Chapter 20 #2
“Yeah, well, I’m really glad you’re my family.” He tugged her closer and gave her a soft kiss.
“I’m glad we’re a family, too. Now, let me go check in with Kyle and I’ll be back. Unless you’d prefer to spend some time with Sierra alone.”
“As much as I love spending time with Sierra, we both need you right now. Neither of us is okay, and you always make things better.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, then.” She gave him a peck on the lips before she left him behind.
As she stepped into the hall, she blew out a long sigh. The emotional encounter with Grant had been draining enough, but the follow-up with Sierra was another gut punch.
At least Lydia could no longer harm them.
She wandered through the halls to her office, finding Alicia leaning against the jamb.
“Hey, Ally,” she said, her voice tired.
“There you are,” Alicia said. “I was getting worried.”
Julia slipped past her into her office and collapsed into her desk chair as she motioned for Alicia to take a seat.
“What’s wrong? Please don’t tell me you’re actually upset over that woman’s death.”
“I’m not,” Julia said with a shake of her head.
“But everyone else is. I guess I can get that. The kid lost her mom.”
“No, it’s not that. Sierra couldn’t care less about Lydia’s death, to be honest. Although after the police station visits–”
“The what ?!” Alicia asked, her voice shrill.
Julia closed her eyes. Too much had happened since her sister had left them behind the night before after learning about Lydia’s death. She slid her forehead into her hand, gathering the strength to explain.
“Well, this doesn’t look good,” Alicia said.
“Grant was arrested last night.”
“Again? Oh, no. Did he kill her?”
Julia’s eyes went wide as she stiffened. “No!”
Alicia leaned closer. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I know because I was at Lydia’s the night she died after Grant was.”
A mix of concern washed over her sister’s face. “Oh, Julia. You didn’t–”
“No,” Julia groaned as she rested her forehead against her fist. “I didn’t. And for a while we thought Sierra did, but she didn’t. It looks like someone was there after all of us.”
“Looks like? Is there security footage?”
“Yes, and no.”
“What does that mean?” Alicia asked.
“Alex removed any of the surveillance videos showing us there. But he also discovered that someone tampered with it before he did. They dubbed the footage with a blank hall.”
“So someone covered their tracks, which means this was a premeditated murder.”
Julia nodded, a silent response as she stared at the wood grain of her desk.
“Hey,” Alicia said, reaching out to take her sister’s hand. “What’s got you so upset? Are they still going after one of you for this? Because I’m happy to look into it, try to find some clues.”
“Thanks, Ally,” Julia said with a squeeze of her hand, “that would be great, actually. But it’s not that. I’m just…exhausted after…the other thing.”
“Other thing?”
Julia flicked her eyes to her sister. “Before the fire broke out, Lydia told me something…she said Sierra wasn’t Grant’s biological daughter.”
“Ohhhh,” Alicia said, her eyebrows flicking toward her hairline. “Well, I mean, there’s probably a good chance that she’s lying.”
“She was telling the truth. I had Kyle run a DNA test. It confirmed what she said. We just finished telling Sierra.”
Alicia slouched in her seat with a wince. “How’d that go?”
“As good as it could have. We talked through it. She’s hurting, but we’re doing what we do best: banding together as a family. Speaking of, I need to get back to them. I was just looking for Kyle.”
“I’m not going to be insulted by that.”
“Insulted by what?” Julia asked.
“That you weren’t looking for me. But I sort of feel like you don’t need me anymore.”
Julia pouted at her sister as she grabbed both of her hands. “That’s not true. I need you, too. I’m just still trying to put out a dozen fires here. But I promise I’ll carve some time out for us tomorrow.”
“I know you’re dealing with a lot,” Alicia said with a soft smile. “But I want to be here for you.”
“I feel like I’ve done a terrible job of being there for you. I haven’t even asked about how things have been since Ethan’s been here.”
“You don’t need to worry about that right now.”
“But I am. I’m worried about you, too,” Julia said. “Now…how are things with Ethan?”
Alicia shook her head. “We don’t–”
“Ally…I need a nice distraction from Lydia’s craziness. How are things with Ethan?”
Alicia’s shoulders slumped as she puffed out a sigh. “Confusing.”
“Because?” Julia prompted.
Alicia’s eyes turned glassy. “Umm, I just…don’t know what to do. I don’t know how you handled all of this between us and Luke and Grant and…you were just…so much better at knowing what you wanted or what was right or something.”
“That is not true,” Julia said. “I…struggled, but…my heart was with Grant. And even then, I left. He came after me, and I said no.”
“Seriously?” Alicia asked.
