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“I would be the same if it were Mom or Isra.”
“I’m the only family who gives a shit about her. Neither Mom or Dad would get her.”
“What do I need to do?”
I fought against the rising need to saynothing.I needed nothing.
Because that wasn’t the truth.
“We need to clean out the guest room.”
“I’ll get it done. And I can stay home from work?—”
“No, don’t do that. She’s my sister. I can handle this.”
“And we’re married. So if you need a break, I’ll take over. I can miss a day in the office. And work from home.”
“Emma probably won’t be up to seeing anyone else. But I’ll text you if I need you. As long as you’re not in a meeting or busy.”
“I’ll know if you need me, no matter what’s going on.”
“What, do you have some special alert for me or something?”
“I do. I don’t care what I’m doing. If it’s you, I’ll answer.”
I swallowed around the ball of cotton that had formed in my throat. He would be here. He wouldanswerwhen I called.
That was something most didn’t give me.
So why didn’t he fully tell me everything? Why was he hiding things?
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I checked the navigation. I still had a ways to go, but I was now in unfamiliar territory and needed to focus on the roads, not question my marriage. “I need to go. I’m close to Emma.”
“Let me know how it goes, darling. Good luck.”
When I hung up, I was still reeling from him calling medarlingagain. I didn’t know feelings could be so mixed for one person. I was angry he didn’t tell me things and wanted him to do more for me.
But I couldn’t think about that. I had a sister to deal with.
Emma was on the side of the road when I found her, thankfully talking to a police officer. I pulled up and she was running to me the second I was out of the car.
“Thank God,” she said, pulling me into a tight hug. “The car is still smoking, and they’re saying it’s not going to be fixable.”
I surveyed the scene, eyes widening when I saw her Jeep surrounded by black smoke. Along with the police officer was a fire truck, and everyone was monitoring the car closely. The car must have ignited because the red paint was charred too. A tall man in a fireman’s uniform walked over.
“Are you her sister?”
“I am,” I replied. “Did you help her with . . . all of this?”
“We did. The car is, um ...”
“Gone?” I asked. “Yeah, I figured it was when more of it was burned than not.”
“We can tow it. Are you her ride?”
“Yeah, I’ll take care of her.”
He nodded, his eyes moving to Emma. “I hope you have a better day after this.”