The Family Gathering (Sullivan's Crossing #3)(58)

“She might have hit a snag,” Sid said. “Sometimes you think everything is okay. Not fabulous but perfectly satisfactory. As good as it’s going to get. Then something happens and you find out you were barely holding it together.”

“Is that what happened to you?” he asked.

“I was keeping a lot of balls in the air,” she said. “I dropped the most fragile one. Then the rest of them just went down.” There was the sound of a bell. “Excuse me a second.”

She turned away from Dakota and went to the counter to get the salad and Dakota’s sandwich. She looked around the bar. Neely was gone.

She took the sandwich to Dakota. “Did you see her leave?”

“I wasn’t paying attention. Bathroom, maybe?”

“I wasn’t paying attention, either,” Sid said. She put the salad at the place Neely had occupied, giving her a chance to come back. Then she picked up the coffee urn and refilled Dakota’s cup.

“She’s another thing I should talk to you about. Neely. I’ll give you some details when there’s more time, but don’t trust her. She’s not all right. She’s not what she seems.”

Sid frowned. “I think I could’ve guessed that the first time she snapped her fingers at me for service. Not all right how?”

“I gotta take care of Sedona first, then I’ll tell you a story. I was never involved with her in any way. Since I’ve been here, there’s only been you.”

“I’m still surprised by that,” she said with a smile that felt sentimental. “I hope you’ll be okay, Cody. I hope you can find her right away.”

He took a big bite of his sandwich. She casually watched the bar to see if there were customers in need and took note that Neely had not returned. He washed down about half the sandwich with water.

“Can I pack up anything for your drive?” she asked. “Drinks? Food?”

“I’m covered. I really hate to leave you. Now that I have to go, I realize how many things I want to tell you. Want to ask you.”

“There are some things I want to tell you, too. Like, I didn’t exactly work in computers.”

He smiled at her. “Sid, I’m picking up garbage. You really think I’m going to have a negative opinion if this is the best job you’ve ever had?”

“In many ways, it is,” she said.

“I need to go,” he said. He took a last slug of water to wash down his sandwich, a couple of swallows of coffee. He stood. “I’ll call tonight if I can. I won’t call if it’s late.”

“Cody, you can call me at any hour. We’re in a crisis mode here. I’m capable of turning off the phone if I can’t take a call but I want to hear from you. If you can... No, if you feel like talking to me, please call. I understand you have to be in touch with Cal and Sierra, but I’ll be anxious to hear, too. If only to know your progress.”

“I am going to miss the hell out of you,” he said.

“I’ll walk you out,” she said.

Just before exiting the bar, she tugged on his shirt, stopping him. She stood on her toes and threaded her hands into his overlong hair, her lips finding his.

His hands went to her hips, pulling her close, giving his lips to her. For a second his eyes were open wide, surprised by this public display. The bar wasn’t at all full, but her brother wasn’t far away and there were people there. He released her lips reluctantly. He smiled, his teeth so white against that black, trimmed beard. “Wow. PDA.”

“I’ll miss you, too. Please be safe.”

“I’ll look forward to coming back to you,” he said. And he kissed her again.





   The greatest happiness of life is the conviction

that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.

   —VICTOR HUGO





12

DAKOTA WANTED TO think about Sedona, focus on her, try to imagine what she might be feeling or fearing. But he was clueless and could not conjure an image of what his older sister, always so much in control, might be going through.

So his thoughts naturally drifted to Sid. He found he faced some serious surprises. Not in her but in himself. He saw her, he found her appealing, he wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to touch her. That was all so predictable, so familiar. He’d actually breathed a sigh of relief. There was an attractive woman who would distract him from darker thoughts, take his mind off the Army, his sense of failure, his disappointment and his loss.

But then something grew in him and he began to really care about Sid. He kept wondering what she’d say next, how she’d make him laugh with her lightning-quick wit, what unexpected activity she’d come up with. The soup kitchen shocked him, but he greatly appreciated her kindness and insight. Hasnaa had said to him, “It’s not what you get in life that will make you whole, but what you give.” She had given it all. Dakota hoped that Sid was a little more cynical than Hasnaa had been, that she’d wear some cynicism around her like a Kevlar vest, judging the world a bit more harshly and keeping herself safe.

He wanted to be with her because he took great comfort in her. It was not a feeling he was well acquainted with. Oh, he’d been filled with passion for Hasnaa, thinking of her all the time and dreaming about her, wanting her irrepressibly. There was such tension trying to navigate the differences in their lifestyles, customs. He remembered his love feeling like a brittle twig that could snap if the wrong pressure was applied, a love so fragile and volatile it had to be handled with great care. His love had felt explosive!