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“Coffee?”
“Please.”
As if on cue, Sarah picked up her mug and took another drink.
“I ... I don’t even know what to say, Lara. Thank you—”
“Isn’t necessary.” I reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze as she wiped her cheek with the back of her free hand. “There was no way we were going to let them take you.”
She sniffled, and Cassius returned not only with my mug, steaming with coffee, but also with a box of tissues. My chest pinched when she couldn’t even look at him as she took the box.
“Fresh cup of joe.” The mug bookended my plate. “Not as good as my son’s, but it gets the job done.”
My brows rose as I reached for the cup.So he knew about Calder’s coffee habit.There were a hundred reasons why that shouldn’t be a big deal, but the way Calder had painted their strained relationship, it didn’t fit that Cassius would know about his eldest’s hobby, let alone sound like he cared about it.
“Thank you. It smells wonderful,” I said over the rim just before the bitterness burned along my tongue.Definitely not as good as Calder’s.
Somehow, in the course of a few cups, I’d learned what good coffee tasted like, and this ... this wasn’t it. This was the kind of coffee the hospital ran on. Funny how it didn’t take long to realize what I’d been missing—and what I didn’t want to go back to.
I stiffened and shifted in my seat, afraid that notion might take root somewhere else—somewhere not as easy to fix or as harmless to lose as a good cup of coffee.
“Calder went to talk to Callum,” Cassius said, and only when I faced him did I realize I’d been looking over my shoulder—looking for Calder like I was expecting him to walk in any minute.
“Oh. Right.” I reached for my plate, taking a big forkful of eggs and shoving them in my mouth before I gave away anything else.
Cassius stretched across the counter, taking Sarah’s empty plate from her hands. “I’ll take care of that,” he said before she could try to clean up.
The longer I spent around Cassius, the harder it was not to appreciate the qualities he shared with his son. His protectiveness. His concern. His chivalry.And his stubbornness.
Barred from lifting a finger, Sarah turned and told me, “Calder came here first, but you were still sleeping, and he didn’t want to wake you.”
Or he wasn’t ready to deal with me yet.
“What did he say?” I tried not to sound too desperate.
“He wanted to know how I was. How I’d slept. If there was anything else I could think of ... or remember about what Dr. Julia told me about ... that place.” Shame hung from every syllable in her voice.
My fingers whitened where I held my fork. All I wanted was to hug her tight and tell her that none of this was her fault. Not how Trent had treated her. Not what had happened at the camp. Not for being manipulated, the weaknesses she’d confided to Dr. Julia then exploited for the benefit of this Adam Eden. All I wanted was to tell her all the things I wished I could’ve said to my sister.
As if sensing things were getting ... emotional, Cassius cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse me. I want to feed the chickens before we leave.”
Leave?I looked at Sarah.How much had I missed?
Sarah’s eyes remained low until he was gone, and then she said in the quietest voice, “Trent never ... in a million years ... would’ve done dishes.”
“You deserve more, Sarah. Better.”
She nodded like she wanted to drive the thought deep where no small man could ever uproot it again and then looked to me. “Because of you, I have the chance to find it.”
My throat tightened, her gratitude like salt in the wound of my sister’s disappearance: healing, but painful all the same. “Where will you go?”
“I’m going to my parents’ house in Virginia. I moved out here because of Trent ...” She trailed off with a shudder. “Mr. Stone is taking me to the airport. I think it’s best for me to go home for a little bit.”
“Yeah, I think that would be really good,” I agreed, offering her a smile.
“I’m so sorry, Lara. You told me about your sister, and I didn’t understand why you were so quick to help me ... a stranger ... until Calder explained why you both were really at the retreat.”
My stomach tumbled over itself.
