Page 16 of Fortune’s Control (Fortune’s Creek #1)

“You missed me?” Lilah leaned against me. “Is that why you’re home so early?”

Her floral scent mixed with the fresh lemon from her baking. I breathed it in and smiled to myself. “You promised me a conversation.”

“That’s incorrect.” She twirled in my arms. “You demanded one three different times. I never promised.” She spooned the raw dough into a baking pan. “This needs to go in the oven.”

I released her. “It’s best we talk in private.”

“That sounds like a threat.”

“It’s not meant to be.”

“Do you always get your way?” she asked.

My eyes widened at the unexpected question. “My sister got to you.” Sophie rebelled against every decision I made since our parents died. I should have expected her opinions to spill over to Lilah.

“No, I’m asking on my own behalf.”

I took the wooden spoon from her hand and licked it. Lemon and sugar. “If I always got my way, we would not be standing in the kitchen right now.” I took the baking pan from her and set it back on the countertop. “We won’t finish talking when it’s done baking. Best to leave it until we’re done.”

Her lips parted. “Everyone is waiting, and Lainey will be here in an hour.”

She arranged a pool party in my absence, and I looked forward to attending, if only because it allowed me to see her in the dark green bikini she typically wore.

“She’ll wait, too. What’s one more guest to throw in the pile?”

“Sophie took the garage apartment back, so I moved out.” Lilah wrung her hands together and swallowed. “I took over the downstairs guest room.”

“Good, stay there.”

“What?” Her brows drew together.

“You’re delaying, Lilah. Why is that?”

She squeaked, ducked under my shoulder, and ran from the kitchen.

*****

I followed, closing the door behind her. “This will do.” I locked the door and approached. Lilah drew back, surprised. “Aiden is around, my sister is nosy, and I don’t appreciate interruptions,” I explained.

“Your sister and I spent last night together.”

“I heard.” I sent Dean over to check on her after receiving his update on Sandy Cooper, and then asked him to stay after he described the scene. “She’s also not relevant to this conversation.”

“You wanted a private conversation, Shane, so I’m here. If you wanted to set terms on what we talk about, you should have done that first.” Lilah crossed her arms and stuck her chin up in the air.

I stood between her and the locked door to prevent her from leaving until I was done. “Then go first.”

“I…” Lilah licked her lips. She had expected me to challenge he r further. “Your sister shared the history between the two of you. I think you owe her an apology.”

“You mean after our parents died?” I was a dumb kid, yearning for no responsibilities and a lot of travel.

Instead, I became saddled with unwanted demands and a permanent disability.

My greatest adventure dissolved into a time I avoided thinking about.

“They died in a car accident. That wasn’t my fault. ”

“You sent her to live with strangers, Shane.”

“I was heading to boot camp, and she was too young to live alone. If Sophie enjoys her anger about it a decade later, she’s welcome to do so.”

Sophie telegraphed her frustration when I first made the decision, and several more times over the years.

My choice also provided her with a home to stay in and covered her college expenses.

I understood her grief at leaving Fortune’s Creek and our parents’ sudden death because I felt the same.

I also knew it was easier to turn that grief into anger and direct it all towards me.

Sophie didn’t want my apology; she wanted me to go back in time and make a different decision.

Lilah cocked her head to the side as her face scrunched up. I couldn’t read her expression. “She’s your family, Shane. Don’t give up on that.”

“Tell me about your mother, Delilah.”

“Her name is Sarah Jane Mayberry,” she said. I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. “She doesn’t enjoy motherhood. I already told you about her.” Lilah picked at her swimsuit cover and refused to look me in the eye. “It was difficult, and I certainly didn’t make it easy for her.”

“I doubt that.” She peered up at me through her lashes. Her lips squeezed together, and I knew she was about to explain what made her so difficult. “It seems like she gave up on you. That’s not your fault.”

“Once, I offered to help her pump gas. She was tired, so I offered to help, but I accidentally put diesel in the car. We couldn’t afford to repair it, and she lost her job. That was my fault.”

“How old were you?”

“Twelve.”

“That’s a mistake many kids would make. You don’t deserve the blame for it.” I sympathized with her mother for the financial hardship, but Lilah’s strong memory revealed a pattern.

