Page 146 of Mile High Ruin

“That sounds ominous.”

I stop beside her. “What are you drinking?”

“Tea.”

“You don’t like tea.”

She turns toward me. “How would you know?”

“You complained about it on the flight here.”

“I complain about a lot of things.”

“That is true.”

Her mouth almost curves, but she looks back toward the view instead. For a while, neither of us speaks. It’s strangely peaceful. I rest my forearms against the stone beside her and look toward the vineyards.

“You have been avoiding me.”

She doesn’t bother denying it. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“You really need me to explain?”

“I would prefer to hear you say it.”

She exhales slowly. “You still think I might be involved in whatever happened, and every time I forget that for five minutes, something reminds me.”

“That’s not the same as believing you are guilty.”

“It feels similar from this side.”

I understand that. I don’t know how to make it better without lying.

“We have found more evidence that somebody deliberately manipulated the situation around you.”

She looks at me. “But not enough.”

“No.”

Her gaze returns to the horizon. “I’m beginning to think you’re never going to have enough.”

The possibility bothers me more than I want to admit.

I decide to try something I’m not accustomed to. Honesty.

Not complete honesty. I’m not suicidal.

Enough.

“My father used to say uncertainty was more dangerous than bad news.”

Sloane glances at me. “You talk about your father like you hated him.”

“I did.”

“That sounded simple.”