Until Dark - Mariah Stewart [109]
“You would permit your own cousin to live like that because you didn’t want to share your home with him?” Her eyes widened with incredulity. “You were that selfish?”
“Yes,” he said without apology.
“Why did Sierra let him come here, then? Why did she let you go there? And why didn’t Mom ever know?”
“I don’t think Mom gave her much choice. And Sierra, she always cleaned up before she talked to Mom on the phone. I think the first time I went out, she was nervous. But she figured out real fast that I wouldn’t tell. She knew I liked it there.”
“I want to know what happened to Zach.” She repeated the question that had started the conversation.
“Let’s just say that Zach,” he appeared to choose his words carefully, “won’t be heard from again.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, dear sister,” he grinned, “that our dear cousin Zachary has gone to that big Smith reunion in the sky.”
“How . . . did it happen?”
“You really want to know?”
She nodded.
“We went out camping. He was going to take me to see this old Indian guy so I could buy some things. The third or fourth night out it got cold, so we started looking for some shelter. He went into a cave in the side of the hill.” He paused and looked up at her. “You’ll never guess what was in that cave.”
“Bees,” she whispered. “There were bees in the cave.”
“Bingo.” His brows raised in surprise. “Well, we always knew how smart you were, but I’d have to say, that was one damned smart guess. How’d you come up with that answer, just like that?” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
“They found . . . remains. In a cave.” Her throat tightened.
“What?”
“They found remains that might be Zach’s.”
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
“This afternoon, eh?” He appeared thoughtful. “Well, how’s that for timing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that it appears the both of us have chosen the same moment to, well, to resurface.” He smiled charmingly. “Isn’t that something? Ian and Zach, together again. Who’d have thunk it?”
Chapter
Twenty-one
“Where have you been all these years?” she asked suddenly, her mind processing everything he’d said since he’d started talking.
“Here and there.”
“Why?” She searched for words. “Why did you—”
“Pretend to be dead?” He smiled, an “I’ve got a secret” smile, but still, offered no answer.
“Why didn’t you contact me before this? Why now?”
“Well, it isn’t as if I haven’t been doing my damnedest to get your attention.”
Kendra froze.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I have been trying to get your attention for, oh, it’s been almost two years, now.”
The hairs on the back of Kendra’s neck bristled. What was it that someone—Miranda, or had it been Anne Marie McCall?—had said?
I think this guy’s been trying to get your attention for a long time.
No, she shook her head slightly, still trying to deny the truth she’d been avoiding since she’d turned and seen him standing in the doorway. It was too terrible, too monstrous.
A wave of nausea washed over her, and her knees buckled. She turned back to the sink and gripped the edge of the counter so tightly her knuckles went white. The hum inside her head became a roar.
No.
“Do they still harvest the cranberries from the bogs down on the other side of the lake?” he asked, as if this were just another day.
“Yes.”
“We’ll take the canoe down later, after we have pancakes. Though I guess it’s way early for cranberries.”
“How did you know that Selena was out of town?” She turned to him suddenly.
“Oh, I broke into her house. I was disappointed that she wasn’t there—now there’s a woman I’d like to get to know better.” He smiled as if he were any normal man, expressing a normal interest in any woman, and terror reached toward Kendra’s soul. “Anyway, I listened to the messages on her answering machine, and I heard yours.”
“What is it you want?” Kendra’s heart was pounding, the buzz in her veins louder now, as disbelief and fear continued to swell within her.
“Right now, I just want a friendly reunion with my big sister.”
“Beyond