Faithful to a Fault by K. J. Reed

talking to me.”
    “I was too pissed by then. I’d been the one left behind. I’d been the one Dad lashed out at when he was feeling mean or nasty. That pissed me off. Then I started buying Dad’s shit, believing it. Thinking you’d abandoned me.”
    Trav scooted over and cautiously draped an arm around her shoulder. “You were a teen. You weren’t supposed to have it all figured out. The adult in our life was supposed to do that for us. He’s to blame, not us.” He rubbed her arm.
    Sarah sniffed. “Still. I lost all this time with you and all because of pride. I didn’t want to run back to you after thinking for so long you left me.” God, the years she’d lost with her brother. The support she could have had when she needed it most. All along, she’d had a soft place to land and she didn’t even realize it.
    “Well, we’ve got plenty of time now. Thanks to Pete.”
    Sarah stiffened.
    “What?” Trav asked. “You didn’t like him?”
    “No. I mean yes. Or not.” Sarah bit her lip, not sure what to say. Well, she’d always asked for honesty from Pete. Might as well stay with it.
    “I was upset that he told you where I was without talking to me first.”
    “Okay,” Trav said, drawing the word out. “He’s my best friend, though.”
    Oh. “Best friend?”
    “Yeah. We met in boot, we bonded over horrible parents, or his lack thereof, and we’ve been best friends for over ten years now. Like a brother. Family.”
    Oh shit.
    “Plus, I asked him to not say a word. I was afraid you’d take off and I wouldn’t find you. He wasn’t happy to do it, you know. I had to talk him into it.”
    Double shit. Now how was she supposed to stay angry? Pete had known her for a week. Trav had been his best friend—his family—for a decade. Suddenly things started to click.
    Sarah made the supreme effort to step back and look at the situation objectively. Who would she want someone to show more loyalty toward? Family first, she would think. And knowing that he still struggled to go behind her back, to keep it quiet, and fought to tell her the truth as soon as possible still meant something.
    Making a split-second decision, going with the impulse, she said, “I like him.”
    “I’m glad,” Trav said, completely oblivious. “Pete’s a good guy.”
    Sarah sighed. An hour with her brother and already he exasperated her. But it was good. Very siblingesque. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Comforting.
    “Yes. Yes he is. Keep that in mind.” She blew out a breath. “I more than like him. I think he might more than like me, too.”
    “How could you ‘more than like’ him? You’ve spent like ten minutes with the guy.” Her brother’s face was a mask of utter confusion.
    “We made good use of those ‘ten minutes’,” she said with a smile. When her brother said nothing, Sarah rolled her eyes. “Just… Just use your imagination.”
    “Use my imagina— Sarah!” The look of confusion morphed into horror. “You’re not supposed to be doing that!”
    She couldn’t help it. Tipping her head back, Sarah let out a deep laugh. “I’m twenty-five. And divorced. Sex isn’t exactly—”
    “Stop. Stop right there,” Trav said, covering his ears with his palms. “I’m going to just pretend you didn’t say any of that. Let me live in my little bubble of ignorance.”
    “Fine.” Sarah tugged at his arm playfully until he dropped his hands. “Just thought you should have fair warning. Because somehow I need to fix this. Even though I’m still mad,” she added, just to be contrary.
    With caution, Trav stroked a hand down her arm, then pulled her close. “He’s a good guy. Don’t be mad at him.”
    No. She couldn’t be. Not even if she wanted to. What that meant for the future, she wasn’t sure yet.

Chapter Eight
     
    Sarah sat next to Brice Winston, Ariel’s brother, at the long banquet table. The Winstons were generous enough to host Thanksgiving at their camp dining hall, since