Page 175 of Our Little Secret

Brooke forced herself to her feet and sucked in her breath before crumpling back onto the couch. “I can’t, Leah,” she said as earnestly as she could.

“What? But this is important! I told you!”

Neal shook his head. “Maybe we should just—”

“No! No! We’re going!” Leah was emphatic.

Neal argued, “But Brooke can’t go and someone should stay with her.”

“I will!” Marilee volunteered.

“No!” Leah cast a disparaging, almost disbelieving glare at her sister. “Midnight mass is what Nana would have wanted! And . . . and I need her blessing for this wedding, even if it’s from the other side of the veil.” Sniffing loudly, she said, “We’reallgoing. Or the rest of us anyway. If Brooke can’t make it, that’s on her conscience.” Leah motioned to the Nativity scene on the mantel with its injured Joseph, then to the cross mounted over the archway to the entry hall. “It’s what Nana would have wanted.”

Amen, sister, Brooke thought.

Everyone else went upstairs, ostensibly to get ready. She heard footsteps and bits of conversation. Marilee arguing that she didn’t want to go. Neal placating her. Leah’s higher-pitched insistence and Neal, again, this time calming his sister-in-law. Brooke thought about that, about how Neal and Leah had lied to her, had tried to manipulate her. She sensed there was a lot more going on there and wondered about all of Neal’s business trips. Some to San Francisco. Some to LA. Once to Portland. As recently as September, and then he hadn’t flown anywhere.

Not since Leah had met her latest soulmate in the form of Eli Stone or Gideon Ross.

Lord, what a mess.

The first person down was Eli.

“Sure you can’t make it?” he asked, wandering into the living room and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Don’t think so.”

“Leah is disappointed.”

“She’ll get over it.”

Marilee wandered downstairs. She glanced from Eli to her mother. “What’s going on?”

“Just trying to talk your mom into joining us.”

“She can’t!” Marilee said almost angrily. “She’s hurt.”

“Yeah—I saw her fall,” Eli said as he turned to Brooke. “So, what were you doing on the chair? Fiddling with the lights, is that what you said?”

Bastard.He knew! He’d seen!

“What does it matter? She fell. Probably sprained her ankle. She can’t come.” Rolling her eyes and shoving her hands through her hair, then adjusting her earring, Marilee said, “Can we just go already?” just as Neal and Leah returned.

“Yes, it’s time. Come on, come on.” Leah made a scooting motion with her fingers, and finally everyone bundled up in the front hall.

Even Eli.

Especially Eli.

Brooke waited as Neal opened the front door to the whistling wind and endless snow. “What a night,” he muttered. “We’ll be lucky if the ferry’s running in this weather.”

“It is. I checked,” Leah assured him and marched into the elements.

Everyone else followed.

Eli stared through the archway at Brooke for a long moment, then pulled the door shut.

You damned psycho.

---