Page 99 of Noble Neighbor
For eighteen months, the man who shared her bed had been murdering women, and she’d never suspected. Never, not for one moment, had she even had an inkling of his wickedness.
Why do you blame yourself, Sunny-girl? Why do you take on guilt that is not yours to carry? The moment you suspected, you acted. There's nothing more you could’ve done.
Sunny blinked, the words echoing in her mind, over and over and over. They were words spoken to her by others. People whoknewher, truly knew her, had never blamed her.
And what had she done then? She’d run.
Always a coward.
Never once had she faced the grieving families, offered her condolences. Aleck had, on behalf of her family, but shamed, Savannah had hidden away.
Was still hiding.
Like someone with a guilty conscience.
She couldn’t go back now, apologize, because she was … well, dead.
“But you can come clean to one family,” she whispered,hugging her arms around her chilled body. “You can grow a backbone and face one grieving family.”
Even if Oliver rejected her, he and Clement were two people she needed to square up to.
Sunny turned her head to the sky, seeking the sun. A few feeble rays struggled through the gathering grey, and she stretched her arms wide, absorbing strength for the task ahead.
“It’s time to go home,” she whispered into the cold, swung about, and rushed inside. “Girls! Wake up. We’re going home.”
*
They arrived home in the middle of the night after an exhausting trip, but the mood in the vehicle was a lot more buoyant than the one from a few days ago. Even bone-tired, Sunny went straight to face Oliver.
Her knock was unanswered; the house shrouded in dark.
Sunny called Lorena the next morning. They left, all three Armstrong men, the woman told her. Just yesterday morning. Frank had popped in, dropping Nala and Harvey with her, and spoke about a family emergency. And no, she had no idea what type of emergency.
Sunny settled in to wait, going about her daily tasks.The weather was as foul as her mood; the snow they’d outrun in Colorado had finally caught up to them, falling at a steady pace.
It was late afternoon when Oliver’s truck pulled up.
28
Truly, really
Sunny watched as Oliver shoved open the truck doorand rounded the hood. Halting, he stared at the house, at the doorway she stood in, his expression inscrutable.She pushed her shoulders back, her chin up.
Then she noticed the other man by the truck. “Aleck?”Shocked, her gaze swung from Oliver to Aleck.
Before she had time to consider what his presence meant, Aleck strode closer and up the front steps two at a time, wrapping her in a hug. For a moment, thebriefest of a second, she wanted to beg him to make her disappear, take her away, hide her from the upcomingconfrontation.
“What are you doing here?”
Aleck quickly told her about his and Oliver’s happenstance talk and his private flight to Clearbrook. “Trust you to move to the boondocks, sister dear,” he added with a shake of his head. “And lead us on a merry chase to Colorado. Then mother nature throws in a storm, grounding our return flight till noon today. But enough of that.” He pushed away, hands on her shoulders, and peered at her. “You okay?”
She flicked a glance at Oliver. He hadn’t moved from his position beside the truck. “Not sure,” she admitted. “What does he know?”
“Everything.”
Sunny closed her eyes and exhaled.
“Hey. Look at me, honey,” Aleck urged.