“Seriously. And then I told him we’d just try things out for a few months.” Julia chuckled as she squeezed her sister’s hands. “I didn’t make it easy because I’m a coward when it comes to love.”
“No,” Alicia answered, “you are definitely not a coward. You’re here. You made a decision, and you stuck with it. You didn’t…waver back and forth like I’m doing.”
“What’s holding you back from making a choice?”
Alicia chewed her lower lip as she stared into space. “Choosing Ethan means returning to the life I left behind in Harbor Cove. I’m not sure I’m ready to reopen that chapter of my life.”
“You love Harbor Cove.”
“I love my sister, too. And I like being this close to you.”
“Ally, I’m always just a phone call away. You know that, right?”
Alicia bobbed her head up and down. “I know. But…I like being able to reach out and touch you. And even with a private jet at your disposal, we’re never going to be able to see each other as much as we can if we live close.”
Julia pulled her sister into a hug. “Ally, I love having you this close, too. But you deserve happiness with Ethan if that’s what you choose.”
“The big question is can we be happy? It’s going to take some work. I mean…we’re committed, I think. We are…working on things. He’s promised to do that.”
“That’s good. Then, it’s worth trying, right?”
She sucked in a breath. “Do you think Grant’s offer still stands to go to the cabin?”
“I’m sure it does. Want me to ask him?”
“Maybe. I mean, no. Wait, he literally just found out his daughter isn’t his daughter. Don’t ask now.”
“It’s okay. If you want to head to the cabin for a few days to be alone and work through things, I’ll let Worthington know.”
“All right,” Alicia said. “As long as it’s okay with Grant. That would be great. As long as you’re okay. I can stay if you need me to.”
“I’ll be okay. And this will be a good test of us being further apart to see how you feel about it.”
Alicia swallowed hard as she nodded. “Right. Okay, well, umm, I’ll let Ethan know. And you just give me the green light.”
A knock interrupted their conversation. Julia flicked her gaze to the door, finding Kyle leaning against the jamb. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“No, it’s okay. I was just leaving,” Alicia said. “Let me know about the cabin.”
“I will,” Julia said with a final hug of her sister.
Alicia skirted past Kyle with a nod as he slipped into the room and settled in her seat.
“Just wanted to check on you after the news,” he said.
“Thanks. I’m okay.”
“Does he know yet?”
Julia nodded with a sigh. “They both do.”
“You told Sierra?” Kyle flicked his eyebrows up as he blew out a breath. “I’m surprised any of us still have our hearing."
Julia huffed out a chuckle. “It’s not funny. She didn’t take it well.”
“I can imagine. I know how I took it when I found out I was adopted. It was…never mind.”
Julia reached for his hand. “It’s okay to be upset about it. I’m sure it was a shock.”
“Yeah,” Kyle answered, not meeting her gaze.
“You know, I wouldn’t bring it up right away, but this is probably something you and Sierra share in common. Maybe…you can help each other.”
Kyle shifted in his seat. “I guess it would be better than losing at Uno again.”
“It’s okay if you’re not ready to be that close to her.”
“No, no, you make a good point. We’re all…messed up in some way, right? Why not bond over it.”
“Neither of you is messed up in any way. You’ve had some struggles, but you are both important parts of this family.”
“Kind of ironic, isn’t it?” Kyle said with a laugh.
“What is?”
“That I’m actually his kid, and the kid he wants isn’t.”
“He loves you both,” Julia argued.
“He loves her way more.”
She shook her head. “That’s not true. When he found out what happened to you, he was very upset. You just have a far more difficult relationship…and Sierra never kissed me.”
“All right, point taken. Well, I guess we’ll just all have to work together at being a family.”
“Yes, we will. And now I should get back to Grant and Sierra. They’re having a tough time still and–”
“Yeah, I get it,” Kyle said. “I’m just going to go hang out in my room.”
Julia winced as she wondered if she should invite him, but a knock at the door interrupted her. Grant flicked his gaze between them.
“I was just heading back,” Julia said as she rose.
“Yeah, we’re all finished,” Kyle agreed, standing next to her.
Grant shifted his gaze between them, upset still obvious on his features. “Look, Kyle, uh–”
His voice cut off as his eyes lowered to the worktable between them. His eyebrows pinched, and he cocked his head. “What is that?”
Julia flicked her gaze to the key and note on the table with a grimace. “Uh–”
“Julia, I told Worthington to throw that away. What is it doing back here?”
“I just–”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head, cutting off her words. “I want that gone. Do you understand? Gone.”
Julia swallowed hard at his sharp words. He was already in a vulnerable place. How could she explain that she thought keeping the key was important?