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Cassie scrunched up her face. “A moment of weakness?”
“Something tells me you meant at least some of it.”
“There was an ounce of truth to it.” Did she really want to avoid dealing with her relationship with Laura so badly she’d rather be dead? No. Would it be nice to not have to worry about what she was going home to? Yes. “I’m glad Laura and I are reconnecting.”
“But?”
“However, it’s hard.” She shrugged. “It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be. We’re two grown adults. We don’t need each other. We haven’t relied on each other in years. And yet, there’s still a piece of us that’s stuck back in our childhood. I want to be the big sister and protect her, and she wants to prove she can handle anything I throw at her.”
“Maybe you should give her a chance.”
Cassie cracked an eye open and glared at David. “Way to take her side, Dad.”
He chuckled. “I’m not taking anyone’s side here. But you’re right, you’re both adults. You can each handle more now than you could as kids. Both of you need to trust each other. And both of you need to be vulnerable with each other.”
“Yeah, but I hate rejection.”
“Who doesn’t? But what makes you assume she’s going to reject you?”
Cassie opened both her eyes now and pointed an index finger at her face. “Talks to ghosts, remember?”
“You can ease her into that part. Remember, she’s here to get to know you. She’s ready to accept you if you give her the chance.”
“I’m so glad you’re old and wise.”
David scowled. “Easy on the old part.” A distant look crossed his face. “My father and I didn’t have the best relationship. We were always at odds. He was a selfish, materialistic man. I just wanted to help people. He wanted me to be a lawyer.”
Cassie scoffed.
“My reaction exactly. I had no interest in that. He figured I’d make a shitload of money and then he’d be able to live out his retirement in peace, away from everyone and everything.”
“What happened?”
“He drank himself into an early grave. My mother stayed by his side the entire time, but he was ungrateful to all of us. He was angry I became a cop. Said I was wasting my life. Even told me once that he hoped a bullet put me out of his misery.”
Cassie sat up. “That’s awful. I’m sorry your dad spoke to you like that.”
David shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve worked through all of that. I regret not trying harder, though.”
“Really? Even though he said stuff like that?”
“Not for his sake. For my mom’s. It always hurt her to see us at each other’s throats. She died not long after he did, and more than anything I wish she could’ve seen us
be a family again. It’s all she ever wanted.”
Cassie blew out a deep breath. She knew what David was trying to tell her. Change things before it’s too late. Luckily for her, Laura was willing to meet her halfway. She’d told Cassie how hard it was that things had been rocky between them, but she’d also told Cassie that she wanted to work on changing that.
“I should get home. I think I owe my sister an apology.”
David smiled. “That’s good to hear. You know, I was a real emotional kid. Drove my dad nuts. I’d cry and scream and get angry at the drop of a dime. I’ve gotten better at controlling it over the years, but it’s not always easy. We must own our reactions. We can’t make excuses for them. But my mom always told me we shouldn’t feel guilty for them either. That’s us at our rawest. Our most honest. The most important thing to do after the fact is to own them and work toward being better. I think Laura will understand she upset you. Now it’s up to you to explain to her why and to promise to do better next time.”
Cassie felt tears forming, and she blinked them away. “What about you? What are you going to do?”
David held the letters up. “I’m going to solve a twenty-year-old cold case.”
16
Cassie pulled up in front of her house with a pit in her stomach. It was nearing dinnertime, and she hadn’t heard from Laura since she’d left her behind at the restaurant. She didn’t even know if her sister would be home, and she couldn’t figure out which option was better—facing her now or later.
