped her hands together. “When can we go?”

I glanced at my watch. “Now?”

“Yes, please.”

Off we went. Although Willow Brook had grown some recently, it was still a small town and always would be. Our options for cat bed shopping were the grocery store’s pet section and the small pet selection at the local hardware store. I decidedwe should try our luck at the grocery store first because I could get groceries at the same time.

“This one!” Dora announced a little while later at the grocery store. “Can we get two?”

At my nod, she selected two cat beds. They were pink with sparkly stars on them. I didn’t think the cats cared about the color, but Dora sure did. After that, we did a loop through the store, and I picked up some groceries for the upcoming week. After we brought everything back to the house and she supervised the cats as they inspected their new beds, Dora asked to go to Firehouse Café.

“To see Casey,” she explained as she looked up at me. “Are you having a slumber party with her tonight?”

I glanced at Dora. “Excuse me?”

“That’s what you do. I have a slumber party with Grammy and you have a slumber party with Casey.”

I bit back a sigh. Moments like this made me want that instruction manual. What was I supposed to say? Technically, she was accurate. I recalled back when Dora first came to stay with me that her therapist in Juneau had recommended to be honest whenever I could, even if it was awkward. Delaney had reinforced that, clarifying that sometimes kids would guess things and it was important to provide the information in a neutral, honest way.

I held Dora’s gaze. “Sometimes. How do you feel about that?”

“Well, I want you to marry Casey, so I feel good about that,” she said matter-of-factly.

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