As they all hurried inside, Finn caught Casey’s arm under the shelter of the back door. Rain drummed on the steps below them. “Ready to tell me whatever you were afraid to tell me earlier?” he said. “It’s just you and me. And you can trust me. I hope you know that by now.”
CASEY HUGGED HERSELF as the storm moved in and the rain began to fall harder.
“I thought it had something to do with Megan and her murder, but now I’m wondering if it’s about Jason,” he suggested.
“Jason?”
“Casey, clearly there are some unfinished issues between the two of you.”
“Not on my end,” she said, hugging herself from the memories as well as the cold. A bolt of lightning lit Finn’s handsome face. It was followed by thunder booming not far away like the thud of her heart.
Of course he’d picked up on it. Ten years ago, she’d gone into the woods with Jason. He’d said there was something he wanted to show her. Sixteen and unbelievably gullible, she’d gone because she’d had a crush on him. She groaned now at the memory.
She’d actually thought Jason was handsome and funny. What had she been thinking? The kiss had been sloppy and wet, all tongue. Gross. Then he’d grabbed her breast, and she’d shoved him away.
First kisses were supposed to be sweet, something she wanted to remember. But Jason had ruined that. She’d avoided him after that night, embarrassed since he had seemed to be avoiding her as well. Then she’d overheard Megan saying that Jason had told her that Casey was the worst kisser he’d ever had. He’d insinuated that he’d gone even further than he had and that Casey had been all over him.
She’d been horrified and had hated him ever since, especially when he and Megan had become girlfriend and boyfriend—at least, for a while. Every time she saw Megan in the hall, Megan mimed two people kissing and groping each other.
There had been nothing she could say, even if she had tried to defend herself. Casey had put the memory back into a dark corner, hating that Megan and Jason could occupy any of her thoughts. But it was as if someone didn’t want her to forget. As if she could.
Why else would they plan this stupid reunion and bring everyone back? Everyone but Megan. She amended that thought quickly. Someone wanted her to believe that Megan’s ghost was still here—just as her grandmother had believed it.
Had Anna seen whatever the others had tonight? Her grandmother wouldn’t have chased the ghost down and found a strand of blond hair from a wig caught on a tree branch.
“I know what he did,” Finn said. “How he lied about what happened between the two of you. Megan told me.” That surprised her. “I can also see that he is still attracted to you.”
She stared at him again. “Not this again.”
He laughed. “The note to try to make you not trust me. Come on. He’s like a middle schooler trying to get your attention.”
It was her turn to laugh. “You’re wrong,” she said, shaking her head.
Her laughter died on her lips as he asked, “Is what happened between you and Jason what you were going to tell me about earlier?”
She hesitated. All she had to do was say it was. She looked through the rain toward the forest. This wasn’t the place to tell him about the diary. But then again, there was no good place, was there? She shivered as she met his gaze.
“There’s a reason you didn’t find Megan’s diary.” She blurted it out. He frowned, not expecting this. “I took it from her room and burned it ten years ago.”
He stared at her, surprise in his eyes and something painful to see. He was disappointed. Worse, he was upset with her.
“I didn’t read it. None of it. I thought she’d written lies about me. I...” Her voice broke. “I’m so sorry. To think you spent months looking for it—”
Finn pulled her into his arms. “It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not. I lied. I lied to everyone. I didn’t think it mattered.” She pulled back to look at him. “Can you forgive me?”
He shook his head. “Oh, Casey, is this the secret you’ve been carrying around for all these years?”
She nodded and buried her face in his chest. “What if Megan had written down who she suspected was stalking her?”
“Don’t do this to yourself,” he said. “She probably didn’t know. Just as we don’t know what she really wrote in that diary. It could have been all lies. Honestly, I can’t see her even telling the truth to her own diary.”
She pulled back to look at him. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. The more I’ve heard about her since being here, the more I doubt Megan was capable of being truthful even to herself. She was a young woman who had everything and still wasn’t happy. I doubt she would have ever found happiness except in making other people miserable.”
Pulling her into his arms again, he said, “I’m glad you told me.” He ran his hand down her hair. She closed her eyes, loving the feel of his caress. Being this close to him... Was he really not upset with her?
“You spent months looking for her diary.”
“I was looking for a lot more than her diary, trust me.” He drew back to meet her gaze. “Fortunately, I found what I was looking for.”
She felt the heat of his gaze all the way to her toes as the curtain of rain turned the tiny overhang at the back door way too intimate.
“We should go inside,” he said. “You’re shivering.” He opened the door, and they stepped out of the storm. His cell phone rang. He pulled it out, glancing at the screen before he said reluctantly, “I need to take this.”
She nodded and looked down
