Chapter Thirty-Three
PHOENIX BARLOW PARKED her black Jeep Renegade in front of the enormous house and just stared. When the lawyer had contacted her and said she’d inherited a house along with her five half-sisters, she had almost hung up on him. Now, she was glad she hadn’t ended that conversation before it began.
She’d been alone her whole life, and in one sentence, this stranger had given her the greatest gift she could imagine. A family. Phoenix’s conscience poked at her, so she corrected herself. She’d been alone her whole life except for the boy next door. Her only genuine friend.
Tears stung her eyes. She’d looked for him for years with no luck, almost as though he’d disappeared from the face of the earth, kind of like her. She missed him so much that her heart literally hurt.
The boy had probably forgotten her existence long ago. Wherever he was, whoever he had turned out to be, Phoenix wished him well. But she would love to find out if he was as wonderful as she remembered. Phoenix would never forget the boy next door. She hoped his life had been better than hers.
Opening her door, she stepped out onto the driveway just as the front door opened and a red-haired woman stepped out. Sedona. This must be the only sister she’d talked to.
The woman walked toward her. When they were within a few feet of each other, they both stopped and stared. Finally, Sedona smiled. “Welcome home, Phoenix.”