Page 49 of Dead Man's Alibi

It was all she had.Because if she didn’t focus on the truth, if she didn’t focus on all the ways she’d failed, she’d have to think of Nate in one of those awful cells.She’d have to think of every stilted, uncomfortable meeting with her father in jail, promising him she’d get him out.Over and over.

Jumpsuit.Handcuffs.The way prison winnowed everything away from a person until there was only a shell left.A physical and emotional representation of all her fervent and broken promises.

Like Nate hadn’t already endured e-damn-nough.

She pushed out of the bed.Scowled at the pretty, sunny spring day outside the window.She considered changing her clothes, but that sounded exhausting.Especially since she didn’t even remember what she’d thrown into that bag when Cal had taken her to the house.

She wasn’t hungry—her stomach was tied in too many knots—but her head ached, and she thought part of that could be assuaged by some coffee.So she might as well face Aly.

Who would fuss.

Sam was halfway down the stairs before she realized if she wanted to avoid it, she could stay in her room.Sure, Aly would bring her up some breakfast and fuss a bit, but if Sam really refused to leave that room, she would be alone for most of the day.

So for all of Sam’s internal talk about wanting to be alone, her actions weren’t exactly matching that.The most uncomfortable realization was that this self-awareness was thanks to Landon of all people.

Shaking her head, she walked into the kitchen.Maybe shewasa little hungry.She could choke something down with her coffee.Aly was certainly a better cook than Sam was.

Sam paused in her movement toward the coffee pot.She could see Aly and Landon in the doorway between the kitchen and mudroom.Landon clearly dressed to head out to work the ranch, saying goodbye to his wife for the day.

Murmured words.A hushed kiss.And the strange sight of Landon’s hand rubbing over Aly’s stomach like…

Sam didn’t make a study out of how Aly and Landon were with each other.There was a kind of ease of affection married couples should probably have, and maybe Landon put his hand on Aly’s stomach like that all the time when it was just the two of them.

Sam somehow doubted it.She turned away, trying not to think about it.Finding it wasimpossiblenot to think about.

Aly was pregnant.Probably.Quick, but why wouldn’t Landon and Aly be quick about it?Nobody here was getting any younger.

And your fiancé, who you haven’t even discussed potential kids with, is in jail.

She raked a hand through her unruly hair.Why wasn’t she home alone where she belonged?She needed to figure out a way to get there.

We are all in this together.

But did that really mean she had to be in someone else’s house?

“Oh, morning, Sam,” Aly greeted cheerfully when she turned away from Landon’s retreating form.“I hope you got some sleep.”

Sam tried to smile.A couple hours, maybe, but that was a lot more than she’d been getting lately.And she couldn’t claim it was the release of crying it out, because she’d been doing that, like a little bitch, consistently.

The rest had been a direct result of Landon taking a bit of the weight off her shoulders and making sure she understood it was a weight on all of them.To share.

What the hell was Sam supposed to do with that?

She’d thanked him last night, so they were even.Or so she tried to tell herself.

“Sit.Eat.”Aly put a plate in front of her when Sam lowered herself into a chair at the little kitchen table.

Clearly Aly and Landon had already eaten, but Aly had kept the plate warm and now filled up a coffee mug for Sam.

“You aren’t going anywhere until you eat every bite,” Aly said firmly, putting a little container of sugar next to Sam’s mug.“You haven’t been taking care of yourself, and how can you expect to solve this if your mind is muddled with lack of sleep and no fuel?”

Well, I’m not going to solve it, because I never do.

Since she hated how damn self-pitying she sounded in her own head, she pivoted.“Should I say congratulations?”

Aly blinked, then turned away from her, moving to fuss with something on the stove.Purposefully hiding her expression.“For what?”

Sam supposed if Aly wanted to keep it quiet, that was her business.She wasn’t going to poke or pry, but… she’d hate to be the reason Aly was keeping it quiet.“You get to be happy about stuff even if life sucks.”