none of them had eaten, they’d grabbed fast food on the way here.
Nikki stormed off to her room the moment they walked through the front door. He didn’t know what Sydney had said to her sister at the crime scene, but anger radiated off the teenager all the way to the duplex. It seemed like an odd reaction, since Sydney had her best interest at heart. But then again, Nikki was at an age when anything could set her off without much provocation.
As he waited for Sydney to finish her own cleanup, he looked around the room. Mail, a laptop and a Bible cluttered the far end of the dining table. A napkin holder and salt and pepper also sat on the table, but it was the well-used Bible that held his interest. He’d never have pegged her for a religious girl back in high school. More of a rebellious troublemaker. Shows how much he didn’t know about this woman.
Still limping, she entered the room. Though she wore her soiled uniform, she’d washed away the grime from her face, leaving the anguish from the night even more visible. “Hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“No problem,” he answered.
“I’ll get some sodas.” She’d taken out her ponytail, brushed her hair until it gleamed and the full curls swung against her shoulders as she walked.
Even now, worn-out and injured, she was a real beauty. He couldn’t help but want to tangle his fingers in the locks to see if they were as soft as they appeared.
Don’t go there, Russ.
She returned and set cans of soda on the table. “I’m sorry Nikki ran off to her room.”
“Believe me, I understand. My son, Zack, is only seven. He can get mad and storm off in a flash.”
“Wait until he’s a teenager.”
He knew she spoke the truth and that a teen could be problematic, but Russ welcomed the challenge of raising his son at any age.
“I’m not in any way trying to minimize how hard it is to raise your sister,” he said. “But if I could have even partial custody of my son, I’d gladly put up with the challenges.”
“How long has it been since he’s lived with you?”
“Three years,” Russ quickly answered and tried to think of a way to move the subject away from Zack. Russ had never told anyone in Logan Lake about his battle with alcohol and losing custody of Zack. He wasn’t about to start now.
He reached for his soda. “How long has Nikki been living with you?”
“Let’s see.” She paused. “She was eight when we left Aunt Lana’s house. So almost nine years.”
Her wistful tone told him not to pry any deeper. He wouldn’t want anyone digging into his past, but something inside—maybe the same desire to see Zack succeed, despite how Russ had screwed things up—made him want these two to do well, so he ignored the warning.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to your parents?”
“My father took off when I was fifteen. Said he couldn’t be tied down anymore. He promised to keep in touch, but we didn’t hear anything about him until he died a few years ago.”
“And your mother?”
“She took his leaving hard.” Sydney went silent, contemplative, then sighed out what seemed like years of pain. “She started drinking to cover up the pain and spent her days too wasted to take care of us. Right before I turned eighteen, she told me she was going to kick me out and put Nikki up for adoption. I split with Nikki that night and came here to live with Aunt Lana.”
All the pain he’d seen reflected in his ex-wife’s face when he’d hit rock bottom showed on Sydney’s face as she stared into the distance. He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly to give her time to compose herself, but it tasted like sawdust and he washed the bite down with his soda.
He could take her silence no longer. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“It could help,” he murmured softly.
“Or it could put undue focus on the problem.”
“Is there still a problem? I mean other than the pain from the past.”
She raised the eyebrow near her cut and winced. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“Not usually.” He smiled but she didn’t respond. “I’ll stop prying if you want me to.”
“No…it’s fine. Things with Mom are starting to heat up. After no word from her for years, she contacted me recently and wants to see us. I don’t think it’s a good idea, but Nikki’s all for it. I want what’s best for her and that isn’t our mother.”
“You sound certain about that.”
“I am, I mean, I—” She bit her lip, looking uncertain. “I know I’m right, but honestly, I don’t know how to handle this with Nikki, so I keep putting it off. I’m hoping she’ll forget all about meeting Mom once we move into a real home of our own.”
He didn’t know how to respond to the problem with her mother, so he focused on the town house. “From everything I’ve heard it’s gonna be a sweet complex when it’s finished. Nikki should be real happy there.”
“I hope so, but maybe not. I know she’d rather live in a single-family home where she could play her music louder.”
Memories of Sydney living with his friend Adam brought a smile to his face. He could still picture her lounging on the sofa, flipping through a magazine, while music blared through the house.
Maybe he could lighten this conversation. “I remember when you liked to crank up your tunes in the summer, and Adam’s mom got on your case.”
She sighed, a faraway look filling her eyes. “What I wouldn’t give for those carefree summers at Aunt Lana’s place, when all I thought about were music and boys.”
She’d said boys, but he knew there had been one boy in particular she’d thought about back then. Him. Now he wondered what would’ve happened had he pursued those feelings. Would his life have taken a much different road? Maybe he’d never have left Logan Lake to go to Portland. Willie would be alive. Russ wouldn’t have hurt the people he loved.
“Don’t worry,” she said as she peered into his eyes, which he knew exposed his inner turmoil. “I might’ve had a crush on you, but that was a long time ago. If you can believe it, I’m over you.” She offered a smart-aleck grin, washing away his angst.
“Tell me it isn’t so.” He faked pulling a knife from his chest.
She laughed along with him, lifting his spirits. With their history, he’d thought he’d feel awkward around her. Instead, everything he’d seen so far intrigued him. He wanted to get to know her better. To find out the kind of person she’d become. Especially after the sad story of her parents. She really was fragile and vulnerable, despite the tough exterior she’d tried to portray all night.
Fragile and vulnerable.
Two things that didn’t jibe well with being targeted by a murderer. And two things he shouldn’t even be thinking about when he felt responsible for keeping this beautiful woman alive.
Sydney peered at Russ’s shuttered expression. She’d said something wrong but what, she didn’t know. Something special had flashed between them during the light, flirtatious banter. The exact situation she’d hoped for back in high school. Now it felt as if all the light had gone out of him, and he’d put up an invisible barrier.
Just as well. They were law-enforcement officers now, not a couple of teenagers. She wasn’t interested in a relationship with another man who’d lead her on, then balk at the responsibility of helping her raise a teen. Relationships were off-limits until Nikki was on her own.
As they finished eating, their conversation