Don't Make a Sound (Sawyer Brooks #1)(13)

She got out, opened the trunk, and grabbed an old towel that had been there forever. She then opened the back door, and when the cat made a run for it, she grabbed hold, rolled it in the towel like a burrito, and rushed across the stone walkway with its perfectly manicured lawn and rows of tulips, which defined her older sister perfectly. She’d never been diagnosed, but it was clear to anyone who knew Harper that she suffered from OCD.

Her middle sister, Aria, wasn’t anything like Harper. Aria liked to pretend everything was okay. It seemed to Sawyer that all the horrible things that had happened to Aria had been tamped down, shoved beneath layers of false forgiveness and pent-up rage. Sawyer hated the thought of what might happen once the plug was pulled and Aria’s anger was let loose.

Bottom line was, terrible things had happened in River Rock.

Aria was convinced that something bad had happened to Harper too. Something worse than Uncle Theo and his friends, which was why Aria and Sawyer agreed to leave her alone and never talk about the past.

But that hadn’t stopped Sawyer from being angry at Harper for leaving her behind.

Sawyer knocked on the door, doing her best to hang on to the cat.

Lennon opened the door. He’d been so small when Sawyer had found her sisters. Now he was taller than his dad.

She stepped inside, told him to hurry and shut the door before she set the towel on the ground. The cat took off in a blur.

“Was that a raccoon?” Lennon asked.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a cat.”

“A feral cat?”

“I have no idea.”

“Did it do that to your neck?”

She’d already forgotten about the scratches. “Yes.”

“Mom is going to be pissed.”

“It’s our little secret, okay?” She folded the towel and set it down by the door.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m staying out of it.”

“Thanks for the support.” She headed inside and found Harper in the kitchen making lunches for the next day.

Without missing a beat, Harper pointed at the refrigerator. “Grab three yogurts and a bag drink from the bottom drawer, would you?”

“Sure.” Sawyer handed the items to her sister.

“Your dinner is over there,” Harper told her. “We couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Thanks.”

Nate entered the kitchen. The man took up a lot of space. He reminded her of the Brawny guy in the paper-towel commercial. Nate ran a construction business. He always looked the same: jeans, T-shirt, plaid shirt, and work boots. His hair was shaved around the ears, longer on top. He’d grown a beard since she’d seen him last. “Hey, Sawyer.”

“Hey, Nate.”

“Lennon!” Harper shouted. “Tell your sister she has five minutes to get in the car!”

Sawyer gestured toward the sleeping bag and other items near the door. “Is someone going somewhere?” she asked.

“Ella is off to summer camp first thing in the morning,” Harper said. “She waited until the last minute to pack and realized she didn’t have everything on the supply list she was given.”

“What are you doing this summer?” Sawyer asked Lennon.

“I guess I’m working with Dad.”

“At least you’ll make some money,” Sawyer said as she searched the kitchen cupboards for two small bowls. She filled one with water and the other with a scoop of tuna from the Tupperware she’d found in the refrigerator and set the bowls on the ground, out of the way.

“Are those for the raccoon?”

“What raccoon?” Harper asked.

“Sawyer brought a raccoon inside,” Lennon told his mom.

Harper scowled. “No, she didn’t.”

Lennon smirked.

Harper looked at Sawyer. “Where is it?” Her eyes widened. “And what happened to your neck? You’re bleeding.”

“It’s not a raccoon. It’s a cat. It has no collar, and its ribs are jutting out,” Sawyer said. “I thought maybe Aria could take it to work with her.”

“Don’t let her take it to the SPCA,” Lennon protested. “They’ll kill it after three days.”

“Maybe someone will take him home,” Sawyer told him.

“Look at you!” he said. “The cat ripped your neck to shreds. Nobody wants a cat like that.”

Ella raced into the kitchen. “Hi, Sawyer.”

“Hi, Ella.” Nobody bothered to hug Sawyer. They knew the drill. Say hello. Be cordial. Don’t touch.

“There’s a cat under my bed,” Ella said. “Can we keep it?”

“No,” everyone said at once.

Ella’s head dipped.

“Off you go,” Harper said, waving everyone toward the front door. “The store is only open for another forty-five minutes.”

Lennon moaned. “I don’t know why I have to tag along.”

Harper waved him off. “Just go.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Sawyer said when they were gone.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Harper ushered Sawyer toward the dinner table and put a plate in front of her as if she were one of her children.

Sawyer sat down. Beans, rice, and chicken. “I’ll find the cat a home. I promise.”