Page 15 of Forever in the Country

Those emerald eyes sweep up and down my body and I shiver.

“I like that dress on you, Sunshine.”

His voice issonot helpful, the gravel practically soaking my panties. His gaze trails down me slowly like he knows the effect he has on me, and I want to say something to push this weird dance between us one way or the other.

I open my mouth to speak, but the sound of a car pulling into the driveway has the words dying on my lips. Sorren looks to the door and then back at me. I can’t read his expression. Instead, I give him a weak smile then paste a happier one on before opening the door.

He asked me to help him tonight, and that’s what I intend to do.

7

SORREN

Waylon and Marlee arrived not long after Hank had finally relented and left the manicotti in our mostly capable hands. My sister and I had spent all day at the lake, and I could feel the tiredness in my shoulders from having paddled all over that damn thing.

But I couldn’t regret it. It was a good day and we’d talked more than we had in a long while. That was my fault and I owned it, but it was still hard to see her as not only a grown woman but a married one too.

Waylon Thayer is one of the best men I know, but that doesn’t mean I wantedanyof the details about what he and my sister did behind closed doors.

It was that and it wasn’t. Hank knew what it was like to shoulder the weight of the world just like I did and the thought of doing anything to taint my sister’s happiness was out of the question.

Instead, I told her about Vetted Paws and the plans we had for the next few months. We were close to being able to start taking in dogs, and we’d need her and Isla to help coordinate the social media piece I wanted zero part in. I told her about some of the books I’d read and the trainings I’d attended in preparation for opening up the shelter.

She told me about how things were going with her thriving graphic design business, Willow Creek Designs, that she’d started around the time I arrived back in Clementine Creek. There weren’t many places you could go in town or the surrounding counties that hadn’t been touched by her expertise.

I was so proud of her for going after what she wanted. She hadn’t let anyone get in her way, especially me.

We talked about the trip she and Waylon planned to take and the frustration and heartache of not being pregnant after months of trying. She confided in me that she felt like something was wrong with her and if our mother was so awful, maybe she wasn’t meant to be one either.

Those words had gutted me but not nearly as much as the look in her eyes as she said them. Guilt gnawed at me for not being able to do more, for failing to see how much she’s struggling. I didn’t want to overstep, but I was dying to dosomething.

Being in the kayaks made it awkward, but I’d dragged her as close as I could and taken her hand in mine. A reassuring squeeze was all I could offer as we rocked gently on the lake, but I did my best to comfort her. Marlee’s heart is so big—so full of love—I’d burn down the world for her to ensure she never lost that.

The clanging of dishes in the sink pulls me from my thoughts. Rhea’s been quieter than usual, and I don’t want to read into it but it’s probably my fault. I’ve asked too much from her tonight and so many times before.

When I’d first gotten home, she’d been a reassuring presence, always checking in on me but demanding nothing in return. Somewhere along the way, I’d become dependent on her, monopolizing all her time.

Kept her for myself.

It wasn’t fair—I knew that. Swallowing my pride, I open my mouth to speak.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

My phone vibrates on the counter, and I sigh before I even pick it up.

OTTO: How come we weren’t invited to dinner?

CASE: That’s a good question SORREN

OTTO: That’s not allowed is it?

WAYLON: It was delicious

WAYLON: And quiet

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