Page 59 of Old Money
She whipped her head toward me, mock outrage in her voice.
“Hang on, are we doing truths now?”
I shrugged, but my face went hot.
“Busted!” She pointed at me. “We’re doing dares, and it’syourturn. I dare you to come put your feet in with me.”
I started to protest. No, the game was over. We were just talking.
Caitlin shook her head, eyes shut.
“Nope, that’s the dare.” She grinned. “Seriously, the water feelssogood.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Too bad, babe, it’s a dare!”
“Fine,” I muttered, shrugging again. “You win, I don’t care.”
“Aw, c’mon!” Caitlin paused, biting her lip, then leanedtoward me, dropping into a whisper. “I’ll tell you ‘what happens, exactly.’ ”
She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Shut up!” I shouted. “I don’twantto!”
Everything seemed to freeze, Caitlin included. For an instant, she looked just like my mother. The look on her face was the same one Mom got the time I toldherto shut up. It was a look of astonishment more than offense:I didn’t know you could do that.
“Well,” Caitlin said. “Alrighty then.”
Now the game was really over. I covered my mouth, instantly sorry.
Caitlin took hold of her dress with one hand, grasping the railing with the other. As she stood, her feet skidded slightly on the underwater step. She made a little whooping sound, gripping the railing.
“Wait,” I said, rushing over, desperate to make up for my gaffe. “It’s slippery, I’ll help you.”
“No worries, I’m—”
Caitlin lifted one foot out of the pool, and the other one slipped again, sliding sideways on the step. It happened in an instant: her eyes and mouth opened wide, a look of panic seized her face and she dropped her skirt, reflexively reaching for my shoulder to steady herself. I registered her hand a second too late, lurched sideways under the force of her grasp, and then my feet stumbled one over the other and I was falling toward the pool. Just before I hit the water, I heard Caitlin gasp.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Idon’t understand,” says Jamie, holding the paper. “It came with the wedding invitation?”
“No,”I hiss. “They were both in the mailbox, but the invite was mailed. This was justleft.”
“On the same day as the wedding invitation.”
“Maybe?! Or maybe the person left it this morning, and just stuck it in with yesterday’s mail.”
“Which had the wedding invitation in it.”
“Jamie!” I shut the office door firmly. “Please stop saying ‘wedding invitation.’ That’s a whole other whatever—I can’t even think about that yet. I’m still on the unmarked note.”
He raises his eyebrows.
“I don’t think it is ‘a whole other whatever,’ ” he says simply. “I think it’s pretty obvious, this came from Patrick too. Maybe not him personally, but you know—on his behalf.”
I shake my head. It doesn’t feel like him. I think about Jeremy’s email—him saying it didn’t seem like the Yateses’ style, making overt threats. Then again, Jeremy also said most people don’t get two warnings. I guess I’m the exception.
