“I guess it’s proof of how terrible a judge I am of people, because I swear, seeing the two of you together was like something right out of a fantasy.” Her breath caught—or maybe it was mine.
“I would do anything for my sister,” I said, my tongue thick as it carved the words through my teeth.
Including putting myself at risk of falling for her ex-boyfriend.
Sarah hugged me then, so tight that she almost toppled her stool. “I’m sorry,” she cried softly. “I wish I knew more to help you. I wish I hadn’t panicked so soon and told Trent. Maybe then she would’ve told me more and I would be useful. God, I’m so useless—”
“Don’t.” I drew back and caught her hands in mine. “You stood up for yourself—fought for yourself. You’re strong, Sarah. Not useless, okay? Don’t carry the words of weak men forward with you. Please.” I said the words wishing Rachel could’ve heard them, too.
Sarah let out a deep exhale, collecting herself before she said in a watery voice, “You’re going to find her.”
“I hope so.”
“You will. You love her too much to give up. And Calder ...”
Calder was being paid an as-yet-to-be-determined fee to not give up.And he’d promised.
“Sarah?” Cassius stepped into the doorway. “Do you want a few more minutes?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to keep the plane waiting. When I land, I promise I’ll reimburse you whatever the flight cost—”
It occurred to me then just how much Sarah was leaving behind. While Calder had kept our IDs and credit cards safe, Sarah hadn’t. Sheand Trent had left all their things just like they’d been instructed, which meant her wallet and license.
“How did you book a ticket?” I blurted out.
Sarah looked to Cassius, who explained. “I have a friend who has a private plane. He’s going to fly Sarah back to Virginia.”
Sarah hugged me again, her voice thick with emotion as she thanked me once more. “I just want to use the restroom, and then I’ll be ready.”
Cassius stepped aside to let her pass.
“Thank you for helping her. For helping me.” I swallowed hard and slid down from the stool.
“No need to thank me for that,” he said gruffly, taking my plate to the sink to clean like he’d done for Sarah.
“Then at least let me thank you for the delicious breakfast,” I said, having eaten my entire plate.
His smile was clipped on one side and brief. “You’re welcome. Though I’m sure I have a thing or two to learn about coffee-making.”
“Well, I happen to know you have a son who’d be happy to teach you.”
Cassius looked up from his suds-covered hands, and I felt like I’d just put my entire foot in my mouth. His expression hardened, but it was difficult to tell whether it was from anger or pain. “I don’t know about that.”
I should’ve let the conversation end there, but I didn’t. “My mom, admittedly, didn’t have very many rules, but she did always say it didn’t hurt to ask.”
“Knowing my son, it might.”
Don’t say anything. Don’t get involved. Don’t—
“Knowing your son, I think it would mean a lot.” It would mean a bridge back to a relationship that was more than business, and that, in my opinion, would mean everything.
“Did he tell you that?” Cassius arched a brow and then shook his head, and for the first time, I thought he looked a little somethinglike weary. “Calder took on too much after Annie died, including the responsibility for things that weren’t his fault. Something I should’ve realized sooner. Done more to stop.”
“Have you told him that?” I asked, but I knew he hadn’t. Calder wouldn’t believe, wouldn’t feel like he did, if Cassius had.
“I should’ve. I should’ve a long time ago.” He sighed and turned off the faucet, looking every inch like a man whose wife had been murdered, leaving him with six kids to raise. Every inch like a human being who, in the process of dealing with his own trauma, had made mistakes he didn’t know how to fix. “But you know, once Calder makes up his mind ...”
Oh, I knew.