“There’s more. I could keep talking, but it wouldn’t do us any good. Sarah Jane doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Here in Fortune’s Creek, or with me?”

“Both.”

We had very different childhoods. My parents loved me, while it appeared her mother considered Lilah an imposition. “You are the first person I’ve ever met in my entire life who doesn’t refer to their mother as mom, ma, mama, mommy, or some other version of the word.”

“Emma enjoys pointing that out.”

“Then you ought to listen to her.”

“What point are you trying to make?”

Lilah deserved a new family. A better one. “I want to learn more about you.” She continued picking at her swimsuit cover, so I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers together. “You interest me.”

“I’m a mess, Shane, and messes are not interesting. Also, your discussion feels like my interrogation.”

“Your mess fascinates me, and we’ll get to the discussion part, but right now, I have questions.”

She pursed her lips together and pulled her hand out of mine. Lilah didn’t bother fiddling with her swimsuit cover this time. “I’m done answering them.”

That wouldn’t stop me. “I saw your laptop before leaving, Lilah.”

She stiffened. Guilt almost pricked me. Dean called last night to share what he learned from his friend Alex. The search on Delilah Mayberry revealed nothing worse than a few speeding tickets. That part didn’t surprise me. Her relationship with a murdered woman did.

“Lots of people have laptops, Shane, including me.”

I ignored her nervous deflection. “You’ve told me about your grandmother and your job loss. Don’t you think it’s time to tell me the other reason you came to Fortune’s Creek? Tell me about Sandy Cooper.”

Her face fell. “You researched her, so you probably know as much as I do.”

Lilah dropped onto the bed, crossing her arms and falling forward so her head reached her knees.

I sat, pulling her against my chest to soothe any fears away.

It wasn’t enough to stop her palpable hurt, so I laid her head on my shoulder and stroked her hair back.

Lilah’s secret, the one I wouldn’t find in any news article or police report, was why she was with me in Fortune’s Creek.

“I know you witnessed a murder. Why don’t you tell me about that? ”

“It happened in my apartment building’s parking lot the day I lost my job.

I remember noticing how dark it was and thinking it strange.

I later found out he shattered the outdoor lights.

” She swallowed and rubbed her face. “I found him on top of her, and his arm was moving.” Lilah mimed a stabbing motion.

“I don’t know how many times he did it, but I stood there and watched.

It’s like I was there, standing next to myself and watching it through the other me.

That doesn’t make sense, but that’s the only way I know to describe it.

“He stopped once he noticed me. I couldn’t move as he came closer and closer. His black hoodie hid part of his face, but I saw his goatee. It was long, and I thought he needed a haircut. That’s a strange thought to have, isn’t it?

“He said I was next, and then a car drove up. There were lights, and he ran away.”

I struggled to find a reply that could remove the pain in her voice and found nothing. Lilah witnessed a murder, and there was no pithy response with the power to do so. “You survived, Lilah, and now you’re here with me.”

“Yes, but poor Sandy isn’t. I called 911 and tried talking to her, but it was too late. Blood soaked her shirt, and there were drops of it on her glasses.

“The police said her ex-boyfriend did it. Sandy told me she had a restraining order against him. I heard them arguing the night before and saw him leave, but she told me it was nothing - just a fight - when I checked on her. If I had called the police instead of listening to her, maybe she would still be alive.”

“That’s not true, Lilah. You can’t blame yourself for what he did.”

A faint lemon scent lay on her skin. I breathed it in and stroked her hair back. Her body relaxed at my touch, and we sat together, both silent.

“Detective Davis said he did it. Wilson Skane matched the description. The couple in the car saw him, too.”

“You sound like you disagree.” Dean passed along what he had heard, but there was no mention of an alternative suspect or shaky evidence. After we spoke, I thought the guy should have asked for a plea deal. “What else is there?”

“How do I explain?”

“In whatever way is easiest for you.”

“I saw the boyfriend a few times, and only from a distance. The killer looked like him, I think. Plus, Detective Davis said there was physical evidence. They arrested him, and he’ll go on trial, and that’s all I know.”

“There’s more.” I didn’t miss her peculiar phrasing regarding Detective Davis. “You aren’t so sure, are you? That’s why you left Atlanta. That’s what brought you here.”