Page 48 of Forsaken Trail (Runaway 4)

I frowned. “I know you don’t like to keep secrets from her.”

“When she finds out, she’ll be furious. At both of us.”

“If she finds out.”

Clara laughed. “You don’t know Aria very well. I promised you I wouldn’t tell her but that doesn’t mean she won’t find out. She has a way of sniffing out secrets.”

“She can’t find out.” The contract had a nondisclosure clause in place to ensure my secret was safe. And the previous owners were in Hawaii. Gone for good, so the chances of it slipping were slim to none.

Welcome Floral hadn’t cost me one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars like I’d told Aria. No, the flower shop had cost me four hundred and eighty thousand dollars. Nearly half a million.

I had to hand it to the previous owners, the ruthless bastards. Ned and Stephanie Backer had smelled my desperation and pounced like lions on a wounded gazelle. But my payment had meant they could retire in Hawaii, far from Aria’s prying ears.

It would take Aria a lifetime to pay for the floral shop at the Backers’ price tag. Hell, even with the discount price I’d quoted her it would be a lot. I’d seen the financial statements from the flower shop and Aria had some work to do if she wanted to turn a larger monthly profit.

But it was a solid business. She’d own the building downtown, and I hoped that after a year in Welcome, she’d realize my small town wasn’t without its charms.

I’d meant what I’d told her. After my birthday, I’d consider moving. But I also liked it here in Arizona. I loved this lifeless house. It was safe. Comfortable. Ron had his bungalow on the property. Clara had her house. One day, I wanted to see my child outside playing in the driveway.

If Aria insisted on moving, I’d move. But I had nearly a year to get those roots of hers to sink into the desert sand.

I checked my watch again, wondering for the thousandth time where she was. Aria had promised to be here no later than two, so where the hell was she? It was two thirty, and if she didn’t get here within the next fifteen minutes, I was going out to search.

The text message I’d sent her had gone unanswered.

Aria and I hadn’t spoken much over the past two months. Most of our communication either went through Clara or was via text. How we were going to live together was a mystery.

It was the one thing about this move—other than the destination—Aria had conceded without a fight. She was moving into my house.

Clara had offered her guest room but Aria had told me during a rare phone conversation that she didn’t want to invade her sister’s life. When I’d offered her my place, a stone’s throw from Clara and August plus more space than she’d find in a local rental, she’d shocked me by agreeing.

It would be the first time I’d lived with a woman. Not even Heather had occupied my space. I’d never invited her to move in. The weekends when she’d slept over had been bad enough. Makeup all over the bathroom counter. Clothes strewn on the floor for the housekeeper to pick up. Yes, I paid my staff to do that very thing, but for fuck’s sake, the laundry basket had been twenty feet away in the closet.

Thankfully this house was much larger than my Vegas penthouse, and I wouldn’t be sharing a bed. Aria would occupy one end of the house with me in the opposite. If she was sloppy or loud, I’d be too far away to notice.

“I’m going to wait outside,” Clara said. “Your pacing is making me nervous.”

Was I pacing? I stopped midstride. “Fifteen minutes and I’m going to go look for her.”

Clara shook her head. “I’m going to give you some unsolicited advice about Aria.”

“O

kay,” I drawled. For the most part, other than playing messenger for logistical details, Clara had stayed far away from the mess that was Aria and me. Though I wasn’t foolish enough to think that if push came to shove, she’d choose me over her sister.

But when we spoke of Aria, Clara maintained a neutral stance. She relayed facts. She let me rant without much commentary. And she didn’t offer more than a shred of insight into the mysterious woman who had consumed my waking thoughts. Until now.

“Aria needs control in her life. After Mom and Dad died, she became the sister in charge. I didn’t . . . She didn’t fall apart. I did.”

My heart twisted as I stood frozen, watching her struggle with whatever she was going to say. Clara didn’t speak much about that time. Or about her time in the junkyard. She’d told me the big picture, but any details had been glossed over. Clara had told me facts. Dates. Nothing more.

And the cold asshole that I was, I had never asked how she’d actually felt.

Now, with Aria coming here, I wanted to know. To truly know what their youth had been like. We were a family of sorts, tied together by this unexpected baby.

“It was Aria’s idea to run away from our uncle’s home.”

“Why?” What had happened with her uncle that had been so terrible that a desolate life in a junkyard had been the better option? “What happened?”