I look for a solid foundation first. If the floors slope, you’ll never succeed in restoring that dream house.
—HAMMER GIRL BLOG
Shauna’s house had been Ellie’s favorite project. She loved the big, open windows and high ceilings and the layout. Grayson shut the door behind them and moved to the living room where he reached for his laptop.
She pulled off her baseball cap. “Let’s get this over with.”
He opened his computer and clicked on a video file. “Here you go.”
She took the laptop and curled up on the sofa with it on her lap. It was hard to concentrate with him looking at her. His eyes looked bluer as the light flooded into the room from the floor-to-ceiling windows. A swatch of blond hair fell across his forehead, and he looked at home as he dropped into the chair opposite her.
The video showed a dark space with several pallets covered in shrink-wrap. The door opened, and a shaft of light illuminated the room more. Overhead lights came on, and she watched the figures step into the room. Two men headed for the pallets, and the woman stood near the door. One of the men was blond and the other had dark hair. Ellie didn’t recognize either of them, but there was no mistaking Mac.
Her sister took a step closer to the men. “Let’s get that stuff and get out of here. Hurry!”
She wished she had an answer, but nothing about this situation made sense. “Maybe she was forced into doing this, and she wants someone to track the cocaine. That would explain the tears and sad expression.”
“You see anyone holding a gun to her head? And I think you’re reading into her expression what you want to see.”
She pressed her lips together and watched through to the end of the video in silence. Mac seemed to be the one in charge as she directed the men to carry the stacks of cocaine outside. Another camera showed them loading the cocaine into a box truck. Once it had all been moved, she shut off the light, plunging the room into shadows again.
“I think there’s more going on than we know,” Ellie said.
He sighed. “You’re a hard one to convince. There’s no duress. She seems to be the mastermind and orchestrates the theft every step of the way. There’s really no defense for her actions.”
“I know my sister.” Ellie shook her head and handed back the laptop. She couldn’t bear to watch it again. “There’s something behind all this.”
“Money.” He closed the laptop lid with a snap. “Maybe she was in trouble of some kind, and this seemed the only way out. It’s hard to tell what drove her. Do you know anything about her finances?”
“She’s thrifty and often buys things from garage sales. She drives a secondhand Toyota and doesn’t have any bills except for routine things like utilities and rent. You can ask the sheriff. I’m sure he’s checked out her finances.”
No matter how hard she tried, she’d never convince him. He had his mind made up about Mac, and she couldn’t really blame him now that she’d seen the video. Anyone who didn’t know her sister would assume the worst.
“It’s true she has no bills that I could see. I’d hoped you might know something more secret. Gambling debts, that kind of thing.”
“She hates gambling. She’s never even bought a lottery ticket.”
“There has to be some reason. Maybe she wanted to start a new life somewhere else?”
“She would never do that.” She blew out a frustrated breath that stirred her bangs. “If you only knew her, you’d realize how impossible this is.”
“It’s not impossible. You saw the proof with your own eyes.”
She couldn’t deny it. “I saw her, but we need to figure out why she did it. Who was making her do it and why? There’s someone else we didn’t see in the video. Maybe she had a good reason for taking it, and it’s not about the money or the drugs. What about Dylan?”
“What about him?”
“He’s the one who showed her the cocaine. Why would he do that?”
“Bragging, I think.” But for the first time, a frown crouched between his eyes as if he was rethinking it. “He was onshore during the time the cocaine came up missing, so it’s possible he was involved. But there’s no sign of him.”
“Maybe he’s waiting to deliver it to a new location.”
“He could be an accomplice, but she’s clearly not being forced to be there, Ellie.”
She pressed her lips together and rubbed her forehead. “Please keep an open mind. I think there’s more going on than you realize. We have to figure out what it is. It might lead us to Mac.”
“I’d sure like to have you on my side in a pinch.” Smiling, he set the computer over on the end table. “When you believe in someone, nothing shakes your faith.”
She knew too well what it was like to have someone you love doubt everything you were. Her mother had done that when Alicia died, and Ellie never wanted to desert someone she loved.
Zach pulled his truck in behind a big black SUV in the driveway of Shauna’s house. “Looks like he’s here. That’s Ellie’s car too, isn’t it?”
Shauna leaned forward with her hand on the door release. “Looks like it.”
She could barely wait for the truck to stop. She wanted to see Grayson again, drink in his familiar blue eyes and blond hair. It had taken all her strength to let him come back to Lavender Tides without her. Zach had cut the final days of their honeymoon short because he saw how she was pining to see her brother.
It was still hard to wrap her head around his new name after all these years.
Zach put his hand on hers. “Calm down, honey. He’s not going anywhere.”
