She smiled as she remembered all the fun they’d had. But by the time she was a junior in high school, things changed. She changed. Because she had a secret she dared not tell a soul, not even her brother.

She was gay. And scared to death.

So she slowly withdrew from Matt, from her parents. She focused solely on her schoolwork, vowing to graduate with honors and secure enough scholarships to take her away from Rockport and go to where no one knew her. Where no one would judge her if her secret got out. By the time she was a senior, only a few friends remained. Matt was not one of them.

She went to California, thinking she would be safe there. And she was. College was fun and she met many like-minded people. She no longer had to keep her secret to herself. Yet she hadn’t counted on her parents finding out, on Matt finding out. When they did, she withdrew even more. She couldn’t stand seeing her mother’s tears. It took her nearly fifteen years to realize they still loved her, that they’d always loved her.

But by then, she was entrenched in her job, her long hours at work having paid off. She’d moved up to the executive level, her salary finally equaling her stress level. Well…almost.

She sighed and turned around, heading back toward the house. Oh, she loved her job. She really did. It was fast-paced and never dull. While she no longer worked seventy-hour weeks, she still put in at least sixty hours. That, of course, left little time for a personal life. No doubt that was why it had been so easy to leave there. There was no one who would miss her.

She walked up the stairs to the deck, pausing to glance back at the water once more before fishing the key from her pocket. Matt’s key. She squeezed it tightly in her hand for a guilty second, then unlocked the door.

She stared at the mess in a moment of shock. If she didn’t know how lacking Matt’s housekeeping skills were, she would have thought the place had been ransacked. She absently picked up the newspapers lying around and piled them up on the coffee table. Flip-flops were on the floor beside the sofa and a towel was on the back of the recliner. She shook her head as she picked up the towel, taking it with her.

She took one look into the kitchen and quickly turned away. God only knew how long the dirty dishes had been piled up in the sink. Thoughts of cleaning the house on her own vanished. She would definitely hire a cleaning crew. And perhaps a yard crew too.

She made her way into the master bedroom. Jeans were tossed on the floor and she picked them up too, folding them neatly before placing them on the unmade bed. She didn’t bother going into his bathroom. She could envision the mess without having to see it. Instead, she went to the double doors that opened up onto the side deck shaded by a large oak tree. She went to the railing, glancing once at the neighbor’s place, then turning her attention to the bay. Memories streamed through her mind, some flashing quickly, others lingering. This was her grandparents’ little piece of heaven, and she and Matt had spent many a lazy summer day here…making memories.

She heard a car door slam and, with a sigh, went back inside.

“Jordan?”

“Back here, Mom,” she called.

She gave her mother a gentle smile when she paused at the bedroom door, noting the sadness in her eyes. She wondered how long it would take before she saw laughter there again.

“I haven’t been here in so long, I had no idea the extent of the mess,” her mother apologized. “But you know how Matt is.” She swallowed. “Was,” she corrected.

“Yes, I know,” Jordan said. “And I’m not going to attempt to clean it myself.”

“Of course not. I’ll get Maria to come out here,” she said, referring to the woman who cleaned her own house on a weekly basis. Her mother turned a circle in the room. “What should we do with his things?”

“Mom,” she said, going to her. “Let me do this. You don’t have to.”

Her mother shook her head. “You always assume your children will outlive you. This isn’t something you can prepare for.”

“I know.” She spread her arms out. “We’ll give his clothes away to a…a charity or a church or something,” she said.

“It doesn’t look like he’s got too many personal things here. More at his office, I think. And he’s still got things at the house too.” Her mother blinked tears away. “I can’t throw his things out like they mean nothing to us.”

“We’ve got time, Mom. It’s only been two days since the funeral. Nothing says we have to rush through it.”

Her mother nodded sharply. “Yes. We can take our time. Because I can’t deal with it right now. Not this soon.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get to the restaurant. Your father will need help with the lunch crowd and I need to…get back into the swing of things.” She looked at Jordan. “And Fat Larry…what are we going to do about that? Matt—”

“I told you, I’ll handle it. I’ve got a degree in finance, Mom. I think I can manage,” she said. “I’ll go by first thing in the morning.”

