Page 162 of No Headlines Please

Ryder shrugged. "Alright. You want the truth? I didn't want you to hate him."

Delaney and I shared a look before both of us turned to eye the door. To hell with the horse and buggy. I'd carry all three suitcases – and the flower – if I had to.

Delaney only had to say the word.

And now Ryder was telling Tessa, "Hey, I told you she was okay. Wasn't that good enough?"

"No," Tessa said through gritted teeth. "It was not good enough. And why was keeping his secret more important to you than my sister?"

That did it.

I spoke up. "That secret – it wasn't his. Or mine. It was your sister's, which meant it wasn't ours to share."

And now, Tessa looked ready to cry. "But we were so worried."

She could cry all she wanted. Right then, all I cared about was Delaney. I let out a scoff. "Right. So damn worried you couldn't drive a few short hours to West Haven?"

Tessa blinked. "But…what are you saying?"

I looked to Delaney. "Go ahead. Tell her."

Delaney looked confused. "Tell her what?"

"Tell her when you moved."

Delaney hesitated. "You mean…from West Haven? It was back in June, so maybe four months ago?"

I looked back to Tessa. "So until just four months ago, you could've found your sister yourself just by hopping in the car. But you didn't, did you?"

Ryder gave me a look. "Hey, you don't need to be an ass about it."

I gave him a look right back. "The hell I don't."

Tessa's gaze darted from me to Delaney and back again. Sounding less certain, she said, "But…I didn't know she was there."

I held her gaze. "Yeah. Because you never went looking."

Tessa turned to stare at Delaney. "But…you told me you were moving."

Delaney shifted from foot to foot. "Yeah, well…I did." She glanced away. "Eventually."

Tessa looked thunderstruck. "Are you freaking serious? You were living in the same place this whole time?"

"Not the whole time," Delaney mumbled.

Tessa shook her head. "And what does that mean?"

Delaney hesitated. "Well…I've spent the last few months in a cabin off Lake Superior. And before that…" She cleared her throat before saying in a rush, "I actually spent a few weeks in Chicago."

Tessa's jaw dropped. "Chicago? The same city where I lived?"

Next to her, Ryder said, "What, you know another Chicago?"

Tessa didn't even look. She was still staring at Delaney. "So you were right there? In the same city I was living?"

"Yeah, but…" Delaney reached up to rub the back of her neck. "Not at the same time, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Tessa asked. "Did you ever stop by my apartment?"