Sorrow looked as uncomfortable as Billy felt. She steered the conversation to another topic, her voice absent of emotion. “What brings you back to Sierra Falls?”
Laura’s reaction was subtle, but it was immediate. A cloud crossed her features, dimming the light in her eyes. “I thought I’d take a vacation. ”
Sorrow sipped her beer slowly, and Billy felt tension crackle between them. “What about your job?” she asked.
Laura shrugged. “It’s like a…sabbatical. ”
“Sounds like a nun thing,” said Bear. He was following the conversation, even though he mostly remained focused on his plate of food.
Sorrow ignored her father. “Isn’t that just for…I don’t know…professors?”
“It was…it is a very high-stress job. You have no idea how cutthroat it is in Silicon Valley these days. Especially in Marketing. ”
Edith turned to Billy and beamed. “Laura is vice president of her department. ”
Laura looked down as she twirled her napkin. She’d gone from bubbly to cagey, and Billy half wondered if maybe she hadn’t lost her job and was just too scared to tell her folks.
“How good you can take a vacation then. ” Sorrow kept talking, but seemed either unwilling or unable to meet her sister’s eyes. “I don’t suppose you’ll be able to help around the lodge this time. I know you were too busy on your last visit. Reno, Tahoe…I understand there’s a lot to do when you’re on vacation. ”
Edith chimed in, “Now, that won’t be necessary. We’ve got everything under control, don’t we, Sorrow?”
Billy hadn’t been coming to the lodge for long, but if this was under control, he’d hate to see when things got out of hand.
“On the contrary, Mom. ” Laura smiled wide. “I’d love to pitch in. ”
Sorrow stood abruptly to clear the dishes. “I made a pie. ”
Now Billy had to stare flat out. Laura had offered help, and wasn’t that what Sorrow needed? And yet she seemed upset. He stood to help, too curious to do otherwise.
Damien made a move to get up, but Billy stopped him. “I got this one. ”
The other man raised his beer in a toast to thank him. “Works for me. I hate the kitchen. ”
Billy was right behind Sorrow with his hands full of dishes. “What was that about?” he asked the moment they reached the kitchen.
“Nothing. ” Her voice was tight. She turned her back to him, stacking dishes in the sink.
“It didn’t seem like nothing in there. ”
She stiffened. Paused. “Every once in a while, my sister breezes in. ”
He wondered what she wasn’t saying. He wasn’t one for female drama, but something about this situation piqued his interest. “Seems like you could use the help,” he ventured.
She dropped the dish she’d been washing and turned to face him. “Trust me, the next time there’s a problem around here, Laura will claim some personal drama and make a break for it, heading back to San Francisco faster than you can say Miss Fancy-pants Vice President. ”
Billy chuckled. “That so? Well, maybe that’s a good thing. ”
Bear’s belly laugh reached them from the other room, and Sorrow looked stricken by the sound of it. “Stick around long enough, Sheriff, and you’ll see. There’s a favorite daughter, and it ain’t me. ” She’d tossed the comment off, but he heard the pain beneath her breezy delivery.
This Laura might sail in all charm and sass, but it was Sorrow who struck him as the backbone of the family. He met her eyes. “I don’t have siblings, but I’ve done enough living to know that favorite and most valued are often two very different things.
“And besides,” he added, “maybe she’ll distract Bear long enough for you to start serving that frittata of yours in the tavern. ”
“Yeah, maybe so. ” She softened her features, giving him a grateful smile. Up close like this, the girl was so pretty she seemed to glow from within.
Such an errant thought, it struck him dumb for a moment. He wasn’t looking for a woman. He had one, and he’d buried her. This one already had a man anyhow. He told himself it was purely neutral observation that had him thinking how much prettier Sorrow was than her sister, even though it was Laura who probably caught more men’s eyes.
“C’mon,” she said as she pulled a pie from the fridge. “You ever have Butter Pie?”