“I’m so eager to get to know him, to find out about his childhood. There’s so much to catch up on.” She sent a smile her husband’s way. Zach was so wonderful. They’d spent lazy days walking the beach and talking about the future. They wanted more children, and he had all kinds of plans about making Hurricane Roost a full-service regional airport. The current expansion was just the first step.
It still thrilled her to look at his broad shoulders and easy smile and to know they had a future together. She put her other hand on top of his. “Thanks for finding him for me.”
“Now to find Brenna.”
Her mood took a detour at the reminder of her missing sister. “There seems to be no trace of her, Zach. How can that be? There isn’t even a reference to a baby being found at the grocery store in the debris. But she was there—I held her.”
“Maybe Grayson remembers something.”
“I doubt it. He doesn’t even remember me.”
“Getting back here might stir some memories.” He squeezed her hand and released it. “Let’s go in.”
She shoved open her door and jumped out. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she grabbed Zach’s hand to hurry up the walk to the front door. “Looks like the yard needs to be mowed.”
“I’ll get to it tomorrow.” Zach paused with his finger on the doorbell. “I suppose we should ring the bell. We’re not living here now, but he is.”
“You think of everything.”
He pressed the bell, and she heard it ding from inside. Through the big windows she saw Ellie and Grayson talking. They looked friendly and almost cozy. Grayson, clad in khaki shorts and a red T-shirt, had his long legs stretched out in front of him and watched Ellie with a lazy smile.
Grayson’s head turned at the doorbell, then he rose and came their way. He smiled when he saw them through the window and opened the door. “You didn’t have to ring the bell.”
What was the proper thing to do now? She wanted to grab him in a tight hug, but their relationship was still awkward. There was no textbook on how to begin a relationship with a long-lost sibling.
He took the decision out of her hands when he gave her a quick sideways hug, then released her before she had a chance to respond. They were both navigating unknown waters.
Ellie rose as they came in. “Hey, let me make coffee. You two are a sight for sore eyes! I don’t even have to ask if you had a great time. You’re both tanned and glowing. Where’s Alex?”
“We haven’t seen him yet. We came straight here from the airport. Marilyn was taking him to Seattle for the day today, and I don’t expect them back before seven.”
Shauna glanced at Grayson and studied his good looks. He looked a lot like their father when he was younger. Muscles bulged under his shirt, and in khaki shorts, his legs looked tanned and ropy with exercise. She hadn’t missed the glances flying between him and Ellie. She’d like nothing better than for a romance to develop there, but she was probably getting ahead of herself.
Ellie went to make coffee, and Shauna sat down on the sofa. “You’re getting settled, Con—I mean Grayson?”
“It’s a nice town, and I like your house.”
“Did you remember anything once you got here?” She winced at the eagerness in her voice.
“Not memories exactly, but some sense of familiarity I can’t quite put my finger on. Is the house where we lived still around? Maybe seeing it would trigger something.”
The aroma of coffee wafted toward her, and her stomach rumbled when the scent of cinnamon rolls joined it after the microwave dinged. “It is. We can go there anytime you like.”
He nodded. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about all this, Shauna. I hope you’ll give me time to adjust. We’re still strangers.”
Her vision blurred and she looked away, then took Zach’s hand for comfort. “I’ve had a lifetime to miss you, but I understand it’s going to take some time for you. I-I want us to be close if we can.”
“I’d like you to meet my sister Isabelle too. She wants to come visit.”
Jealousy stabbed at Shauna, an emotion she wasn’t used to feeling. “I’d love to meet her.” This family reunion wasn’t quite what she’d envisioned, but she’d make room for another sister. But would this Isabelle allow Shauna into Grayson’s life, or would she make her feel like an interloper? Shauna prayed there was room for all of them.
Ellie came back in with a tray of coffee and cinnamon rolls. “The rolls are a day old but I warmed them up, and I think they’re edible. I know how plane food is, so I thought you were probably hungry. I can order a pizza if you want more.”
“This is great.” Zach scooped up a roll, then took a mug of coffee. “The coffee on the plane was barely drinkable.”
Ellie looked cute, but then, she always did. She wore a blue T-shirt over slim-fitting jeans, and her chestnut hair was on her shoulders in a shining curtain. Shauna had always wondered why she’d never been married. Though she was around twenty-six or twenty-seven, she looked about twenty-one with her fresh skin and big, golden-brown eyes behind the oversized glasses. Shauna often caught her doing things without her glasses, and Shauna even looked through them once. If there was a prescription to them, it wasn’t much of a correction. Maybe Ellie used them to hide behind, but Shauna didn’t get it. She was cute, sweet, and would give you the shirt off her back.
Shauna glanced at Grayson and found him looking at Ellie too. He could do a lot worse.