Free North Dakota Weddings by Elizabeth Goddard

a person who was hard-pressed to even attend school? Andi eyed her sister, soon to become a woman. She wanted Elisa to have every opportunity and planned to try a different tactic. Scolding her would only drive her further away.
    “We’ll figure out how to make this work.”
    “I doubt it.” Elisa turned on her heel and trotted out.
    Andi sighed. She saw great potential in Elisa. If only her sister would see the same. Though Andi might listen to her own advice. Ever since Jorgen dumped her because she wasn’t as educated—would no longer fit into the life he wanted—she’d looked at the world differently, feeling anything but adequate. No one could ever accuse Andi of not trying, but now Elisa was the one with opportunities ahead of her, and Andi wouldn’t let her throw them away.
    Elisa was right about one thing though. This room was a mess. Once Ground Zero sold, Vance would pay her the balance of her fee plus some, and that was enough motivation to wash away her fears.
    She closed her eyes and imagined discovering what her grandfather had hidden. Was it a slice of history? Or was it something valuable in terms of cold, hard cash?
    Guilt began dropping on her like splotches of paint. She’d almost told Vance about her search the other day when she’d shared about her grandfather working at the military base, but she’d been afraid of how he might react. She didn’t know him well enough. Would she ever?
    Then he’d acted differently toward her this morning. She’d had to coax out of him the grin she liked. Did it have anything to do with the remodeling? She hoped not.
    “Hey there.” Vance leaned through the open doorway and smiled.
    Seeing Vance, Andi straightened. “Hi.”
    He strolled the rest of the way into the room. “I wanted to apologize for my behavior this morning.”
    “Oh, you’re fine. We all have our good days and bad days.” And lately, she’d had her share of the latter.
    “It’s just that there’s a problem at my company. I need to be there to work on it, but I can’t exactly work on it there.” He laughed and shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m not making any sense, am I?”
    Andi laughed. “For a smart guy, no, you’re not. But I’m sure it has more to do with my ability to understand than it does with you.” Why had she said that?
    A pained expression crossed his face. “You’re wrong, actually. You’re a beautiful and intelligent woman. On the other hand, I’m not so good at communicating.”
    Andi felt herself blush at his compliment. She wished she could believe him, and averted her gaze. He was being so…honest, and she was being so…not. More guilt splotches.
    “I’d like to know more about my uncle. You worked with him, knew him for a while. What can you tell me about him?”
    What was he playing at? Did he know about her search? She studied him. The need to tell the truth chiseled at her. “Since you asked, there is something I have to tell—”
    “Can we go already?” Elisa stood in the doorway, arms crossed. “I’m tired and hungry. You didn’t even let me get a snack.”
    What are you, five?
Andi didn’t want to argue in front of Vance. Her shoulders fell. “I’m sorry, I have to go. We can talk later.”
    She stomped after Elisa into the elevator, swathed in guilt paint splotches because she’d just used her sister as an excuse to avoid telling Vance the truth, and was ready to throw out her earlier resolve not to lecture or scold Elisa. “Did you have to be so rude? I was in the middle of a conversation.”
    When she received no response she glanced at her sister. That explained it. She was plugged into music.
    Just as well. Drained, Andi didn’t have the energy to talk to the teenager at the moment. Once outside, they headed for the truck.
    “Hey, wait up,” Vance called.
    Andi turned to see him walking toward her, out of breath. He must have taken the stairs. She admired his lithe form, wondering how he kept in shape with the way he