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“Yes. Yours, your father’s, Kassandra’s, all of you.”
He opened his mouth to defend himself, but no good argument formed inside his brain. Was it his fault? Why hadn’t Dixon come to him? They could have talked. They could have worked things out. He’d have been happy to support his brother.
“Dixon is very private,” Tuck explained to Amber.
“If I was you,” she responded in a flat tone, “I’d stop worrying about why he went to Arizona. I’d worry about where he went from there.”
She had a point. She had a very good point.
He pulled his phone from his shirt pocket and dialed Jackson.
“Hey” was Jackson’s clipped answer.
“Dixon went to Arizona,” said Tuck.
“You sure?”
“Scottsdale. A place called Highland Luminance. He left there about five weeks ago, but we can pick up his trail. I’ll meet you—” Tuck looked at Amber. “We’ll meet you in Scottsdale.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
“I’m in LA,” said Jackson. “I can be there in the morning.”
“We’ll be there tonight,” said Tuck.
“No way,” said Amber.
Tuck ended the call. “You obviously know my brother better than I do. You work for me again and I need you in Scottsdale.”
“I really can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” As far as Tuck was concerned, this was not negotiable.
* * *
Amber slipped quietly into Jade’s hospital room, not wanting to disturb her if she was napping.
But she was sitting up in the bed reading a textbook, and she smiled. “Did you forget something?”
“No,” Amber answered.
Jade wore a large yellow T-shirt and a pair of stretchy green pants visible though the open weave of her blanket.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good. I’m fine. But I’m feeling guilty just lying around here.”
“You’re studying.” Amber rounded the bed, pulling a bright orange vinyl chair up closer.
“Not as hard as I should.”
“That’s okay. Your main job is to stay healthy and grow that baby for a few more weeks.”
Jade’s cheeks were rosy, her face puffier than usual, but her eyes looked clear and bright. She put a hand on her budging stomach. “The baby’s getting bigger by the hour.”
“That’s what we want. I have some good news.”
“I can go home?” Jade hesitated. “Well, to your home.”
“No, you can’t go home. Not yet. But I did get a job.”
Jade started to smile, but for some reason she sobered, looking sad. “You’re so good. You’re amazing.”
Amber wondered if her sister’s hormones were messing with her mood. “It’s just a job, Jade.”
“No, it’s not just a job.” Jade looked like she might tear up.
“Hey.” Amber reached for her sister’s hand, worrying this might be a sign something was wrong. “What is it?”
Jade blinked. “It doesn’t matter what I do, how much trouble I cause. You always take such good care of things.”
“You’re not causing trouble. I’m your big sister. Of course I’m going to help you.”
Amber wished she didn’t have to leave town right now. She knew Jade was an adult, and she knew the hospital would take good care of her. But she still felt guilty.
“Do you remember Earl Dwyer?” asked Jade.
The name took Amber by surprise. “You mean Mom’s old boyfriend?”
Jade nodded, sniffing and dabbing at her nose with a tissue. She gazed for a moment at the reflection in the window. “I was thinking about him last night.”
A picture of the man came up in Amber’s mind and her neck prickled at the memory. “There’s no reason to think about him.”
“You remember how he yelled at us all the time?”
“You should be thinking happy thoughts for the baby.”
“Do you remember?”
“Yes, I remember. But I’m surprised you do. You couldn’t have been more than five when he moved out.” Amber remembered Earl’s snarling face, his booming voice and how she’d locked herself and Jade in their bedroom whenever an argument had started between him and their mother.
“I remember everything about him,” said Jade, her voice going small.
