Love Scars by Lark Lane Page A

racked up eight points in three minutes in high-definition gorgeousness on the ninety-inch screen. It was as bad as being there.
    “What’s Nora’s story, anyway?” I said. “Has Lisa ever told you what happened to her folks?”
    “Not Lisa,” Brad said. “Stacey. The kid told me about it when I was showing her some Toasty stuff in her Mortal Kombat collection.”
    “The niece,” I said. “They act like she’s made of rice paper.”
    “She’s stronger than they think. Way stronger than her Aunt Nora. And they haven’t noticed, but she’s not a kid. She’ll be eighteen on Wednesday.”
    “But you’ve noticed. What happened to your mad passion for Lisa?”
    “It’s not like that, dude. Stacey’s my sister’s age.”
    “Veda would be eighteen now?” I said. “I didn’t realize.” Brad’s little sister had been killed in a car accident five years ago. 
    “Yeah, well,” Brad said. “Maybe it looks weird that I take an interest, but it’s like having Veda around again. And Stacey needs a big brother figure to balance those clucking hens that overprotect her.”
    “That’s cool, Brad. Really. So back to my question,” I said. “What happened to Nora’s folks?”
    “Not just her folks,” Brad said. “Her entire family except for Stacey. Her mom and dad and little brother, and Stacey’s parents—Nora’s older brother and his wife. All murdered.”
    “Shit.”
    “They were at their cabin in the foothills for the weekend. Everybody was outside around the campfire when the dog got away. Nora and Stacey went after the dog, and while they were gone they heard the screams and gunshots. Some guy with a semi-automatic was spraying everybody with bullets. Somehow Nora got Stacey up into a tree house without the guy seeing them. She made Stacey cover her ears and close her eyes. You can imagine how that helped.”
    They’re all dead. That’s what Nora had meant. She must have been having a flashback or something. I couldn’t stand it. Every part of me cried out to go to her and hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right.
    But it would be a lie. Nothing could ever be all right after something like that. “So she watched her family die.”
    “And the dog.”
    “Oh, come on!”
    “I told you it was horrific. The dog raced into the middle of the carnage to attack the gunman, and the asshole killed it too.”
    “Jesus God.” Compared to that, I had no right to carry the damaged chip on my shoulder. I had to stay away from Nora. The last thing she needed was a lying asshole adding his petty grief to her life.
    “Hey.” Brad looked at his iPhone. “Speak of the devil and my angel appears.” He grinned at me. “A text from Lisa reminding me about Stacey’s birthday dinner Wednesday. She says to bring you.”

Chapter 12
    Stacey called from her friend’s house in Fair Oaks. They were home from Disneyland but exhausted, and could one of us go pick her up? Good old Frank volunteered since Lisa and I were busy doing another run over the yard, still cleaning up after Friday’s party.
    I picked up another empty Heineken from the lawn and tossed it into a black plastic garbage bag. “Next time, no green bottles,” I said. “It’s too easy to miss them in the grass.”
    “There isn’t going to be a next time.” Lisa was up on the deck. She poured a little vegetable oil on a paper towel to use to light the charcoal in the grill. She learned all kinds of neat tricks like that working at the restaurant. “I’m ready for a new phase. Small dinners and sophisticated people.”
    “Sophisticated. Right,” I said. “Aren’t we barbecuing hot dogs tonight?”
    “You know what I mean. The kind of people who don’t top off a party by barfing on the lawn.”
    “I’m all for that.” I picked up a blackened banana peel and added it to the bag. “Seriously. A banana peel.”
    Lisa got the fire going with the charcoal and brought another garbage bag down to the lawn to help