Page 153 of Burning For You

Why the hell hadn’t she thought of that before?

“I’m sure that is what it was. But he’s been acting strange lately.”

“How so? I’m not sure I can help you. Up until a month ago or so I hadn’t talked to him in thirteen years.”

“I know,” Sara said. “I think that’s horrible too and I gave him a hard time about it.”

“How did he react to it?”

“He wasn’t happy. I mean, he’s always been private. I just knew those things about him, but this is worse.”

“Worse how? And I’m sorry, can I get you something to drink?”

“No, I’m good. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. Sean would be so upset, but I don’t know what else to think. Right now, I guess I’m happy. I thought maybe he was cheating on me and this is where the woman lived. I mean, when I pulled in, I recognized your car and I was so relieved. I was praying it would be your voice.”

“Why do you think he’s cheating?”

Sara started to pace. “He’s always worked a lot. I know he does it for the money. To get ahead. It’s not been easy for him. Not since your parents died.”

“But you didn’t know any of that, right?”

“He said he was on his own at eighteen. I guess I never put it together he had no one. That he was on the streets and ended up with friends. I don’t know what I thought but knew not to ask a lot of questions. But when he saw you, and I found out he had a sister, I just started asking more questions.”

“Like what?”

“Like why he wasn’t a part of your life. We’d fight. He wouldn’t answer me. Then he was taking more shifts at work. I thought with the holidays coming up, he was putting money away. I thought maybe I’d get that ring I’ve been hoping for, but I stopped hinting when he seemed more distant.”

“That’s why you thought he was cheating?”

Sara sighed and wrung her hands. “I thought he was at work one night a few weeks ago. He left his paycheck stub on the counter. It was opened and I shouldn’t have looked, but I did, and I noticed one night he wasn’t working when he said he was. Then I went back and realized that other nights, he wasn’t working for as long as I thought he was. Like he got out much earlier than he got home.”

“Did you ask him about it?” she asked.

“No. I didn’t want to accuse anyone of anything. Sometimes he goes and gets a drink. He likes to drink a bit more than I care for, but he isn’t mean about it. Not like he said his parents were.”

“And then you found my address and just assumed he was cheating and the woman lived here?”

She was trying to figure out where this was going.

If she was presented with this information about Ash, she might have her doubts too, but she would have asked at least.

“I took the day off. I had a headache last night and a touch of it this morning, and my daughter is at my ex’s house, so I slept in. When I woke up, I felt better and decided to do some cleaning before I put up Christmas decorations. I was going through drawers and I found two extra phones. One still in the package not opened and another that was open but off.”

“Like burner type phones?” Skye asked, her voice slow, everything in her coming to a halt.

That kind of slow motion where everything was slamming together in her brain.

It couldn’t be. No way. Why?

There was no explanation at all. None of it made sense.

And the last thing she wanted to do was jump the gun on a third person and accuse them of anything.

It might ruin whatever chance she’d have of a relationship with Sean in the future.

Not that he was making any attempt at one, but she’d learned her lesson already with Alan and Kyle.

“Yes.”