Youre pregnant, Sue whispers. I thought I heard you getting sick yesterday morning, too, but I figured you might have eaten something that disagreed with you.
Brynn considers, then dismisses, the notion of going along with that theory. She was obviously fine last night. Her father treated the whole family, including two of her brothers and their wives and kids, to dinner at a seafood place followed by a visit to Cold Stone Creamery.
Maybe she was eating from nervesseeing Isaac really was unsettling. Or maybe she was merely eating because she was starved, and the nausea had finally worn off.
But everyone joked about the way she devoured twin lobster tails and a gigantic waffle cone heaping with Pecan and Cream Pa.s.sion.
Please dont say anything to Daddy, she tells Sue, realizing she might as well admit the truth. Sh.e.l.l find out sooner or later anyway. And dont mention it to the boys, either. I havent told anyone yet.
Not even Garth?
She shakes her head. It wasnt planned. I was on the pill. I cant believe this happened I never missed one. Shes talking more to herself than to Sue.
But her stepmother asks, with the efficiency of the OBGYN nurse pract.i.tioner she once was, Have you been on antibiotics lately?
No, why?
Because they can interfere with the pills effectiveness.
Well, I havent Brynn stops short. Oh, yes, she has.
She was on antibiotics right before school started, when she and Caleb both had strep throat.
That explains it.
The doctor should warn people about that. She shakes her head in disbelief.
Im sure there are warnings in the pamphlet that comes with the pill packet. And most pharmacists print out drug interaction information when they hand over prescriptions, too.
Irked by Sues implication that Brynn could have avoided this situation had she been paying closer attention, even if its probably true, she says defensively, Well, n.o.body bothered to give me that information.
Well, Im sure youre looking forward to a new baby, and Garth will be, too, when you tell him. When are you going to do that?
None of your business,Brynn thinks, further irritated.
Waiting for the right moment again, huh? Sue smiles. I remember that Fathers Day when you No, its not like that, Brynn cuts in brusquely. I just Listen, Sue, no offense, but this is really a personal matter and I definitely dont feel comfortable talking about it right now with you.
She didnt mean to put emphasis on the last word, but somehow, it comes out that way.
Withyou .
It comes out sounding as though Brynn would prefer to discuss her pregnancy with just about anyone else in the world.
Which, come to think of it, is almost true.
Yet, seeing the flicker of hurt in Sues eyes, Brynn fends off remorse.
Point taken. And I wont say anything to anyone until you give me the green light, Sue promises quietly. Then she adds, looking Brynn pointedly in the eye, You might not like me, but you can trust me.
Brynn watches her stride down the hall and disappear into the kitchen.
I should probably go try to explain,she thinks guiltily.
She starts after her stepmother, with no idea what sh.e.l.l sayonly that she doesnt want Sue to think she doesnt like her Even if its true?
Well, she cant deny that Sue has really stepped up for Brynn and the boys this weekend. Daddy is getting older, and tired. He eagerly took them to the bas.e.m.e.nt, where they have always loved to play with Brynns brothers childhood train set, but he was wiped out in no time and had to take a nap. It was Sue who crawled around on the floor with the kids, and made them peanut b.u.t.ter sandwiches without the crusts when they were hungry before bed, and played endless rounds of Candyland so that each boy could win twice.
I dont have to like her But I dont have to hurt her, either,Brynn thinks as she steps into the kitchen to make amends.
But shes just in time to see the back door close as Sue leaves the house.
Opening her eyes on Sunday morning, Fiona finds herself facing a wall of windows looking out over a breathtaking mountain tapestry bathed in golden sunlight.
Her lips curve into a smile as she realizes exactly where she is.
Turning her head, she sees James lying beside her, tangled in the sheets, sound asleep.
She waits for the inevitable morning-after pang of regret But it doesnt come.
Everything about last night felt right.
She impulsively called him from her car as she headed back home from Boston after the funeral, thinking she should make up some professional reason to speak to him. It still hadnt come to her by the time he answered the phone, so she figured shed wing it.
He sounded glad to hear from her.
When are you coming back to town? he asked.
Right now.
Really. What are you doing when you get here?
Im not sure Come over.
