Gavin wondered why the man had even bothered to put up a protest. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? From what I can tell, it’s the strongest gene on your DNA strand, so I can see it being a sibling trait.”

Sarah gave a light snort of laughter while Caden’s lips quirked. “That’s probably true,” he said. “Dustin was the same way.”

They fell silent while they battled their grief all over again, and Gavin looked away to give them the shared moment.

Caden cleared his throat and stood, pulled his phone from his pocket, and waved it at Sarah. “If it’s got you this worked up, let me see who else I can talk to that might know more than the last person. Shouldn’t take me too long. And then I’m going to order pizza. Gavin, you can stay and join us if you like.”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.” Well, that was one way to keep an eye on Sarah without too much trouble. And besides, he was hungry.

Once Caden left the room, Gavin turned to Sarah—who’d slumped against the back of the couch. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Tired of answering that question, but . . . yeah.”

“Right. Sorry.”

She grimaced. “I’m also in a cranky mood, but I shouldn’t take that out on you.”

“I can handle it.”

Silence fell between them. “I don’t remember his funeral,” she finally said softly.

“You were there.”

“Barely.”

“You insisted. Threatened to walk if that’s what you had to do.” It had been the day she was released from the hospital with her fever finally under control but apparently back on some heavy-duty painkillers someone had snuck into her IV. She was livid when she finally came to. Gavin recalled the tongue-lashing she’d given Caden when she realized what had happened, and Caden promised to take her home immediately. He’d promised she’d be given no more drugs unless she okayed them.

“I have a picture of the graveside playing in my mind. You rolled me in the wheelchair,” she murmured.

Her gaze was distant, her vision turned inward with her effort to remember. “Uh, yeah. You insisted on that too. You told Caden you knew his driving skills and felt safer if I was the one behind the wheel—so to speak.”

“I remember that.” She closed her eyes. And just like that, fell asleep.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

She really had to quit waking up with no memory of having fallen asleep. Sarah frowned and mentally scrolled back to the last thing she remembered. Zonking out while talking to Gavin. Great. Why was it always Gavin who was the one to pick up the pieces?