The Sisters' Secrets: Reen

by Katlyn Duncan

  Coming from a small town in Western Massachusetts, KATLYN DUNCAN always had her head in the clouds. Working as a scientist for most of her adult life, she enjoyed breaking down the hows and whys of life. As a full-time author and freelance writer, she’s published eight novels in four years. If she’s not writing, she’s obsessing over many (many) television series’. She currently resides in Southern New England with her family.

  Also by Katlyn Duncan

  The Life After Trilogy: Soul Taken

  The Life After Trilogy: Soul Possessed

  The Life After Trilogy: Soul Betrayed

  This Summer

  This Christmas

  Darkest Dawn

  As You Lay Sleeping

  Six Little Secrets

  The Sisters’ Secrets: Rose

  The Sisters’ Secrets: Reen

  Katlyn Duncan

  ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

  Copyright

  An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019

  Copyright © Katlyn Duncan 2019

  Katlyn Duncan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

  E-book Edition © January 2019 ISBN: 9780008314910

  Readers love Katlyn Duncan

  ‘I will definitely be reading more from this author again.’

  ‘Engaging and thought provoking.’

  ‘I was completely glued from page one and didn’t want to put it down.’

  ‘Gripping. Thrilling. On the edge of your seat exciting. I absolutely loved it.’

  ‘This story kept me guessing.’

  ‘Perfect for someone who wants a quick read that's also gripping’

  Contents

  Cover

  Author Bio

  Booklist

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Praise

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt

  Endpage

  About the Publisher

  PROLOGUE

  The cheering voices filled Reen’s ears as she inhaled a steady and slow breath. Her mind turned inward until the scratchy plastic under her feet was the only thing she focused on. She pressed her fingers under the edge of the block and bent her knees at the precise angle to get the best advantage in the water.

  But she didn’t need any advantages. She was already in the top spot on her team and in the state, which was why she had a choice of any college swimming program. The school of her dreams had already picked her, but she’d kept it a closely guarded secret. She wanted her rivals to think she hadn’t yet made a choice. It made the competition a little sweeter when everyone fought for the low times. She’d drawn recruiters from all over the country to her meets.

  Reen sifted through the shouting of the crowd, finding Brody’s voice first. Her entire body tingled. Mom, Dad, Rose, and Brody never missed her meets. They were the support system in her life who made living in this dead-end town bearable. She couldn’t wait to finish the race and throw her arms around Brody and kiss him – after he congratulated her for another personal best score, of course.

  Even though Brody wasn’t interested in her because of her talent in the pool, Reen got an incredible high from taking out the competition. She lived off it for at least a day afterward, making every moment spent with Brody that much more exciting.

  The other girls took position, but she didn’t bother looking at them. In the past, when she did, they would put her off or pull faces at her. Their jealousy only fueled her, but she didn’t need negativity in her life. Besides, she had Brody – what else did she need?

  When the gun went off, Reen let out a slow breath as the other girls dove into the pool. It was better to have a late start than a false one. As a young swimmer on the team, she’d false-started more times than not. Control took skill, and she’d honed it over the years. Now, she was quicker and could make up the time once she was in the pool.

  She shoved off the block. When the water touched her fingers, a bolt of energy pulsed through her. The second before her face hit the water, she pulled in a breath. Fully submerged, she allowed herself a half second to revel in the way the water surrounded her body. Ever since she remembered, the water felt more like home than her actual house or the town they lived in. She didn’t understand her sister Rose’s fear of the water, but at least Mom felt the same way as Reen. For much of the year, they waded in the surf – only a few steps away from their back door.

  The feel of the water around her snapped her back to the present. Her body moved on instinct after years of practice. Even though her coaches didn’t care much for her ability to hold her breath much longer than seemed possible, it was the only way she could get ahead without resistance.

  She didn’t take a second one until shoving off from the other side of the pool.

  Using the split second to breathe from both sides of her strokes, she checked out the competition. She was already in the top spot. But that wasn’t enough for her. The goal of any meet was to beat herself. The other girls weren’t her competitors. The more she thought that way, the lower her times became.

  She waited to sprint until her last lap and managed to get far enough ahead that only one of the girls was close behind when Reen touched the side of the pool.

  The crowd exploded with cheers, but all she focused on was the scoreboard.

  She held the number she wanted to beat in the front of her mind. When her times appeared, she inhaled sharply and whooped as loud as she could.

  Whipping around to see her family, she expected four smiling faces: Brody, Dad, Mom, and Rose. The rush of adrenaline filled her body as she hopped out of the pool. The momentary pull from the water stopped her in her tracks.