“One of the girls who work for him…Annie Thomas…she’s the one who’s been running things. She’s been there a couple of years now.”

“Do you have her phone number?”

“Well, I know her parents, of course, but no, I don’t have her number. She and Matt went to high school together. They were close, I think.”

Jordan nodded, wondering if they’d been dating. “Okay, I’ll find her,” she said. She went to her mother and hugged her tight. “Don’t worry about Fat Larry. And don’t worry about all this,” she said, motioning to the room. “I’ll take care of it.”

Her mother gave her a smile which didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you for being here, Jordan. It means so much to me. To us.”

“Like I said, I’ll be here as long as you need me.”

She let out a heavy sigh as her mother left, then she turned back to the room, mindlessly stripping the bed as she tried to formulate a plan to get the house cleaned.



Chapter Two

“What do you think they’re going to do about the store?” Suzanne asked.

Annie shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know,” she said.

It was the same question and answer they’d had between them several times during the last ten days. They were headed to Fat Larry’s now, walking slowly down the sidewalk. Annie always parked at the marina near the city park and walked to the store. It was her lone form of exercise these days.

“I still can’t believe Matt’s gone.”

“I know. How do you think I feel? I was the last one to see him alive.”

And of course she knew what Suzanne’s next statement would be.

“I still can’t believe you slept with him,” Suzanne nearly whispered. “And then he dies the same night.”

Annie sighed. “I know.”

“So did you, you know, like him?”

Annie rolled her eyes. They weren’t in high school any longer, yet sometimes Suzanne acted like they’d never left.

“I liked him fine. He was cute. He was fun.”

“But I mean, did you—”

“No, Suzanne. Not like that. In fact, it was pretty much a disaster,” she admitted. She stopped walking, turning to Suzanne. “I only slept with him…well, because I haven’t been with anyone since Derrick.” She impatiently tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “I was starting to think something was wrong with me.”

“Oh, my God! Are you serious? You’ve been divorced four years.” Suzanne grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. “What about that guy from Corpus?”

“Jason? I never slept with him,” she said.

Suzanne dropped her arm and they continued walking. “What do you mean, something was wrong with you?”

Annie shrugged again, not sure how to explain to Suzanne how she felt. While she and Suzanne were close, good friends in fact, she still didn’t confide too much in her. Suzanne was still married to Derrick’s best friend.

“I haven’t had any interest in sex,” she finally admitted. She didn’t add that that was one of the major issues between her and Derrick. She had no desire to sleep with him. “The night I was with Matt, I didn’t either. I was going through the motions, nothing more. And then I started crying afterward and he freaked out.” She paused. “I mean, he was my boss. We’re in his office on the sofa. And we’re naked and I’m crying and he’s apologizing and through it all, I’m thinking, ‘Great, now I’ve got to get a new job.’ The thought of facing him every day, well, I knew I couldn’t do it.”

“Oh, my God,” Suzanne said again. “And then he died. You must have felt awful.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me,” she said as she pulled out her keys. But she stopped short when she opened the front door to Fat Larry’s, shocked to see someone inside. The woman was behind the counter, snooping around. For a moment, Annie panicked. Were they getting robbed? Then the woman looked up, a smile on her face. She looked friendly—and familiar—so Annie relaxed. “Can I help you?” she asked.

The woman came around the counter, her hand extended. “I’m Jordan Sims.”

Annie stared at her blankly before the name registered. “You’re Matt’s sister.” Of course she was. She’d seen her at the funeral. Besides, the resemblance was uncanny. Dark hair, dark eyes. Tall and lean, much as Matt had been. Jordan was dressed in an expensive-looking business suit, and Annie felt a little out of place in her shorts. Nonetheless, she reached for her hand, shaking a quick greeting.

“Yes. Older sister.”

“I’ve…Matt’s mentioned you before,” she said vaguely, wondering why she was suddenly nervous. “I’m Annie Thomas.” She motioned beside her to where Suzanne had been standing by mutely. “This is my friend, Suzanne. She…she doesn’t work here. She came by with me to open up.” Annie looked around. “Or…is that what you’re going to do?”