In just nine hours.
As I stood at the kitchen sink, rinsing the dishes from dinner, I refused to look at the window in front of me. I refused to acknowledge that the sun had already set. That Friday was almost here. But even in my periphery, I could see the dark blue creep into my yard. I could see the glitter of those first brave stars.
I really needed a curtain to cover that fucking window.
Vance strode into the room, his bare feet heavy against the hardwood. He set his phone on the counter, leaning against it and crossing his arms. “Captain and I are meeting first thing Monday morning.”
“Good.” That was good, right? This was the plan. But my heart was in freefall, sinking deeper and faster. “Did you tell him about Vera?”
“No. I’ll save that for Monday. He thinks I want to talk about the shooting. Probably hoping I’ll quit.”
Would he quit?
If Vance’s job wasn’t keeping him in Idaho, would he come back? I was terrified to ask. Terrified to learn that I wasn’t enough for him to uproot his life. So I didn’t ask.
“How do you think she’s doing?” Vance asked, looking at the ceiling.
Upstairs was the guest bedroom. Vera had excused herself after dinner for a hot shower. She kept saying it was because she’d missed hot, running water. Really, I think she went in there so we wouldn’t hear her cry.
For the past two mornings, I’d woken up wondering if I’d find the guest bedroom empty. If Vera would decide that becoming part of society was overrated and leave to track down Cormac. If anyone could find him again, it would be her.
Yet despite my fears, each day, she’d shuffled downstairs, half asleep, her eyes puffy and red from the tears she’d been crying into a pillow, and said good morning.
“She’s still here. That’s a good sign.” I dried my hands on a towel, then moved into his side, pressing my nose to his chest and drawing in that Vance smell.
They were leaving soon. But for tonight, they were both here.
My phone rang on the counter, so Vance stretched to grab it and hand it over.
“Hey,” I answered.
“How are you feeling?” Mateo asked.
“On the mend.”
The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but keeping Vera’s secret was paramount. So I’d lied to my family and told them that I’d gotten sick after that hike with Sheriff Zalinski. My sudden illness was the reason why we hadn’t met at Griff’s the next morning. And it was the reason why I hadn’t been to work in days.
Guilt for burdening my parents and siblings with the coffee shop crawled beneath my skin. But I’d endured it, knowing it would be short-lived. Tomorrow morning, I’d say goodbye to Vance and Vera, then go back to work. Go back to my life.
Eden Coffee would once again be my sanctuary.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” I told Mateo. “How did it go today?”
“Crystal tried to teach me how to use the espresso machine.”
I grimaced. “Please tell me it’s not broken.”
“Not broken.” He chuckled. “But I’m never allowed to touch it again.”
Mom had passed down her culinary skills to Knox and me. Talia wasn’t helpless in the kitchen but cooking wasn’t her preferred pastime. Mateo and Eloise, well . . . they were helpless.
“Thanks for being there, Matty,” I told him.
“No problem. It was quiet. Crystal did most of the work.”
I made a mental note to text her another thank you. Without her, without all of them, I wouldn’t have had this extra time with Vance.
“Griff needs a hand tomorrow at the ranch,” he said. “But I can come to town if you need another day.”
Mateo was a pilot, and he’d spent last year in Alaska, flying planes to deliver supplies to remote areas of the state. Mom had been convinced that Matty would never come home given how bad he’d been about visiting. This spring, he’d returned to Quincy for what I’d assumed was a vacation, except he hadn’t left. We’d all been so happy he’d moved home that none of us had questioned why.
And he hadn’t offered much of an explanation.
Since he’d moved back, Mateo had pitched in everywhere, including the coffee shop. Wherever he was needed, he came. Like the rest of us, he had spent his teenage years working on the ranch and at the hotel.
I’d figured this arrangement would last a month or two. That he’d get restless and move back to Alaska. Maybe he’d start flying around Montana. But as far as I knew, he hadn’t spent much time at all in his plane.
