Page 16 of The Summer that Changed Everything

But she hadn’t anticipated encountering anyone besides the man she suspected of lying about her father, and she wasn’t eager to explain why she’d come to see him.

She considered backing out of the drive and leaving, but that would raise as many alarm bells as staying, so she figured she’d get what she could out of this visit.

After turning off the engine, she left her purse in the car and got out.

Anna, squinting against the sun, watched her suspiciously as she approached. “Never thought I’d see you again.”

“I never thought I’d see you again, either,” Lucy said.

“So... why have you come back?”

“Unfinished business.”

“How’d you get Reggie’s address?”

“He gave it to me.”

She looked alarmed.“What?”

“He posted it on Facebook Marketplace. Reggie’s selling a generator, isn’t he?” That Reggie would include his address on a public forum said something about him. He obviously thought he was top dog and didn’t have anyone or anything to be afraid of.

“You’re looking for a generator?” she asked skeptically.

“No, but the fact that he’s selling one came in handy. He around?”

“I don’t think so.”

Lucy looked pointedly at his truck.

“If you don’t believe me, go ahead and knock.” Anna gestured at the door. “I can’t get him to answer. Either he’s passed out drunk or he caught a ride with someone.”

It didn’t sound as though Reggie had changed a whole lot. Lucy wasn’t interested in going any closer, not without more hope that doing so would accomplish something. Even from where she stood, she could hear a dog barking furiously from inside the house. She had no idea what that dog might do if he was let loose. “I’ll come back later.”

Anna followed her as she backtracked to her rental vehicle. “What do you want with Reggie?”

Lucy was tempted to ignore her. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation, especially Anna, who would naturally be protective of her brother. The last thing she wanted to do was make anyone feel she was a possible threat. That would only escalate the animosity she’d encounter this summer.

But she had to havesomereason for returning, and as soon as she started asking questions about Aurora’s murder, everyone would realize what she was after, anyway.

Bracing for whatever might happen, she turned. “I want to know why he lied about my father.”

The blood drained from Anna’s face. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Lucy opened the door to her car to give herself an easy escape. Revealing her plan meant she’d be drawing battle lines; Aurora’s family and everyone who supported them would be arrayed against her. But she had to be strong and stand up for what she believed to be true, regardless of how unpopular it would make her. If her conscience had allowed her to do otherwise, she would’ve stayed in Vegas.

Besides, she only had three months here. As much as she might want to put off any type of confrontation, she couldn’t. “My father’s a murderer, Anna. I’m not defending him. But I don’t believe Aurora was one of his victims.”

She stepped back. “Why not?”

“Because her case was different.”

“Maybe that was because he wanted to take care ofyourlittle problem with Ford.”

“That’s what everyone said. It makes it all so plausible, so believable, right? But I hadn’t even told my father that Aurora was calling and texting Ford. My father was all I had. I relied on him, and he seemed to care about me—as much as someone like that is capable of caring, I guess. But I didn’t share a whole lot about my love life. He didn’t think I should even have a boyfriend at that age. I wasn’t about to draw his attention to the fact that I was seeing someone, especially someone like Ford. He complained about the wealthy people buying up all the real estate in this town, didn’t take kindly to the way they were driving up prices. And since Ididn’ttell him about FordorAurora, he would’ve had no reason to go after her.”

“Maybe it was just bad luck. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time—like the Matteos when they came home from Florida a day early,” Anna shot back.

“What happened with the Matteos was completely different. The murders didn’t even happen in the same way. One was a robbery, the other a sex crime.”

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