Sierra Falls (Sierra Falls 1)

“Let me guess. You’ve decided to stay…because you saw an opportunity to accessorize?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Laura’s tone frosted over.

“It means you talk big about wanting to help around here, but I’ll believe it when I see it. ”

“That is so unfair,” Laura snapped. “I’ve come up with a million ideas, and you’ve shot down each one without even listening. ”

Sorrow didn’t give her time to elaborate. She’d been harboring these feelings for years, and they burst to the surface, her voice coming louder, faster. “You took off for the city the moment you graduated, but it looks like you failed there, or at least I’m guessing you did because you’re sure not talking, and by the way, saying you’re taking a sabbatical, whatever the heck that is, tells me nothing, though apparently it involves you meandering home for a while where you can buy a new pair of hiking boots. You came home so that, what? So we can take care of you? You can’t just drop in like nothing’s happened, like it was no big deal that you disappeared for years. Like you’re still the big sister in charge. It takes more than dressing like you live here to make you an active, contributing member of this household. ”

“I am totally an active member,” Laura shouted, finally managing to cut in. “I’m practically pulling this festival together solo. But do I ever bug you about it? No. Did I have you help me do online publicity, or ask for money for the ads I placed in Bay Area newspapers? No. Did I—?”

Sorrow interrupted, her tone icy and measured, “I didn’t ask you to do any of that stuff. All kinds of weird stuff is happening, the lodge is falling apart around us, and frankly, it shocks me that you haven’t even noticed. So yeah, stupid Buck Larsen is the last thing on my mind at the moment. ”

“Ha!” Laura barked a sarcastic laugh. “Don’t get all holier than thou on me. Our lodge is also the last thing on your mind. ”

“Meaning?” Sorrow grit her teeth, bracing for it.

“Meaning, you spend more time with that sheriff than you do in your own house. ”

Sorrow wanted to scream. “Are you so bored with your own life you came home to meddle in mine? Why are you even here?”

“To help the family. ”

“Oh, yeah, right. ” Sorrow rolled her eyes. “Because you’re sooo committed to Mom and Dad. How do you expect me to believe you’re here to stay when, way back, you fled town as fast as you could?”

“You want to be honest?” Laura asked in a flat voice.

Sorrow muttered, “This should be good. ”

“I lost my job, Sorrow. My boyfriend broke up with me. And I feel like a failure. I wake up every morning, and my life is empty. I’ve dated all the wrong guys, chased all the wrong things. I’ve got my stupid condo, and my stupid car, but there’s nobody around who cares about me. ”

She had a moment of feeling stunned. But then she chalked it up to Laura just being dramatic. Again. Things were never that bad with her. Boyfriend—she’d probably only gone on two dates with the guy. Her sister was an expert with men, just like she was an expert with everything.

“Cry me a river, Laura. I am so sorry that driving your Beemer around San Francisco is giving you a crisis of the soul. ”

“I came home to get back to my roots, if you want to know. I need to figure my life out, and I need to be home to do it. ”

“I’ve heard your dramas before, Laura. But I’ve got my own dramas to worry about. ” She looked out the window and felt a pang of guilt. Had she been spending too much time with Billy? Was it so obvious she’d been paying less attention to business since he’d come into her life? “Look. I’ve got to go. Don’t bring my car back with an empty tank. ” She hung up.

The new leaf Sorrow had meant to turn was turned back again. She angrily snapped on a pair of rubber gloves, grabbed a box of heavy-duty trash bags, and got to work.

Some time later, the door slammed, and Mom came out. “I thought you were waiting for Laura. ”

“Nope, dealing with it myself. ” Under her breath, she added, “Again. ”

Her mother wrapped her cardigan tight around her chest to ward off the cold. “Where is she?”

“I let her take my car to run a couple of errands. ” Sorrow used her forearm to wipe the hair from her brow. “But apparently she decided to disappear instead. ”

Would that she could disappear for a while. Would that she could go shopping—she’d get herself some sexy new lingerie. She’d shower off the stink of tavern scraps, put on bits of lacy silk under her jeans and sweater, and go to Billy’s.

It had become her haven. He had become her haven.

She’d been going to his place a lot. She’d worried it was too much too soon, but he insisted he wanted her there as much as she wanted to be there. She worried they might get sick of each other, but instead of the magic wearing off, it intensified every time they were together. He came to the tavern almost every day for lunch, and every time she saw him, her heart skipped a beat. She was a goner…head over heels for the guy. And better yet, she had the impression he felt the same.

“Can Billy help?” her mom asked hopefully. Sorrow had been gazing into the distance, and the woman had clearly guessed what her daughter was thinking about.

She shook her head. “On duty. ”