Page 119 of Forever Dead

Selena caught it.

“There it is.”

“What?” Eric asked.

“Nothing,” Selena said with a smile.

Eric rubbed his thumb along the rim of his glass. “We've talked a few times since she came by. I'd like to see her again.”

“Then ask her,” Selena said.

He drank again. “There is one obvious complication.”

“What?”

“She’s your ex-husband’s sister,” Eric said. “And he already doesn’t like me.”

Selena laughed softly. “Why is that my problem?”

“It’s not, exactly. It could get awkward. I had a few brushes with the law when I was younger.”

“You mean when you stole Farmer Mason’s tractor and drove it to the next county?”

Eric rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Yeah… stuff like that.”

Selena gave him a knowing look. “You never hurt anyone. You were practically a kid. Connor doesn’t get a say in who Jessie sees.”

“I’m sure he’d agree with that in principle,” Eric said. “I’m less sure he’d enjoy seeing me at family gatherings.”

Selena smiled into her glass. “You’re getting well ahead of yourself. You haven’t even asked her out yet.”

Eric turned his glass between his hands.

“Can I ask you something about Connor? Something I’ve always wanted to know?”

Selena looked at him. “What?”

“That woman who was killed outside your dad's house. Norma Jane.”

Selena set her glass down. Eric had clearly been reading some old news if he remembered the name.

“What about her?”

“I remember the rumors. People said Connor was having an affair.”

“That's what I thought.”

“Do you still?”

Selena considered the question.

“I don't know anymore. I saw them together more than once. Once, at a bar, she had her head on his shoulder. She was crying.”

Eric waited.

“Connor kept disappearing, and he'd lie about where he'd been. When I asked him, we ended up arguing.”

“So you thought it was an affair.”