And as a sucky big sister, I hadn’t pressed.
Later, after Vance was gone, I’d find the right time to press. Just not tonight.
Besides, Mateo didn’t seem ready to share. But I didn’t want whatever he was feeling to fester, not the way Cormac and Vera’s secrets had worsened from too many years of being kept inside.
Not that long ago, all I’d wanted was time. Time to think. Time to feel. Time to grieve. Maybe Mateo just needed more time. So for now, he had a reprieve.
“No, you don’t need to come in tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Another lie. Tomorrow, I would most definitely not be fine. “Thanks again.”
“All good?” Vance asked as I ended the call and set my phone aside.
“Yeah. I’m lucky to have them.”
He rested his cheek on the top of my head. “I’ll understand if you want to tell them the truth.”
“No.” This was a secret I’d keep from everyone until the end of my days.
For Vera. For Vance.
Over the past two days, Vance had rarely left her side. He’d always been close by, ready to give her a hug when fresh tears appeared. If there was a person to get her through this rough patch, it was her uncle Vance.
He’d guide her back to life. He’d bear the secrets. He’d tell the lies.
We’d spent two days formulating a plan for Vera to become undead without sending the FBI chasing into the Montana mountains searching for her father.
Vance was going to leave Montana suddenly. I’d tell everyone here that he’d gotten a phone call about the shooting’s investigation in Idaho. Even Winn wouldn’t know the truth.
It would be best if the world believed Vera had never set foot in Quincy, Montana.
Vance would drive her to Idaho tomorrow and they’d spend the weekend getting her settled into his house. Luckily, she was close to my size, so I’d given her some clothes. The ones she’d been wearing for years were at the bottom of my garbage can.
On Monday, Vance would meet with his captain at the station. He might even take Vera along.
Their story would be as close to the truth as possible. Hopefully, that would ensure it was believable. And that if she was pushed hard for details, Vera wouldn’t struggle answering questions. The truth. Just not the whole truth.
Cormac had taken Vera that night four years ago. Truth.
He had killed Norah. Truth.
He’d kept her in the remote wilderness ever since. Truth.
They’d leave out Norah’s history. At this point, it would be too hard to convince the world that Cormac was mostly innocent. Besides, no one knew his current whereabouts, Vera included.
To the world, Norah would remain innocent. Cormac would remain the villain.
He’d always been the villain, right?
It didn’t sit right. Not anymore.
As far as what had happened with her sisters, well . . . Vera hadn’t told Cormac. She hadn’t told Vance. Each time the subject was brought up, she’d leave the room. No way she’d tell the police. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.
That story was hers and hers alone. Maybe she’d share someday. I suspected that whoever earned that confession would likely earn her shattered heart too. But for now, it was locked away.
“Do you think this will work?” I asked Vance.
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “I hope so.”
“Do you think the FBI will come here and look for Cormac?”
“It’s doubtful, considering they didn’t come when Winn called weeks ago. But there’s a chance they’ll visit after Vera reappears. They might make the rounds to everywhere she tells them they’ve been and scope it out. But if we do a good job of selling the lie, they’ll focus on Idaho.”
Where she’d claim to have parted ways with her father.
“Do you think they’ll ever find him?”
Vance scoffed. “Not a damn chance.”
Vera would tell the authorities each of the states where she and Cormac had traveled these past four years. She’d tell them where Cormac might go. She’d also tell them why she’d stayed with him. She’d share more truths.
She’d admit that she’d wanted to go with her father. That she’d stayed with him, never trying to escape or run away. But after four years, she no longer wanted to live that life. So she’d finally broken free.
When it came to the details that needed to be told, Vance would be the one to deliver the bigger lies.
What a coincidence that he’d been in Montana, trying to locate her father. Meanwhile, she’d been making her way to his doorstep in Idaho. It seemed easier to spin a coincidence than admit Vance had found Cormac and Vera, then let Cormac go.
Would his captain, would the authorities, believe this story?
God, I hoped so.