Page 95 of Love Bound

I catch Finn’s grin and wave from across the room. He seems extraordinarily pleased with himself for pulling off a surprise party.

She looks away for a moment, and then back. "I love you, Claire. No matter what happens, I want you to know I love you probably more than you'll ever know."

Now she’s scaring me. All the ongoing background conversations seem to turn into a wash of white noise. I set down my fork. "What's wrong?"

She wipes her hands on her bare legs and looks down at her fingers. "Nothing." She sighs, taking a handful of her straight black hair before flipping it over her shoulder. "Just look at these, and don’t judge. Just be open." Slowly, she fishes envelopes out of both her back pockets and unfolds them on the table.

I can see paper inside. Notes. Letters.

She releases a shaky sigh. "They’re from Chloe."

Chloe. Our big sister. The one who was supposed to do it all. To protect us, save us, love us and be there.

The one who left three months after Mom and Dad were killed.

That Chloe.

Blood drains from my face, my ears ringing, and I can see Devon's hands tremble as she lifts the letters from the envelopes. I try to be rational. I try to be fair. But I'm not sure I can be either, so I swallow. "So that's how Laurel got the recipe for the cake? From her?"

Devon catches Laurel's eye.

Moments later, Laurel's standing next to me. Her voice is soft. "So, she knows?"

Instead of answering, Devon starts talking in layers with Laurel and it's almost a verbal dance.

"We didn't want to tell you."

"Not right away."

"We know how mad you are at her."

"We know how hard you had to work."

"We know you sacrificed to keep us all together."

"But don’t blame her."

"Don't blame her."

"I would never blame her," I say, and with that, a huge black ugly weight is lifted from both my conscience and my chest. "I would never blame her. I love her too. I'm just sorry we weren't enough. That we couldn't give her what she needed." I pause. "That she had to run away."

Laurel leans down and takes my hand. Hers is soft and warm, and then Devon takes my other one and I see Finn watching me carefully. We are on our way to somewhere and my heart is happy.

As the three of us walk by Travis, he gives me a peck on the cheek and whispers, “Happy birthday,” in my ear.

What is this?

But I think I know.

By the time we make it into the kitchen, I'm almost sure.

And as I round the corner, I see her.

Chloe's sitting at the small metal prep table, looking just as she did when she left. Willowy. Taller than all of us girls. Thinner. Her hair tousled. Her face etched with a vertical line between her eyebrows. And she's tan.

When she left us, she was a college student indoors three seasons and an Inn helper in the summer. She never stepped outside.

Clearly, she's been out in the elements for a long time.