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somewhere.”
    “Tina!”  
    They heard a door open, and Tina sprang to her feet. Sam appeared, looking disheveled, his eyes bloodshot and puffy.
    “I had a nightmare,” he said. “It was horrible.”
    “What was it?” Tina went to him, put her hands around him, and he buried his head in her shoulders. “What did you dream?
    “I dreamt of mother,” Sam said. “She… she came to tell me that she was ashamed of me. That she didn’t love me any more. Because of what I’ve done.”

    *****

Chapter 7
    Tina’s face turned white, even as her arms tightened around Sam. “What you’ve done? You haven’t done anything.”
    “It’s my fault Selena’s dead,” Sam said. “I was a bad brother. I didn’t treat her well. I made her feel unwelcome in my home, and that’s the only reason she was out that late in the library. She wouldn’t be dead if it weren’t for me.”
    “It’s not your fault, Sam,” Tina said softly. “No one thinks it is. Not your mother, not Selena herself.”
    “It’s the one thing I promised mom,” Sam said. “I promised her I’d always protect Selena. She was so protective of Selena after everything she’d been through. I promised…”
    It was strange, Nora thought. Strange to see strength in Tina’s delicate frame, and the weakness and defeat in Sam’s hefty, barrel-chested body. She was the only thing keeping him from sliding into a puddle on the ground, and there was pure tenderness on her face as she rained kisses all over him.
    “I love you, Sam,” she repeated, over and over. “I love you and I will always love you. We will get over this together. I promise you we will.”
    “I don’t want to get over it,” Sam said, pushing himself away from her. “I just want to… I don’t know. I want to find out who did it. I want justice. I owe my mom and Selena at least that much.”
    “The sheriff will find out,” Tina said. “Sean is very capable, I know he is.”
    Sam laughed. “Please. The only reason Sean’s made any arrests in the last few years is because Nora here helped him out.”
    “That’s not true,” Nora protested.  
    “Oh yes it is,” Sam said. “I’d hire you if I could, Nora, but I know you’re a little too busy with your catering jobs. I’ll tell you this, though, if you ever stood against Sean for the Sheriff’s post, I’d pick you over him.”
    “Sean’s great at his job,” Nora said. “Being a sheriff isn’t just about being a good detective. He helps keep law and order in this town. He’s diplomatic when needed and forceful when he has to be. Milburn needs him and so do its people.”
    “Milburn’s people are all getting murdered, if you haven’t noticed,” Sam said. “What’s Sean doing about that?” He fumbled in his pocket, and took out a brown pill bottle.
    “Enough, Sam.” Tina tried to take it from him. “I think you need your wits about you for the next few hours.”
    Once more, he pushed away from her. “I need this right now,” he said, taking a pill in his hand and swallowing it dry. Tina looked dismayed. In a few minutes, Sam looked peaceful. He moved to the window seat, and sat on it, with his head pressing against the glass. “Beautiful weather,” he said.
    Outside, thunder cracked and it rained even harder.
    “Selena’s favorite weather,” Sam said. “She loved stormy skies and placid seas. Funny, right?”
    “Were you close, growing up?” Nora asked.
    Tina moved to sit beside Sam, and he leaned back on her. She cradled his head in her lap. “I don’t think they were.”
    “I wish we had been,” Sam said. “But Selena was always in her own room, reading. I used to try and make her play cars with me when I was five. She once threw my favorite car out of the window because I disturbed her when she was on the final chapter of a thriller.”
    “Did that make you cry?” Tina kissed him gently on the forehead.
    “No.” Sam laughed. “I tore a page out of the book, and she chased me all around