Page 8 of The Secrets We Built Together

I saw it then. The tension in her shoulders, the over vigilance as she craned her neck to look down the side of the house and check the driveway.

"Are you in trouble, Madison?"

She whipped around, her eyes wide in surprise before she tried to play it off as nothing and leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"No. Why would you ever suggest that?" She brushed her dark hair over her shoulder as she spoke, before smoothing down her clothes.

When she'd run out of things to fidget with she walked over to the kitchen door and looked out into the house.

"Because you're acting weird. If you're looking to see if anyone else is here, there's only Delaney and Trace out on the farm somewhere."

She nodded subtly like she didn't even realize she was doing it.

"So what have you been doing all these years?" Madison asked changing the subject.

"Painting. Living my life the way I wanted. It wasn't always easy but I wouldn't have changed it for anything in the world."

She hummed in agreement as she came back to the table and sat again. Fiddling with her purse she quickly checked her cell before dropping it back inside.

"What have you been doing?" I asked slowly, not knowing what to do in this strange situation.

"I went to business school."

"Okay."

"My company has an office in Paris which is why I moved there. It was supposed to be temporary but I stayed longer than I anticipated."

"Okay."

It was all I had. I didn't know how to talk to my sister anymore. As she stood to check through the window again I pulled my cell out and held it under the table as I sent a message to Delaney asking her to come back to the house.

Maybe it was cowardly. But I was sure something was wrong with Madison and I didn't know if I had the strength to deal with it alone. This whole situation seemed off somehow.

"You never got married then?" Madison asked, suddenly turning back to me.

I guiltily slipped my cell back into my pocket as I shook my head. "No. I guess I never really had the time to date all that much. You?"

Madison winced again like I'd hit a nerve. "No. There's no one important in my life like that."

I knew immediately that my sister had lied to me. I just had no idea why.

"Okay."

Wow, I really needed to come up with a better response than that.

"When are you due to fly back to Paris? Maybe we could get together for lunch. Catch up. Figure out what people do in situations like this," I asked.

"I have to fly back tomorrow." She glanced at her wristwatch and then sighed. "I have to go. I'm sorry I couldn't stay for longer, I guess I assumed you would be here earlier."

"Okay."

I watched in shock as Madison picked up her purse and headed for the front door without even pausing to say anything else.

What the hell was happening right now?

I surged out of my seat and jogged to catch her up as she reached for the door handle.

"Are you sure you can't stay a bit longer?" I asked.

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