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“You will. We will,” I said firmly as I stroked her hair. “All three of us.”
“I hope so, but I’m afraid it’s not just Daniel she mourns.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“There was a boy.” She shifted. Crossing her legs, she gathered my hands in hers. “The night Daniel ...” Her lip trembling, she bit down on it.
“She was with someone the night he died.”
“Yes, I think so. At her year-end school talent show, she seemed to bond with a boy. One who seemed much older that we’d never noticed before. He was handsome and confident. Daniel saw something in him, or something in the way Claire looked at him.” Rachel released my hands to tap her cheek. “A motorbike was parked in our drive later that night next to Claire’s Land Rover. I think they were in her tree house together. Claire had never brought a boy to the house before.”
That was something I understood. “Claire is careful with her heart.” She was a lot like me in that regard.
“Definitely, and it’s understandable.” Rachel rolled a shoulder. “What boy could possibly measure up to the high bar her father set?”
I nodded. “Good point.”
“But he didn’t come around again. Not to the funeral or to the house to offer his condolences. Her other school friends did.”
“You think he only wanted one thing.”
“Yes.” Rachel’s eyes glistened with a sad sheen.
“He broke her heart.”
“She suffered more than one loss, yes.” Tears gathered in Rachel’s eyes. “And I don’t know how to help her with either one.”
“You do know.” I recaptured her hands. “You’re already doing it.”
“What am I doing?” she asked. “Except barely holding it together.”
“You’re enduring. You’re playing the hand you’ve been dealt.” I squeezed her fingers. “You’re showing her what strength looks like.”
“I don’t feel strong.”
“There are many kinds of strength in this world,” I said, thinking about what it had taken for me to finally leave Martin’s penthouse. “The best is motivated by love.”
“I love her so much, Addy.” Rachel’s lip started trembling again. “But it was Daniel she loved. She hates me most of the time.”
“She’s hurting, but she loves you. Give her time. She’ll come around.”
“I hope so.”
I wasn’t a firm believer in hope. But I believed in love. I felt it for my sister, my niece, and Ella. I saw it between Rachel and Claire. I just had to get them to acknowledge it.
Addy
Claire showed up at Footit’s Place after her first day at school. Surprisingly, she wasn’t alone. Missy Rivera was with her, a pretty girl with long black hair and glacier-blue eyes. Claire had introduced her as a new friend, which made me smile.
“Mr. Burke made you cry?” Rachel frowned at Claire. “Why?”
Grilling her daughter, rather than reassuring her or being happy that she’d found a friend, my sister wasn’t demonstrating her love. Behind the bar, my smile turned into a grimace as I watched mother and daughter pick up where they’d left off before school. Claire’s new friend stood nearby watching too, seeming fascinated by the exchange.
Claire shrugged. “Everyone tries out for band. It’s not a big deal.”
“Did he not read your transcript?” Rachel’s voice rose to a gratingly high level.
“He read it, but I don’t think he was impressed. He’s the band director. He has his rules.” Her cheeks turning pink, Claire glanced at Missy.
