The Sister-in-Law: An absolutely gripping summer thriller for 2021 Pamela Crane (good books to read for young adults txt) 📖

and I wasn’t stuffing her back in. Besides, I didn’t know exactly what Harper had noticed or not noticed, and I couldn’t crack open her skull to find out, no matter how much I wanted to. So I continued drying off, scrunching my hair into wet curls.

Stomping toward me, she shoved the picture under my nose.

‘You know what I’m getting at. The date on this image.’

Okay, so she knew. I could tell her the truth … or I could lie. Either way, Lane was going to find out and I didn’t know what would happen then. Or maybe I did know, and that’s what scared me.

‘Do you enjoy going through other people’s personal things?’ I dropped the towel, then reached for the paper. With a backward step, she hid it behind her back.

‘Cut the crap, Candace. I’m done playing nice with you. And you’re done playing house with my brother. Explain the date on this ultrasound, or I’m taking this to Lane. He should know the truth about your baby.’

The truth? The truth was so complicated. I could hardly understand it myself, let alone explain it to someone else. That was the nature of feelings, wasn’t it? A complicated series of moments, each one thrusting your heart in a different direction. It was a wonder we didn’t all have vertigo.

‘Sit.’ I pointed to a lounger next to me, shaded beneath the pergola. Wisteria climbed up the pillar, spreading leaves across the beams above.

‘I’d rather stand,’ she insisted.

‘It’s a long story. Will you please just sit down so we can talk? I don’t feel like being blinded by the sun behind you.’

Without another word, Harper sat, arms folded neatly, the ultrasound tucked between her hand and body. Facing her from the opposite lounger, it felt like we were in a showdown. A twenty-first-century duel with words. I didn’t know where to begin, where to end. I had my own version of my past, of what happened, much like we all do. We all created our own injustices and accomplishments, and we all ended up lying to ourselves and everyone else. I was the perfect child. No child was. I was the star of the high school football team. For one play, once. My parents never hugged me. They hugged you every night before bed. We were never in love. You just don’t remember what love feels like anymore.

There were too many holes in the story I wanted to tell her, so many starting points to pick from.

‘I’m guessing you noticed the date which, based on how far along in the pregnancy I am, means the conception predates Lane.’

Harper crossed her legs. She meant business. ‘Exactly. So I already know that Lane’s not the father. What I don’t know is why you entrapped my brother.’

‘First of all, I didn’t entrap him. And second of all, no, I’m afraid he’s not the biological father.’

‘So who is?’

I shrugged. ‘I had a one-night-stand and got pregnant. I don’t even know the guy’s name. I was drunk and stupid. But then I met Lane shortly after, and we fell in love deep and fast. It wasn’t just me, Harper. You have to understand this. When he told me he wanted to have a family with me, it seemed like the perfect solution. This baby could be his.’

She hmphed. ‘It doesn’t work that way, Candace. You can’t just make a baby belong to someone else. There’s a word for that – adoption. And there’s a lot more you have to consider. Like the genetics, and the biological father’s rights, and—’

‘Just stop!’ I couldn’t stand her voice for another moment. As if she ever cared about any of that. ‘A baby could give a crap about genetics. A loving home is all that matters. As a mother, you know this. You also know that Lane would make an amazing father, and together we could give the baby what every child deserves. Family. Love.’

This baby was everything that mattered in life. A new beginning. Hope for a better future. Unconditional love. This child had connected two hearts, locked two people together.

‘Lane deserves to know the truth.’

And yet some people cared more about law than love. People like Harper. I needed to convince her in terms she would understand. ‘Do you love your brother?’

‘You know I do,’ she answered.

‘Then you know that telling him the truth will destroy him. Have you ever seen him happier than he is now? Why do you want to take that away from him?’

She shook her head, the gesture saying more than words. ‘Don’t put this on me.’

‘You have the power to let him be happy or to break his heart. So it is on you.’

‘But it’s all based on a lie!’ she yelled, startling me. ‘Is anything you say the truth?’

‘My love for Lane is true.’ I stopped, not knowing how to cross the divide. ‘I know you hate me, but there is no room for hate in love. If you love Lane, you need to stop hating me.’

Harper’s skepticism rose with her eyebrow.

‘Look,’ I continued, ‘I’m not proud of the things I’ve done. But I’m proud of what I have with your brother. I’m proud of the kind of man that he is and the kind of woman he inspires me to be, and I’ll remind him of how I feel every day for the rest of my life. Where the sperm came from doesn’t matter – what matters is that Lane’s dream is coming true, and he’s going to have the perfect family. With a woman who loves him more than anything else on this earth.’

‘Do you really? Or do you just love the idea of having your happily ever after at any cost?’

‘Of course I love him. He’s the best person I know. I would do anything for him – anything to keep him, Harper. Even if it meant hurting someone who tried to destroy what we have.’ I wove a threat through my words that I wanted her to hear.

Harper