Page 47 of Fortune's Control
“She will.” My neutral expression hardened. More than a year of worry from my friends and concern from townsfolk added to my reticence, as I didn’t appreciate seeing my darker thoughts reflected on their faces.
“If my advice matters, don’t let her find out another way. Did you forget Dean is the one who told me? Do you know what it’s like to find out your brother was in a horrible accident three months earlier and didn’t bother telling me? He didn’t even do it on purpose.”
“I know.” Dean called her instead of me about a simple household repair, informing her in the process. “You had a life, and there was nothing you could do.”
“That right there.” Sophie shook her finger at me. “That’s five, because I should have been with you. Look where we are.” She waved her hand toward our parents’conjoined headstones. “You dragged me here because we’re the last of our family, right?” She groaned. “I should have been with you. You’re my brother, and you deserved that, Shane. You deserved to have your family with you.”
“We’re here now.” I hugged her close. “I may drive you crazy, but you know that’s because I love you.”
“You take care of the ones you love. You always have, in your own frustrating way.” Sophie hesitated before returning the embrace. “I love you, too, even the annoying parts of you.”
Lilah’s push led to today’s breakthrough. She kept a running list of favors I did for her, and this one conversation outweighed them all. “Those are my best parts.”
“I hope Lilah agrees with that because we need her to stick around. We need more family, and I like her.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Without trapping her here against her will, because not even you would get away with kidnapping a person. Don’t make me find a number six.” She gave me a lopsided smile and sat down once more.
“Can you do me a favor for her and keep it between us?”
She drew back. “I’m suspicious again.”
“It’s not like that.” I shook my head. “Lainey knows, too. Lilah has a grandmother here, or she might. All we know is that her last name isn’t Mayberry, and she had a daughter who left home almost thirty years ago. Maybe less than that. The daughter’s current name is Sarah Jane Mayberry. If anyone can discover if this woman exists, it’s you.”
One of Sophie’s favorite hobbies was Fortune’s Creek history. She studied old deeds and maps, and took trips to the university to read journals and letters. I appreciated Lainey’s help, but my sister knew the area’s history better than anyone alive.
“Why doesn’t she ask?”
I hesitated. Lilah’s initial eagerness waned after the newspaper effort failed, even as her hope stayed. It confused me until she revealed more about her mother. Any further searches meant speaking directly to women, and that carried risk. Lilah experienced enough rejection with her mother; finding her grandmother could mean more. “We tried. If this woman exists, I’ll find her.”
“I’m guessing you want me to come to you before her.”
“Please.”
“Will do. Don’t let that blow up in your face, either.”
“I won’t.”
“I miss them.”
An undercurrent of anger attached itself to Sophie during every visit home. She preferred it to grief, which I understood because my actions over the past decade weren’t that different. Fixing others’ problems is always preferable to confronting your own. “I miss them, too.”
*****
“Every time I visit, the gray lady is here, with her little for sale sign out front.” Sophie leaned out the window and waved at the miserable relic as we drove past.
“It’s been for sale since we were in preschool. Jack calls it the gray bitch.” I winced. Jack’s name wrecked her mood. Whatever passed between them, her anger towards my best friend engulfed her annoyance with me.
“Why does he call it that?” Sophie kept her head out the window as I turned the corner and the old resort faded from view. She rolled up the window. “With work, it’dbe stunning.”
“Work and money. That place is Jack’s dream. You know how much he enjoys restorations. He has the knowledge.”
“But not the money. Or the ambition.” Sophie hummed, reminding me she didn’t care what Jack dreamed of. Jack drifted, but if the opportunity presented itself, the gray lady might be the push he looked for. “Let’s see Aiden’s new business and these cars he’s working on.”
16-Lilah
“Lilah, check this out.” Emma covered her mouth to whisper. “This gas station has a Bigfoot display.”
