Hummingbird Lake Page 0,72

admitted to herself?

And then what? It was bad enough that she’d shared as much as she had. What would happen if he learned the rest of it? Would that admiration in his eyes transform into disgust? Would he say the same things to her that her father had said when she went to him for absolution? Maybe. Probably. Her father had been a great guy, a generous man. He had loved her, too.

“And look what that got me,” she muttered aloud, stooping to pick up Snowdrop, not because the dog signaled she’d grown tired, but because Sage needed the comfort of holding her.

At home, she brought her overnight bag in from the car and unpacked. She put a load of laundry into the washer, then read her mail and paid a few bills. She realized she’d inadvertently left her cellphone in her car, and after debating the matter for a few minutes, she went out to get it. She’d missed two calls, neither of which was from Colt or Rose.

Rose. Sage couldn’t believe she’d come to Eternity Springs. What in the world was she going to do about her sister?

Maybe it was time she faced that dragon.

Sage eyed Colt’s bottle of wine and thought, What the heck. She opened it and poured herself a glass while noting that Snowdrop lay curled up asleep in her bed in the living room. Grabbing a sweater, she opened her back door and stepped outside. She might as well walk down to the tip of the point and the fishing pier. After all, what better place to reflect on the misery of her family life than Reflection Point?

A few puffy clouds dotted the sky and the breeze had strengthened as the afternoon grew long. The air blowing in off the lake had a chill to it, so she slipped into her sweater before taking her usual seat at the end of the pier, her feet dangling above the water, her glass of wine sitting on the wooden pier beside her. Sunlight sparkled off the surface of the lake like diamonds, and she allowed her gaze to drift along the shoreline before settling on a leaf that floated on the water beneath her feet.

Rose.

Sage blew out a breath, watched the current spin the leaf in a very slow circle, and remembered.

Her apartment above the garage was dark, the blinds and curtains blocking out all but the ambient light. She lay curled in a ball amidst tangled sheets. The TV was on, though the sound was turned off. The hum of the window unit drowned out any sounds from outdoors, and inside, the only noise to be heard was the buzz of the fly that persisted in circling around her head.

Maybe he thinks I’m dead.

The image of flies landing on the bloody body of little Aba Ballo flashed through her mind.

Too bad I’m not.

Beside her bed, the phone began to ring. Once again she ignored it. She realized that she was thirsty, and she considered getting up to get a drink. No. That took too much effort. She drifted back to sleep.

How long she slept, she didn’t know, but she awoke to a new sound. Something different. Thump. Thump. Thump. Someone was pounding on her door.

Sage grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her head, muffling the sound, though not blocking it out entirely. The pounding finally quit, and she relaxed back into sleep.

Until a loud bang bang crash brought her sitting up in bed.

Her front door flew open. Her sister swept inside like an avenging angel. Sage sat on her bed and stared. She’d kicked in the door. Rose had kicked in her door!

“So you are here,” her sister said, her tone scathing and accusatory. “Brandon said he saw a car in the driveway, but I didn’t believe him. I told him you wouldn’t be so selfish and disrespectful. I told him you wouldn’t let me down this way. Let Dad down this way.”

She stormed across the room and wrenched back the curtains. Light flooded into the room. Sage grimaced and shielded her eyes.

“Are you drunk?” Rose demanded, her gaze zeroing in on the empty vodka bottle on Sage’s nightstand.

The bottle had been there for at least two weeks, maybe three. She’d brought it with her when she came home, drank it in the first week, then never roused herself to go out for more.

“What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” she repeated before saying it once more in a rising screech. “What