The Family Gathering (Sullivan's Crossing #3)(90)

“Some rough times have been had,” Sully said. “How’s my little Sierra getting by?”

“Connie says she cries way too much, but in deference to her pregnancy, she’s eating and resting. And she took some toys to Mrs. Jergens in Fairplay. She said everything looked okay and the cousin was a nice enough girl. Sam was as excited as a puppy to see her and then didn’t want to let her go. The cousin said, ‘Y’all visit any old time.’ Connie said Sierra cried for hours afterward.” Dakota shook his head. “Those poor kids.”

“This Jones family has had some high drama,” Sully said. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“There’s a rumor going around that you’ve had some drama, too. Your girlfriend is out of town and you had yourself a stalker?” Sully chuckled. “That’s pretty interesting stuff.”

“Yeah, there was this woman vandalizing my property,” Dakota said. “She must’ve thought that would make me desire her. It did not. Sid thought that was a perfect time to go to California and do some work for her old boss. She’s been gone a week. I don’t love it, but Sierra is my main concern now.”

“I wish she’d come out here,” Sully said. “You know, Maggie’s mother divorced me and took Maggie away when she was about six. I didn’t see her at all for years and I grieved something terrible. I think that was the right thing for her mother to do—that girl needed better schooling and parenting than she was getting here. But that didn’t make it any easier. I don’t know that I can entirely relate to what she’s going through, but I’d sure like to see her.”

“I’ll tell her that, Sully,” Dakota said. “And for what it’s worth, even with all the drama, I like the connections I’ve made here.”

“Don’t fret too much, son. That girl will come back to you.”

“I hope so.”

“And Sierra is strong. She’ll get through this, but I wish she’d come and see me.”

“I’ll tell her.”

Despite Dakota’s worry and concern over Sierra, Sid was constantly on his mind, as well. He talked to her every evening. She sounded tired but happy. She was putting in long days but she said it was so wonderful to work beside Dr. Faraday again. “He reminds me that I have abilities I shouldn’t take for granted.”

“Is he almost done reminding you of that?” Dakota asked. “Because I miss the hell out of you. And everyone is falling apart back here.”

“And no sign of Neely?”

“Did you expect there to be?” he asked. “She’s a ghost.”

*

Neely had been invisible for nine days and she was ready to reemerge. It had been her experience that, given a little time, people didn’t remember things. If they did remember, they doubted themselves if a question was thrown at them. They would begin to think, Oh, maybe that wasn’t exactly what happened. I could be mistaken. She sauntered into the bar and grill, hopped up on her favorite stool and looked around. Not many people present. It was Dakota’s day off and from diligently watching she had learned that he liked to visit the bar early in the afternoon, sometime between lunch and dinner, so he could be mostly alone with the bartender.

She’d gone to a lot of trouble with her appearance today. She always did.

She tapped her finger on the bar, waiting. The last nine days had been dull and she was ready for a little fun. She hadn’t been having much fun. She shopped. She’d done a little shoplifting, simply for the thrill. She’d picked up a couple of guys, but they were so eager and willing it just hadn’t been much of a challenge. She’d had a lot to drink and amused herself with the idea that she’d played this AA crowd with her hard youth and difficult sobriety, so she went to a couple of meetings in Denver, picked up one of her guys there. It took him five minutes to fall in love with her. She was bored out of her skull.

Finally someone came out of the kitchen. He slapped the napkin on the counter. Then he looked at her. They connected eyes.

“Where’s the usual bartender?” Neely asked. “Sid?”

“My sister? She’s away.”

“She’s your sister?”

He lifted a brow. “Something you didn’t know.”

“Well, of course I didn’t know. I don’t spend very much time here!”

“And I’m afraid you won’t be,” Rob said. “We won’t be extending service to you. I’d like you to leave.”

“You can’t do that!” she said.

“Well, look at that. You are completely flabbergasted. The police are looking for you. Maybe you should check in with them to get the full story.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she demanded.

He chuckled. “Oh, man, you are not nearly as smart as everyone thinks, are you? The police department put a video on Facebook and Twitter, looking for this woman who likes to slash tires and pour acid on vehicles. That would be you, correct?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“The local news picked it up. You’re wanted, it seems. I knew exactly who it was but didn’t know your name, just that you’d been in the bar. Looking into it a bit further, turns out you like to vandalize the property of my patrons and my sister. That makes it personal.”