that her sister’s attention was on him. It was Rose’s way to mold herself into whomever she was dating.
Though, she wasn’t sure why Rose chose to live in a separate apartment from their childhood home yet kept it in the family.
From the short conversation she’d had with Rose two days ago, it seemed her boyfriend was in the police department. It was so like Rose to choose another local. Another root set down in this dead-end place. It didn’t matter. Once Reen saw Mom, she’d be on the next flight out of Connecticut and back to her own life.
‘Reen.’ Rose’s voice called behind her, barely audible over the crashing waves filling her ears.
Reen gulped another breath of air before turning to her sister.
Rose looked almost the same as she had when Reen left. Like Mom, she’d refused to cut her hair. It fell in brunette waves down her back. The sun shimmered off the lighter strands. It took a steady breeze to move the thick locks from her shoulder.
An inward smile warmed Reen as Rose took in the status of her hair. Reen hadn’t cut it for a few years after leaving, but one drunken night, she’d decided to chop it all off. It was the last tie to her family and she’d wanted nothing to do with them. At the time, it seemed like the perfect way to break away from her old life, but when Reen woke the next morning to a choppy disaster on her head, she’d thrown a baseball cap on and headed to the salon. Since then, she’d never let her locks grow below her shoulders. Other than the color of their hair, they no longer resembled sisters as they had in the past.
The stark contrast was enough for Rose to stare. ‘You look…different.’
‘You don’t,’ Reen said, trying to keep the snap out of her tone. As much as she missed the relationship from their childhood, it hadn’t been the same for a long time. Rose’s refusal to go into the water had been the start of their separation.
Further up the beach, the door leading to the back porch opened, and a man stepped out. Reen shielded her eyes to look at him. She didn’t recognize him as a typical local. He hadn’t yet settled into the pot-bellied laziness of most of the older men. Though, he couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Rose. Reen guessed that was most likely why her sister had pounced on him.
Rose glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. He waved but didn’t attempt to come closer to them.
‘He’s cute,’ Reen said, drawing her sister back to the conversation.
‘Thanks.’ Rose’s smile reminded Reen of a time when she’d been in love too. ‘How’s Maryland?’
‘I live in West Virginia now,’ Reen said.
‘Oh,’ Rose said. ‘Sorry.’
‘When are we going to see Mom?’ The name sounded foreign on her lips. In the time she’d been away, any question about her family she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand, and a brief excuse about them living in Connecticut.
Rose cleared her throat. ‘I thought you could settle in first.’
Reen’s grip tightened on her bag. ‘I’m not settling anywhere.’
Rose’s lips pressed into a smile. ‘Come on. You should stay for a little while. Let’s catch up.’
Reen shook her head. It was the last thing she wanted. Rose always buried her true feelings in polite tones. Reen never forgot Mom pushing them out of her life after Dad died.
‘Once I see her, I’m headed out. I’ll grab the next flight out of here.’ Reen didn’t have a lot of money and wasn’t frivolous with what she did have. She wanted to uphold her wandering persona in front of her sister. It added an extra thrill to keep Rose on her toes.
‘When are you leaving?’ Rose asked.
Reen dug her toes into the sand. Why had she taken her shoes off? The water made her vulnerable. She never wanted to be that way around Rose.
‘Tomorrow morning,’ Reen said.
‘Then we have time. I wanted to talk to you about something else.’
‘Does it have to do with Mom?’ Reen asked.
Rose nodded. ‘I – well, Shane and I had the strangest experience—’ Her words cut off as if she were trying to figure out a puzzle in her head.
Reen waited a moment, before crossing her arms over her chest.
Rose blinked as if coming out of a dream.
‘What is it?’ Reen asked.
Rose shook her head. ‘I’ll tell you about it after we see Mom at the Whinding House.’
‘Okay,’ Reen said, unsure of what Rose wanted to tell her. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem important enough for her to press for more information before going to the nursing home.
‘We can take my car,’ Rose said, walking toward the house.
Reen wasn’t ready to be alone with Rose, cramped inside of her car. ‘I’ll meet you there. I have a rental.’
Rose’s lips twisted. ‘We’re both coming back here. We can take your car—’
‘I’m not coming back here,’ Reen said.
‘Do you have somewhere to be?’
Anywhere but here. ‘I don’t want to stay here with you and your boyfriend.’
‘I never expected you to stay here with us. Shane was going to cook dinner tonight. I planned for us to stay at my place, together. You know I don’t live here anymore.’
‘Neither do I,’ Reen said. It was easier for everyone if they kept their lives the same instead of changing everything now.
‘You really can’t visit us for one day? Your family?’
Reen looked away.
Rose licked her lips. ‘Not much has changed, has it?’
‘I’m here to see Mom. This isn’t going to be a big reunion.’ Reen let out a sigh. ‘I don’t know what you’re expecting from me. Mom made it clear who was important after Dad died. I have a life elsewhere.’
Rose pressed her hands against her forehead. ‘I thought you would be over that by now. Mom is sick. Why can’t you let this go?’
Reen opened her mouth to say something, but she caught Shane out of the corner of her eye, sauntering toward them. ‘Is everything all right over here?’
He had a slight limp, but that didn’t detract from his good looks. This guy wasn’t Rose’s type at all. He wasn’t polished and perfect, like her sister. She usually chose the pretty ones with no personality.
Reen’s hackles rose, ready for him to get on her case too. No doubt Rose had told him one-sided stories about her.
‘I’m Reen,’ she said, holding her hand out for him. Her dad had always said
