“You asked what the tow would cost. That tells me you’re either out of money or close to it.”
Aftyn sighed. Why not just tell him? She’d probably never see Cole Harrison again, and what a damn shame that was.
“A hundred dollars and what’s left in the bank is frozen.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Where are you from?”
“Colorado.”
“You drove from Colorado to Montana on a hundred dollars in a car on its last leg.”
“In all fairness, the car was running fine when I left. I was hoping to pick up work somewhere along the way. I had no idea it would break down.”
“It wouldn’t have if you’d stopped when it first overheated.”
“I don’t need a lecture.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
She softened. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped. This is just how things have been lately.” She shook her head.
“Because of your sister?”
“Partly.”
He looked at her. “Something tells me you’re not telling me everything.”
Aftyn sighed. “She showed up out of nowhere. I didn’t want to let her stay, but I couldn’t turn her away either. Biggest mistake I’ve ever made.” She looked out the windshield. “I’m pretty sure she ran off with my ex-husband.”
Cole said nothing, just listened.
“His name is Judd. He came by last week to collect some things from the garage, and the two of them were all over each other. Flirting like I wasn’t even there.Honestly it wasn’t the first time. From the day they met there was something between them, but I told myself it was harmless.” She shook her head. “When I filed for divorce, Avery was actually angry with me. Not at him for cheating, at me for leaving. After he was gone she asked about him constantly, questions I had no interest in answering. I noticed her on her phone a lot. I gave her number to Judd in case she ever needed to reach me in an emergency, and I think that’s when it started. He kept finding reasons to come around and I kept telling him there was no reason to. Then she was gone.”
She folded her hands in her lap. “I tried calling her. No answer. Called Judd. Same thing. He never made as much as I did and he had no access to my accounts, we had separate ones, so she took was what was in my wallet and whatever she could find in the house. Lucky for me I had a hundred dollars tucked away in my bedroom.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Filed a report in Colorado. They said someone would look into it.” She shrugged. “That wasn’t fast enough. I needed my money back.”
“So how did you lose your job?”
“I asked for a leave of absence. I remembered Avery mentioning Montana before, and I knew that’s where she’d gone. My boss called it a silly hunt and refused. Told me if I walked out I was done.” She shrugged. “So, I walked out.”
“But how do you plan to find her?”
Aftyn smirked. “I can track her phone.”
Cole glanced at her. “You didn’t trust her from the start.”
“No. Avery’s been in trouble most of her life. Our parents died when I was eighteen and she was sixteen. I raised her.” She sighed. “The phone will run out of minutes eventually, so I’m hoping to find her before that happens. Though Judd has money, he could always buyher a new one. Once I got close to Clifton I lost the signal. Either she ran out of minutes, he got her a new phone, or they’re somewhere nearby. I can’t track his.” She looked down at her hands. “When I went to the bank, they told me she’d closed both accounts and withdrawn almost everything.”
“Didn’t they ask for ID?”
“We look enough alike that she could pass for me. Almost like twins. My accounts are frozen now, which means the money that’s left is protected but I can’t touch it either. Something about pending deductions.”
“What did you do for work?”
“I was a surgical nurse in Denver. I’d been there for years.”
