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Why does that sound like she’s sighing in relief?

“I thought something was actually wrong,” she says. “We already knew you and Jamie spent all week fucking.”

It’s my turn to be mortified.

“What? Who told you?”

“Coen and I sleep right down the hall from you,” she says. “You weren’t really all that quiet.”

I set my phone down and hit the speaker button. It’s not like Jamie can hear me from the bedroom, anyway. It takes a second to sort through my emotions. On one hand, I’m blushing to the roots of my hair because, all this time, I thought nobody knew a thing. On the other, it’s nice that they both know and haven’t said anything negative about it.

At least…not yet.

“So, Coen knows?” I say finally.

“Jamie told him.”

“What?”

My stomach dips. How could Jamie have told him and failed to mention that for the last two days? Here I was thinking I was flying full incognito with my entire family.

“I mean…you guys aren’t together, so it’s not like Jamie has a responsibility to tell you everything,” she reminds me gently.

“No, but he could have.”

There’s a short silence.

“Are you with him right now?” Realization dawns in her voice.

“Yeah, he texted me out of the blue and asked me to spend the day with him. Mom was away at work, so I said yes. He flew me out to his house in Maine.”

“Oh? So how is it?”

I pick up the phone and do a loop of the living room. It’s dark inside, so I can see the stars glimmering over the ocean.

“It’s beautiful. He has a really nice place out here,” I say. “It’s right on the coast. I’ve never seen the ocean like this.”

She laughs. “I wasn’t talking about the house.”

“Oh, you mean his dick? Well, he convinced me to stay another day, so you can probably guess.”

We both laugh, and it feels so good. Things haven’t been the way they were in a long time. I’ve been disconnected, a third wheel spinning aimlessly. It seems like her life is moving on without me, and we don’t connect as well as we did when we were little. But right now, it feels a little bit like old times.

“How’re things back at the ranch?” I ask.

“Good. I bought a couple horses at auction last week. Coen’s working on his book. The dogs are all doing their thing, like they usually do. And Dad’s doing well at Aunt Eugenia’s. He’s gonna come down next week for a bit, but he said he needs to get back to his water aerobics or something, so he can’t stay long. It’s either that or book club. Did you know he’s hosting one now?”

I smile, leaning my head on the window frame.

“It sounds like everyone is happy,” I manage.

“We are,” she says.

Neither of us speaks for a minute. I clear my throat, but before I can say anything, she interjects.

“You should stay,” she says. “And figure this out.”

“Stay?”