“Neither can I. But why would Don want the files?” They’d cleaned her bedroom and bath the other day, but much of the mess in the kitchen and living room remained. Holding a big garbage sack, she picked through the rubble, throwing away what was too damaged to keep. “There are various names associated with my mother’s, but Don’s has never come up.”

“On our way back from the diner, you said he was good friends with Tug.”

“That was a long time ago. They’ve been mostly estranged for years, ever since my father remarried and Don’s wife left town. I think Don’s been bitter and jealous of Tug’s happiness and money. At least, that’s what my father’s had to say about the rift. And they’ve had words over the way Don treats Jeremy.”

“Jeremy would be a challenge for anyone to raise.”

Claire felt a little protective of her old biggest fan. He’d had a hard life. “He’s a nice kid.”

“He’s not a kid anymore. But I didn’t say he wasn’t nice. I said he’d be a challenge.”

Planning to see if she could find its match, she fished an earring out of the pile of junk on the floor and set it on the coffee table. “Hank does pretty well with him at the burger stand, but his father is…having some serious problems of his own. I don’t like the way I’ve seen them interact.”

“Maybe we should—” Isaac lifted his head.

“What is it?” she asked, but he didn’t answer. He dropped the broom and rushed over to yank her behind the couch with him, then pulled the gun that’d been wedged in his waistband.

“Listen.” He pressed a finger to his lips to indicate silence.

Claire held her breath as she waited for whatever had alarmed him. But then she heard the sound—and recognized it. Leanne’s wheelchair. “It’s okay. It’s just my sister.”

Sure enough, Leanne’s voice rang out a few seconds later. “Hello? Can I come in?”

Claire raised her eyebrows at him. “Should we let her?” she teased.

Isaac didn’t respond to her question. He stood and returned his revolver to his waistband. “Man, I’m jumpy,” he muttered, and went back to work, leaving her to answer the door.

She did, but a bit reluctantly.

“Hi.” She summoned a pleasant expression even though, after the past week, she had no idea what to expect from her sister.

Leanne studied her. “Hi.”

Claire hated how awkward it was between them. “Did you need something?”

A frown appeared on her face. “I have to need something to visit my sister these days?”

In case she hadn’t noticed, they were no longer on the best of terms. “Look, Lee, my life is out of control at the moment. I can’t be the same person I’ve always been for you. I need some time to—”

“You don’t want any more grief about Isaac, and I get that,” she cut in.

They had other problems, but they could start with that. “So…why’d you come?”

“I want to help.”

Claire had never heard those words from Leanne. “You mean…clean up?”

“Whatever you need. Talk about Mom. Tell you what I remember.” Her gaze fell to the floor as if what she had to say next wasn’t easy. “Everything that’s happened, especially the fire, really scared me, Claire. I know I haven’t been the best sister in the world. I’ve got…issues I need to work on. We both know that. And I plan to make some changes. But—” she seemed to be struggling with tears “—I didn’t hurt Mom. I swear it. What I did with that tape and Joe—it was stupid and I’m embarrassed. That’s why I reacted the way I did.” She looked up. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Claire bent to give her a hug. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She sniffed, confirming the tears Claire had heard in her voice. “And if I’m jealous of your hot boyfriend, well…who isn’t?”

Blocking Isaac’s view of them with the door, Claire gestured toward the kitchen. “He can hear you,” she mouthed.

“It won’t be news to him,” she said, but then her grin instantly faded. “I owe you an apology where he’s concerned, too.”

Claire’s stomach muscles tightened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“If you don’t it’s because he’s too good a guy to make me look bad. But I’m sorry all the same. Sometimes I…I have no idea why I do the things I do. Life just gets me down, and I make it worse. It’s…illogical but…it’s me.”

Claire felt the tension in her body begin to dissipate. She understood, because she’d watched her sister struggle through life almost from the day she was born. Claire could certainly forgive her; she’d been forgiving her for years, but she’d rather have it that way than cut her younger sister out of her life. She was grateful that, for once, Leanne had something kind to say about Isaac. The acknowledgment felt great.

Stepping back, Claire opened the door for her sister’s wheelchair. “Come on in. We’re just sorting through stuff and trying to get it in order.”

“At least I hung out with you enough before all this to know where everything has to go. That makes me a little more valuable than Isaac.”

“I love you both,” Claire said.

Leanne gaped at the admission. “I knew you loved me. You’re supposed to love me. But him? Really?”

She was asking about David, but Claire didn’t want to address the subject, so she shrugged it off with a joke. “Shh, it’ll go to his head.”

“That happened fast.”

Claire smiled at the memory of the six months she and Isaac had spent together ten years ago. Their feelings for each other had been simmering a long time. “Not really.”

Leanne sobered. “I’m happy for you,” she said, and seemed to mean it.

“Thanks.” Realizing that this might be the best opportunity to ask her sister the hard questions she still had to ask, she motioned her into the back bedroom and closed the door. “I do have some questions about Mom and…and what happened…with Joe.”

Leanne shifted in her seat as though bracing for the worst. “I hope the fact that you brought me here means you haven’t told Isaac about that.”

“No.” And now Claire was glad because her sister could truly forget that mistake. “But…did Joe really…expose himself to you, Lee?”

They could hear Isaac still cleaning in the kitchen. Claire wondered what he thought about this private moment, but she doubted he’d mind.

Leanne’s cheeks went pink as she shook her head. “No. It was all me. I just… I was so mortified when he went to Mom that…I had to come up with some reason for what I did.”

Claire crouched at her side. “That lie could’ve ruined his life, Lee.”

Fresh tears hovered in her sister’s eyelashes. “Sometimes I’m afraid it did.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t hurt Mom. But—” her chest rose as she drew a deep breath “—I’m afraid what I said got them into a fight. That he killed her and I’m to blame.”

No wonder she hadn’t wanted Claire searching for answers. No one would want that to come out. Her guilt explained why she’d been drinking, too, and some of her other self-destructive habits. “That’s a lot to carry around, Lee.”

Tears streamed down her face. “Too much. Sometimes I…I have to dull the pain.”

With sex and alcohol. Claire squeezed her arm. “It’s off your chest now. Let it go. Even if Joe killed Mom, you’re not to blame. What you did was bad, but you were only thirteen. Kids make mistakes. And causing a fight isn’t murder. If he made that choice, he’s responsible for it.”

Self-recrimination caused Leanne to wring her hands. “But I’ll always feel like she’d still be with us if only I hadn’t…done what I did.”

“Where on earth did you get the idea of creating that tape?” Claire asked.

“Katie’s older cousin was…sixteen. He introduced us to…certain things.”

“He didn’t molest you, did he?”

“He had sex with both of us. More than once. Katie thought she loved him. I thought I loved Joe.”

Claire felt her own eyes burn with tears. Her little sister had been so young. “Mom and Dad didn’t know?”

“Of course not! Neither did Katie’s parents.”