“That’s not a bad thing for a cop. And he seems good with his son.” She tossed that out there, curious if Heather knew any more than what Sam had already told her.
“I have no doubt that he’ll keep any child of his safe.” Heather arched back from her work. “Zach said Sam’s already looking to legalize his full custody to keep Aiden here.”
“He wants full custody?” That surprised her given his experience with the foster system. She remembered him saying two parents were optimal. It was a conversation that had come up once when she’d been so upset with her own mother she’d suggested she would be better off without her.
A cruel comment, she now realized. So many regrets. So much distance. And so damn hard to figure out how to work through it all.
“I guess he doesn’t want his son to ever feel unwanted, and he’s afraid that the mother could walk away at any time if she’s already floundering at parenting when the baby is so young.” She waved Amy over. “Come see it now.” She pointed to the plywood plank. “Doesn’t it look like the Chances’ house?”
Amy stilled.
Her sister had added a horseshoe-shaped driveway to the dwelling Amy had only half started. Heather had also finished the tree out front. Added dimension to the house with a door and a deep front porch.
“Does it?” She kept her face carefully blank. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen it—I don’t remember.”
Memories swelled, clamoring to be acknowledged. Freed.
A cold sweat started to bead on her forehead, and she hoped it wasn’t visible.
“Amy?” Stepping away from the plywood table near the saw, Heather moved closer. “Are you okay?”
Panicked that her emotions were showing, she nodded fast.
“Fine. Great. Just thinking about that interview with Sam and wondering if I should make some notes before he comes. Or a timeline.” Words tumbled out fast in her haste to put distance between them and the previous conversation. “I don’t want to overlook anything that might help Sam solidify this case.”
She hated that she couldn’t share the most important piece of information. But she was being completely honest about wanting to help with any other aspect of the trial preparation.
“Sure.” Reaching for her phone, Heather hit the screen a few times. “I told Zach we wouldn’t be long, anyhow. He’s down at Sam’s right now, waiting for me so we can drive into work together.”
“Is he?” Amy looked out the window. Her nervousness with Heather wasn’t anywhere close to what she’d feel with Sam once he arrived to take her through that last shared summer.
“Yes.” Her sister beamed as she toyed with her engagement ring. “I’m lucky to have him. He’s been nothing short of amazing to me.”
“I’m happy for you, Heather. I really am. Just because Ihaven’t been here doesn’t mean I haven’t been rooting for you. All of you.”
“I hope you’ll come to the wedding.” Heather headed toward the door, peering out a front window of the cabin as she retrieved her purse. “I’m praying the trial is done before then.”
Amy was, too. Although it would move faster if they couldn’t make all the charges stick where Gabriella was concerned.
“I’ll see what I can do.” Thinking too far in the future made her nervous. It seemed to take everything she had just to remain in Tennessee for a week, let alone a month. “A lot depends on how quickly I can finish the renovations.”
“Oh.” Heather dug in her purse. “Speaking of which, Scott gave me a check for you if you need to buy supplies from any store besides Finleys.”
Their oldest brother had given Amy an open account for the work on the hunting cabin, keeping track of her expenses so the family could divide them equally. The check, apparently, was for anything Finleys Building Supply didn’t carry.
She read the amount. “I’ll never need that much.” She’d gotten used to living on a small budget and didn’t see herself changing anytime soon.
“But we did decide to go higher end on the appliances and cabinets, right?” Heather bit her lip as her gaze darted around the small lodging.
“Yes. But I don’t pay full price for anything.” She couldn’t help the pride in her voice.
“Then we gave the project to the right woman.” Heather leaned in for a quick hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Amy savored the words as much as the closeness, even if she didn’t squeeze back.
She wasn’t ready to rely on her family yet, not even a sister who’d been so kind to her. Waiting until Heather left the cabin, Amy moved back to the plywood table to stare at the familiar lines of the scene she’d seen in her nightmares for ten years. Her rudimentary rendering had been enough to make Heather recognize it and flesh out the details.
Which ought to serve as a reminder that she couldn’t afford to even think about that horrible night while she was here, surrounded by people who could be tipped off by the slightest detail. She needed to lock down that memory fast and not let it out anytime soon. No easy feat with the sheriff on his way to sniff out the truth about that summer.
