My conversation with Jimmy was a fun million-question session where he got a total of zero answers back from me onwhy, exactly, Lark showed up.
“Sadie seems unfazed by it all, so that’s good. Before you lose your shit, when you get back, Veronica gave her permission to take Cloud out to the pasture to roam. We all thought it was best to have her doing something that would make her happy.”
I don’t like it, not one bit, but she literally just watched her dad get arrested. So there’s that.
“Did you tell her not to ride him?”
Harper looks over with that glare only little sisters can give. “Yes, moron. We did. She won’t ride him. Not that it makes a lick of sense, but then again, you’re a man and a Stone at that.”
“Oh, and the women of this bloodline are sane? Might I remind you of the time your ex broke up with you and you glued Post-it notes all over his car?”
She smiles like the absolute sociopath she is. “Better than keying it.”
“Yeah, when he ripped each one off, it left a dot from the paper that didn’t come off. So much better.”
The car looked like it was polka-dotted for a week until the glue finally lifted.
“And still, you were the first family member arrested,” Harper notes.
Arguing with her is like pissing into the wind, never a good idea. I lean my head against the window, pull my hat down over my eyes, and feign sleep.
Right as I’m about to drift off, a hand slams against my chest.
“You’re not going to sleep, dickhead! I want to know what happened!”
I lift my hat and stare at the lunatic that is my sister. “I feel bad for any man who decides to date you.”
“Please, I’m a freaking dream come true for any man.”
“Yes, all men like their women unstable.”
“Right? I’m glad you finally see it,” Harper says as though I wasn’t being completely sarcastic.
“Nothing happened. I was in the jail cell, listening to Jimmy drone on and on about why I should tell him the entire story. I told him what I know—” That’s a lie. I told him nothing, but I’m not about to admit that to Harper. She may be a little bit unglued, but she’s smart. She can see right through bullshit, so I have to be careful with what I say. “Now I’m going home.”
“I still can’t believe he arrested you.” Harper glances over. “He’s literally your best friend.”
I shrug. “He had a job to do.”
“Couldn’t you at least have run or something? I could’ve used the entertainment.”
I chuckle. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
“How about we don’t have a next time?” Harper shakes her head and then pulls onto the dirt road that leads to our house.
“I’ll do my best.”
She sighs. “I know there is more to this story, Tristan. You aren’t an idiot—well, you are, but not about horses. You would never do this—any of it. You wouldn’t cut fences, flood buildings, move hay bales for fun. There’s literally nothing fun about any of it. So who are you protecting? And if you didn’t do it, why the hell do they think you were on their property?”
That’s the thing. I’m not protecting anyone other than Lark at this moment. However, if I admit that it’s not me doing it, she’ll piece it together. Maybe not that it’s Lark, but that it’s someone.
By the grace of the universe, we arrive in front of the house, giving me a clear escape route. Harper sits in the driver’s seat, staring at me, waiting for the truth that she’s never going to get.
“Because I did it. All of it,” I lie—knowing she doesn’t buy it—and get out of the car.
The front door flies open, and Sadie runs out, halting the argument I was having with my sister.
“Daddy!”
