Her friend was right. Karen wasn’t going to let up until Nichole reached out to Cassie. She needed to put aside her dread and just do it, like Laurie advised, so she could enjoy her vacation.

Karen had included Cassie’s cell number with the text, which saved Nichole the hassle of finding it. Her hand shook slightly as she pressed the button that would connect her with her sister. While the phone rang, she rummaged through her brain, searching for how best to start the conversation.

“Hello.” Cassie sounded hesitant, unsure. Nichole wondered if her number was saved in her sister’s phone, and if her name had popped up.

Nichole barely remembered the sound of her sister’s voice. It was hard to believe this was Cassie, her own flesh and blood.

“Cassie, it’s Nichole.”

“Nichole.” Right away Cassie’s voice elevated with glad excitement. “Oh Nichole, it’s so good to hear from you.”

“You, too, Cassie,” she said, and genuinely meant it. She immediately felt bad. She should have made the effort to connect with her sister long before now. Already her mind was full of all the things she wanted to tell her, to explain.

“The last time we talked,” Cassie continued, “it sounded like you’d rather I didn’t bother you.”

“I’m sorry … it was a shock hearing from you,” Nichole said, making up a weak excuse and then feeling sorry she had. It shouldn’t be this difficult to tell the truth.

“I know. I would have called again, but I assumed you’d rather not hear from me.”

Unfortunately, Cassie was right. “It was a few months after Mom died and I wasn’t myself.” Again, a half-truth.

Cassie’s voice dipped. “I know. I wasn’t myself, either.”

Nichole was afraid her voice was about to betray her. She yearned to say more but was worried the words wouldn’t be able to make it past the lump in her throat.

“I know you and Karen were upset with me that I couldn’t be at Mom’s funeral. I would have given anything I owned to be with you, but it was impossible.”

“None of that matters now,” Nichole whispered. Because she was afraid to say anything more about their mother or their last conversation, she quickly changed the subject. “Karen said you were over to the house last weekend.”

“A friend drove me and we collected Mom and Dad’s furniture. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I had no idea you still had the piano. I was sure Mom would have sold it long ago.”

“Dad wouldn’t let her,” Nichole told her. “He was convinced you’d come back one day.”

Her words were met with a sudden, abrupt silence, and then it sounded as if Cassie had stopped breathing.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” Nichole whispered. She’d known her calling Cassie would be a bad idea. She was going about this all wrong, saying the wrong things, upsetting this tentative start between the sisters. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s all right,” Cassie said. She seemed to have found her composure. “I just want you to know how grateful I am to have it.”

What Nichole said was true. Their father refused to sell the piano with the hope that one day Cassie would return home. He never seemed to give up on her, even though her leaving had devastated him. Before he died, he let both Karen and Nichole know that he’d forgiven Cassie for running away with Duke. In fact, he blamed himself that there’d been no contact through the years. Nothing anyone said could convince him otherwise. But Nichole would never tell Cassie this—she couldn’t lay that on her sister.

“It was good to see Karen and Garth.” Cassie, too, seemed determined to turn the conversation to more pleasant topics. “Lily and Buddy were away for the afternoon. Hopefully, they’ll be there next time and Amiee will meet her cousins. How are Jake and Owen?”

“Great. I’m with a friend this weekend, so Owen is with Jake’s mom.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Anything exciting happening with you?” Nichole asked, struggling to keep the conversation going.

“Well, I’m going to a hoedown on Saturday.”

“A what?”

Cassie laughed. “I know it sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It’s a charity event for Habitat for Humanity. I’m working it … did Karen tell you that I’m getting a house through Habitat? Amiee and I are going to have our very own home for the first time in her life. Every time I think about how much my life has changed in the last few years I get goose bumps. It just doesn’t seem real that I should be this fortunate.”

Nichole hardly knew how to respond. “You sound happy.”

“I am, oh Nichole, I am happy, and hearing from you doubles my joy. Thank you for calling. It means the world to me.”

A lump in Nichole’s throat grew to the size of a golf ball. “I should have reached out much sooner. I won’t wait so long next time.” She had a dozen questions she wanted to ask, but she feared it would destroy this fragile thread that felt so tentative. How was it that after all this time Cassie would come out of her marriage with so little? Although Cassie had never come out and said it, Nichole had the feeling Duke hadn’t been the husband Cassie deserved.

“Can I … would it be all right if I called you next?” Cassie asked.

“Yes, of course. Please do.”

“Bye, now.”

“Bye.” Nichole ended the call to find Laurie closely watching her.

“How’d it go?” her friend asked, carefully studying her.

Nichole covered her mouth for fear she was about to break down and cry. “Better than I expected,” she whispered, and then swallowed down a sniffle. “My sister is heading to a hoedown this weekend,” she said, in an effort to make light of the conversation. The last thing Nichole wanted was to sit by this beautiful pool and cry. And yet that was exactly what she was doing—tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and wove crooked paths down her cheeks. How could she have been so insensitive to her own sister?

Chapter 24

All week Cassie had worked feverishly to put Steve out of her mind, but it hadn’t worked. She couldn’t wait to see him, and a week had never dragged on for so long. Nothing felt the same without him at the construction site, running the project.

Saturday morning, Cassie was up early. The Hoedown was being held in an airport hangar, and a lot of work had to be done in order to get the space ready. Several other volunteers arrived to work off their hours by putting up long folding tables and chairs, placing red-and-white checkered plastic tablecloths across the tables, and then setting the tables, lining each place setting up perfectly.

To the front of the hangar was a mechanical bull quartered off with stacks of hay. In the middle of the room were tables displaying items for the silent auction. Cassie was touched by the number of companies and individuals that had donated. It made her hope that sometime soon she’d be in a position to help others in the same way she had been lent a hand up. At the other end of the hangar was a stage with room for the band, plus a faux jail for funny pictures. People could stand behind the bars and have their snapshot taken.

Steve had said on Wednesday he’d definitely see her at the Hoedown. She could only hope nothing had kept him in eastern Washington longer than he anticipated. His electrical company was one of the major sponsors, so she was pretty sure he’d make at least a token appearance.

Cassie feared that telling Steve about the letter from Duke had upset him. He’d grown quiet after asking her what she intended to do, and it wasn’t long afterward that he’d made a convenient excuse to end the conversation.

By the time the work crew finished with the setup, it was mid-morning. Cassie didn’t have a chance to relax, though—she was scheduled to work at Goldie Locks until three that afternoon. Amiee had gone camping with her friend Claudia’s family for the weekend. It was her daughter’s first camping experience and she was excited. Claudia was back to being her BFF—or was that BAE?

The apartment felt empty without her when Cassie returned from work. After quickly showering, she dressed and paid special attention to her hair and makeup. This was a big night for Habitat and for her, and she wanted to look her best.