“Let’s just say that Anthony decided to trade me in for a newer model.” She sips her Coke. “Pretty cliché, right?”

“He’s having an affair with a younger woman?” I demand.

“Oh, I’d say it’s more than that. He’s engaged to, and having a baby with, a twenty-one-year-old.”

“Ew.” June scrunches up her nose.

“He likes them young,” Sarah says. “I was nineteen when I married him.”

“And he was thirty-four,” I remind her.

“Cliché,” she says again. “I got too old for him. So, he discarded me.”

“But where’s your car?” I demand. “You bought a brand-new car as a graduation present to yourself. It’s only like…thirteen years old. Where is it?”

“Oh, he made me trade that in as soon as we got to California,” she says with a humorless laugh. “No wife of Anthony’s was going to drive anything but a luxury car. He got me a new Mercedes every other year.”

“So, where’s your fancy ride, then?” June asks her.

“Well, I was stupid enough to sign a prenup, so I didn’t get to leave with anything that didn’t have my name on it. And he made damn sure that literally nothing had my name on it.”

“What in the actual fuck?” I ask as molten-hot blood roars through my veins. “How did you get here?”

“The bus,” she says and shrugs one slim shoulder, reaching for another cookie. “I just have what’s in those suitcases. But I managed to squirrel away a few thousand dollars over the years, so I’m not penniless. Just poor.”

“I have so many questions,” June says, shaking her head.

“Me, too,” I add.

“Can we not today?” Sarah asks softly and stares down at her cookie. “I know you deserve to know more, and I will tell you. I never didn’t want to talk to you. I just didn’t have a choice. You’re my sisters in every sense of the word, and I’ll tell you everything. But for today, can we just…not?”

“You’ve got it,” I reply and give June the side-eye when she looks as if she might object to Sarah’s request. “You’ll be staying with me.”

Sarah’s gaze flies to mine, and her eyes fill with tears.

“You don’t have to do that. I can stay at a hotel for a while.”

“And eat up your savings? That’s ridiculous. I have a great guest room that never gets used. Trust me, it’s fine.”

“Thanks. Really. Also, I need a job. I thought I’d go ask Gordy for a job at the diner. I used to wait tables there back in the day, and I was good at it.”

“I bet he would hire you back,” I reply with a nod. “We’re always so busy with tourists now. Pretty much everyone is hiring.”

“I’ll go make the rounds through town tomorrow,” Sarah decides.

“Sarah,” June says as she pulls her hat off and sets it on the floor next to her. “Did that asshole hurt you? I mean, he obviously did mentally and emotionally. But physically?”

Sarah blows out a quiet breath. “Not until the end,” she finally says and then looks up at both of us. “Not until the very end.”

“Okay.” I take her hand in mine and give it a squeeze. “We’ll save the rest for later.”

“How’s Scott?” she asks.

“He’s great,” June says. Two days ago, she would have followed that up with something like, “No thanks to you.” But I can see that the resentment has melted away, and the loyal, loving friend is back.

June’s tough, but when she loves, she does it big. She would do anything for us.

“He has to be so mad at me,” Sarah says. “But I’d like to see him.”

“You should see him,” I encourage her. “It’ll be tough at first for both of you, but it’ll get better with time.”

“And I have all the time in the world,” Sarah whispers. “I can’t believe I’m finally home with you two. I also can’t believe that when I got here, you were coming out of the barn with Wolfe, Apollo, and Tanner.”

“Tanner and Apollo were always best friends,” I remind her.

“I know, but…it was weird. Isn’t Wolfe a race car driver?”

“We have so much to catch you up on,” I say with a grin. “It might require margaritas and tacos.”

“I’m full on cookies,” June says but then grins. “But I’m always down for tacos.”

“I have to use the bathroom,” Sarah says and holds up her Coke bottle. “Too much of this.”

“Then let’s go down to the house,” I suggest. “But first, I want to grab this.”

I lift the loose floorboard and reach in to retrieve the old diary.

“That’s still in there?”

“Of course. But it’s time to take it inside where it’s a little safer. And I need to give it a read-through because I have some questions.”

“Do you guys still keep a personal diary? The way we did after we found this one?” June asks.

“Yes,” Sarah and I answer in unison.

Tags: Kristen Proby Huckleberry Bay Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net