  Brody had his back to Reen. Her feet slapped against the tile floor as she neared her family. Why wasn’t he coming over to congratulate her?

  Reen looked for Mom in the crowd. It took her a second to spot her sprinting from the room with her cell phone pressed to her ear.

  A breath caught in Reen’s thro
at and the roar of the crowd dampened as her heart pounded in her ears. Something had happened. She knew it in her bones. It was the same intuition that always led her straight and true in the water. Her gut twisted so hard that she almost doubled over. The heat from the room intensified as the world dangerously tilted.

  The last thing she saw was Brody drifting toward her with his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes filled with concern.

  CHAPTER ONE

  It wasn’t the simple act of coming home Reen dreaded more than anything. It was the water. She’d spent her entire life in the salt-filled ocean or a chlorine-filled pool. Well, her whole life up until eight years ago. Since leaving the coastal town of The Burrow, she tended to avoid large bodies of water because the reminder of home was, at times, too much to bear. Her body craved the sensation that linked her to her childhood, but she turned away from it, as her family had turned away from her. Traveling by car and plane across the country, avoiding the shores and deep lakes, she’d done just that. Until now.

  When she arrived at the familiar house, her childhood home, she hesitated in the driveway. Rose had rented the house to her new boyfriend, but Reen wasn’t ready to meet someone new and pretend everything was okay between her and her sister. The reminder of Dad in every inch of the house was hard enough. A stronger force pulled her around to the side, where the sand met the small patch of grass out front. The water called her, a siren song reappearing in her mind as if it had been waiting for her to return.

  She kicked off her wedge heels and stepped forward, allowing the sand to swallow her feet as she walked toward the ocean. Each cautious step brought her closer, but she was careful not to drop everything and run to it. The last eight years had been a test of her will, yet she found it wavering.

  Reen stopped at the point where the damp sand touched the dry. She closed her eyes and inhaled the salty sea air. It was as if she hadn’t breathed at all in the years she’d been gone.

  At that moment, it was as if she’d never left. The urge to strip down and jump into the unknown depths overwhelmed her. But she held her composure, knowing her sister was on the way. She’d texted her once she’d landed in Hartford, yet the always punctual Rose wasn’t on time. Any other time, this might have alarmed Reen, but since hearing that Rose had a boyfriend now, Reen guessed that her sister’s attention was on him. It was Rose’s way to mold herself into whomever she was dating.

  Though, she wasn’t sure why Rose chose to live in a separate apartment from their childhood home yet kept it in the family.

  From the short conversation she’d had with Rose two days ago, it seemed her boyfriend was in the police department. It was so like Rose to choose another local. Another root set down in this dead-end place. It didn’t matter. Once Reen saw Mom, she’d be on the next flight out of Connecticut and back to her own life.

  ‘Reen.’ Rose’s voice called behind her, barely audible over the crashing waves filling her ears.

  Reen gulped another breath of air before turning to her sister.

  Rose looked almost the same as she had when Reen left. Like Mom, she’d refused to cut her hair. It fell in brunette waves down her back. The sun shimmered off the lighter strands. It took a steady breeze to move the thick locks from her shoulder.

  An inward smile warmed Reen as Rose took in the status of her hair. Reen hadn’t cut it for a few years after leaving, but one drunken night, she’d decided to chop it all off. It was the last tie to her family and she’d wanted nothing to do with them. At the time, it seemed like the perfect way to break away from her old life, but when Reen woke the next morning to a choppy disaster on her head, she’d thrown a baseball cap on and headed to the salon. Since then, she’d never let her locks grow below her shoulders. Other than the color of their hair, they no longer resembled sisters as they had in the past.

  The stark contrast was enough for Rose to stare. ‘You look…different.’

  ‘You don’t,’ Reen said, trying to keep the snap out of her tone. As much as she missed the relationship from their childhood, it hadn’t been the same for a long time. Rose’s refusal to go into the water had been the start of their separation.

  Further up the beach, the door leading to the back porch opened, and a man stepped out. Reen shielded her eyes to look at him. She didn’t recognize him as a typical local. He hadn’t yet settled into the pot-bellied laziness of most of the older men. Though, he couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Rose. Reen guessed that was most likely why her sister had pounced on him.

  Rose glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him. He waved but didn’t attempt to come closer to them.

  ‘He’s cute,’ Reen said, drawing her sister back to the conversation.

  ‘Thanks.’ Rose’s smile reminded Reen of a time when she’d been in love too. ‘How’s Maryland?’

  ‘I live in West Virginia now,’ Reen said.

