Tragically young. Lester did not like when the word tragically was applied to Sloane, for all that it was tragic. It made her seem like a story, and not like a person. He kicked the toe of his shoe against the frozen ground of the cemetery.

"Yeah," he said, still looking quizzically at the girl who looked so much like Sloane. He tried for a smile because he did not want her to leave yet and it came out like a grimace. "Since we were babies, actually. She lived next door."