Katie. He was here with a girl but that girl didn’t seem to be anywhere in the vicinity.
Caleb shook his head and chuckled. But she could tell he was angry as much as he was surprised. “You’re my sister. Brat goes with the territory. Besides, I’m thinking you look more of a brat than cute right now with that snarky look on your face.”
“What am I supposed to have?” she whispered, leaning toward him. “You’re embarrassing me in front of my boss, and I need this job.”
Gary wasn’t exactly her boss. He was one of a few managers who worked in the bars for the casino. But word of this could easily get back to the floor manager if Gary chose to say something.
“You’ve been a few towns away from Sweet this whole time? You could’ve called.”
“Mom and Dad sold the house. And you were gone when I left. How was I supposed to call when I didn’t have your number?”
“Don’t give me that.”
“Aren’t you on a date? Where is this Katie person?”
He shook his head as if befuddled. “This Katie person? She was your best friend in high school. Or did you suddenly develop a case of amnesia for that as well as the use of a telephone.”
“Katie Dobbs? You’re with Katie Dobbs? Wait, you’re dating Katie Dobbs?” Julie looked around but couldn’t see any sign of Katie anywhere.
“Don’t change the subject. She’s still in the restaurant. You could have called Mom or Dad’s cell phone.”
“They were disconnected. They must have changed them when they moved out of state. Anyway, the last I remember, you were in the military, thousands of miles away. I had no way of knowing where you were or when you’d return to the States.”
“A letter. Anything. You could have contacted any of your friends.”
“I sent a letter to Katie. I never heard back.”
“You didn’t tell her where to find you!”
“Ssh. Keep your voice down.”
Her arms were frozen and the bags of ice were starting to melt against the heat of her body.
“You grew up in Sweet,” Caleb said. “People know you there. You could have easily just driven into town and talked to any number of people who know the family. A neighbor. Hell, even the Realtor who sold the house could have told you where Mom and Dad moved. You didn’t even try.”
She forced her shoulders to stay straight although she felt the weight of her actions pulling her down. Her body trembled from the cold.
“You have no idea what I’ve been through, Caleb,” Julie said.
“I do. It took me a long time to find out, but I know that you left here because you were pregnant.” He said those last words quietly but it sounded like a bomb going off in her ear.
“You do?” Her eyes were wide with surprise as she looked at her brother. “How?”
“Never mind how. I just found out.”
She thought for a second. “Katie? Did she tell you something?”
“She didn’t tell me. But she told me about your relationship with Hunter. The rest of it fell into place. You could’ve told me, Julie,” Caleb said.
“You were in Iraq.”
“Afghanistan. Thank you for remembering.”
Guilt stabbed at her. She’d been so preoccupied during that part of her life that she’d forgotten where her brother had been stationed. He could’ve easily been killed and she would never have known. She’d made sure of it. She didn’t want to hear about news from Sweet, Montana, her hometown. She wanted to start new, with no memories to hold her back. It hadn’t started out that way, but she’d had no choice.
“What happened to the baby?” Caleb asked. “I have a niece or nephew somewhere, don’t I?”
She felt the burning of tears behind her eyes. She glanced at Gary who was holding his own at the bar, but it was getting busy. He frowned and motioned to her to get to work.
She turned to Caleb and lifted her chin. “Leave it alone, Caleb. If you love me, then leave it at that.”
“What about Hunter? Doesn’t he have a right to know why you left?”
Oh, God. If Caleb knew, did that mean Hunter did too? No, it couldn’t be. She didn’t know how Caleb knew about the baby but why would he tell Hunter? He had no reason to see Hunter.
“I’m working, Caleb. I beg of you.”
“I’m not letting this go, Julie. I’ve been looking for you ever since I came home. If you don’t tell me where the hell you’ve been all this time then…”
“What? What are you going to do?”
His gaze bore into her. “Tell Hunter.”
Panic filled her until her face felt as though it was on fire. “Tell Hunter what?”
“Tell Hunter, or I will tell him I saw you. And you can deal with whatever blowback you get from him. Because I know one thing, we both deserve some answers.”
She glanced over at the bar. Gary lifted both arms and showed his impatience with a hard glare.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Caleb. I have to go.”
He chuckled with no humor. “How? You don’t even know how to find me?”
Tears filled Julie’s eyes. “Yes, I do. You live in an apartment near the center of town in Sweet, Montana. Still. You never left like Mom and Dad did. I looked you up. I have your landline number.”
His anger melted away with her confession. “I kept a landline so you could find me.”
“It worked. I did. I’ll call you tomorrow. I don’t want to be fired. Please, just leave for now.”
She stomped away carrying the melting ice bags, and didn’t give Caleb another look. Gary was none too happy with her when she reached the ice machine.
“Your shirt is soaked,” he said, grabbing one of the ice bags, ripping it open and pouring the ice into the ice machine to keep it frozen. “Who was that guy giving you a hard time?”
She could lie and say it was nobody to make it easier. But Gary would know she was