  ‘Oh,’ Rose said. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘When are we going to see Mom?’ The name sounded foreign on her lips. In the time she’d been away, any question about her family she answered with a dismissive wave of her hand, and a brief excuse about them living in Connecticut.

  Rose cleared her throat. ‘I thought you could settle in first.’

  Reen’s grip tightened on her bag. ‘I’m not settling anywhere.’

  Rose’s lips pressed into a smile. ‘Come on. You should stay for a little while. Let’s catch up.’

  Reen shook her head. It was the last thing she wanted. Rose always buried her true feelings in polite tones. Reen never forgot Mom pushing them out of her life after Dad died.

  ‘Once I see her, I’m headed out. I’ll grab the next flight out of here.’ Reen didn’t have a lot of money and wasn’t frivolous with what she did have. She wanted to uphold her wandering persona in front of her sister. It added an extra thrill to keep Rose on her toes.

  ‘When are you leaving?’ Rose asked.

  Reen dug her toes into the sand. Why had she taken her shoes off? The water made her vulnerable. She never wanted to be that way around Rose.

  ‘Tomorrow morning,’ Reen said.

  ‘Then we have time. I wanted to talk to you about something else.’

  ‘Does it have to do with Mom?’ Reen asked.

  Rose nodded. ‘I – well, Shane and I had the strangest experience—’ Her words cut off as if she were trying to figure out a puzzle in her head.

  Reen waited a moment, before crossing her arms over her chest.

  Rose blinked as if coming out of a dream.

  ‘What is it?’ Reen asked.

  Rose shook her head. ‘I’ll tell you about it after we see Mom at the Whinding House.’

  ‘Okay,’ Reen said, unsure of what Rose wanted to tell her. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem important enough for her to press for more information before going to the nursing home.

  ‘We can take my car,’ Rose said, walking toward the house.

  Reen wasn’t ready to be alone with Rose, cramped inside of her car. ‘I’ll meet you there. I have a rental.’

  Rose’s lips twisted. ‘We’re both coming back here. We can take your car—’

  ‘I’m not coming back here,’ Reen said.

  ‘Do you have somewhere to be?’

  Anywhere but here. ‘I don’t want to stay here with you and your boyfriend.’

  ‘I never expected you to stay here with us. Shane was going to cook dinner tonight. I planned for us to stay at my place, together. You know I don’t live here anymore.’

  ‘Neither do I,’ Reen said. It was easier for everyone if they kept their lives the same instead of changing everything now.

  ‘You really can’t visit us for one day? Your family?’

  Reen looked away.

  Rose licked her lips. ‘Not much has changed, has it?’

  ‘I’m here to see Mom. This isn’t going to be a big reunion.’ Reen let out a sigh. ‘I don’t know what you’re expecting from me. Mom made it clear who was important after Dad died.
I have a life elsewhere.’

  Rose pressed her hands against her forehead. ‘I thought you would be over that by now. Mom is sick. Why can’t you let this go?’

  Reen opened her mouth to say something, but she caught Shane out of the corner of her eye, sauntering toward them. ‘Is everything all right over here?’

  He had a slight limp, but that didn’t detract from his good looks. This guy wasn’t Rose’s type at all. He wasn’t polished and perfect, like her sister. She usually chose the pretty ones with no personality.

  Reen’s hackles rose, ready for him to get on her case too. No doubt Rose had told him one-sided stories about her.

  ‘I’m Reen,’ she said, holding her hand out for him. Her dad had always said the sign of a good person was his or her handshake.

  Shane passed the test. His smile was kind too.

  After shaking her hand, he placed his on the small of Rose’s back. A pulse rushed through Reen. As much as she could pretend that she had been around the country, having the time of her life with whomever she wanted, all she had really done was hide. She’d had a few one-night stands, but she didn’t allow herself to fall into a long-term trap with anyone. She knew what happened when she opened her heart.

  Rose bumped against Shane and her lips curved. Their faces lit up, and Reen looked away as if she’d been staring at the sun. At least someone in their family was happy.

  ‘Reen isn’t staying for dinner tonight,’ Rose told Shane.

  Shane jutted his lip out and nodded. ‘I’m making lasagna, but I can make something different if you’d like.’

  Reen barely heard him as the rush of her heartbeat filled her ears. Rose was trying a different tactic by putting her on the spot with Shane. Reen wouldn’t falter. ‘I have an early flight in the morning.’

  Shane and Rose shared a look but didn’t push.

  ‘We should get going,’ Rose said, and kissed Shane.

  Reen’s chin tipped downward as she witnessed an intimate moment between Shane and her sister. She turned and walked toward her car. ‘I’m headed out. I have the address for the nursing home on my phone.’