She laughed. Is that an order?
Yes, it is.
At last, she got to lay eyes on the fabled cottagea three-story stone structure rambling along a majestic overlook. What a far cry from the cabin she still owns with Pat, not far from here.
What do you think? James asked.
That I could definitely see myself living here.
But, of course, she didnt say that.
James grilled chicken and vegetables on a grill that cost more than the sum total of every appliance in Fionas kitchen at home. He opened a bottle of wine, a rare vintage. And he kissed her on the moonlit terrace with the lights of Cedar Crest twinkling far below.
She didnt want to leave.
Ever.
And he didnt want her to leaveat least, not last night.
Now, checking her watchthe only thing shes still wearingFiona realizes that her fantasy interlude is about to skid to a crashing halt.
Sh.e.l.l have to scramble if shes going to make it home before Pat drops off Ashley.
She considers calling to tell him she cant be thereshe can say shes still hung up in Boston. He a.s.sumed she was spending the night there anyway, consoling Tildys family or something.
She turns to look at James again.
No, she should go.
Now,before she inadvertently says or does something to ruin this budding dream-come-true.
Back in her room, Brynn climbs into bed, determined to catch a little more sleep.
But the guilt has followed her.
She doesnt want to feel bad about Sue; life would be easier if she was immune to any feelings at all for her stepmother, good or bad But lately, especially, good.
It isnt easy to maintain resentment for someone who treats Caleb and Jeremyand, all right, Brynns father, tooso well.
Still If my mother were standing here, instead of her, Id be pouring my heart out about this pregnancy.
And about Rachel, even.
In fact, I would never have kept that to myself for ten years if she were around.
Ten years.
Its been even longer than that since her mother died. Is there ever going to come a day when Brynn isnt unexpectedly blindsided by pain and longing?
Maybe the grief isnt as raw as it once was, but its still there.
She finds herself thinking of Tildys father, so anguished as he pa.s.sed up the aisle after the service yesterday, leaning heavily on Troy Allersons arm.
People are supposed to lose their parents, painful as it is. Thats the natural order of things.
But Jason Harrington will have to survive the loss of his wife and both his children.
Just as Rachels parentsand siblings, especially her poor brotherhad to survive their loss.
Seeing Isaac yesterday brought it all back: the terrible days in the immediate, frenzied aftermath of her disappearance, when searchers were roaming the area looking for her. Brynns overwhelming guilt for hiding information that might have helped them find her Unless she didnt want to be found.
Did Isaac suspect, back then, that Brynn and the others might know more than they were telling? Is that why he kept coming back to Cedar Crest, back to the sorority house?
Could he be?
She cuts herself off hastily, telling herself theres no way Isaac is the one who killed Tildy. What reason would he possibly have?
What if he saw what happened with Rachel?
What if he wants revenge?
Brynn burrows into the quilt as if she can stave off the cold dread stealing over her once again.
Isaac wasnt even in Cedar Crest the night his stepsister vanished. He didnt get there until the next day, just as her absence was coming to light.
How do you know that?Brynn asks herself.
Because he told me.
She isnt just frightened now, she is starting to feel nauseated again, and this time, it isnt mere morning sickness.
She remembers that she was on the porch of the sorority house with some of the other sisters when Isaac pulled up in his car. He told them he had just driven from Manhattan to see Rachel.
He was immediately upset when Puffy told him she was missing. In retrospect, more upset, perhaps, than he should have been at that early stage. At the time, Brynn was more concerned with concealing her own guilt than with Isaacs reaction, but she does remember that he wouldnt accept the housemothers theory that Rachel had just spent the night with a friend somewhere and was still hanging out.
No, Isaac seemed to sense even then that something was very wrong. And, of course, Brynn, Tildy, Ca.s.sie, and Fionaknew that there was.
Does he believe, even now, that Brynn knows something?
Is that why he was looking at her so intently yesterday in the cafe?
And what is it that he isnt telling her about Rachel?
Hes hiding something, too.
She has no real evidence of that, just a vibe she sometimes gets about people. Usually people she knows well; Garth, in particular.
I swear you can read my mind,he says sometimes.
But not lately.
Before he left for Arizona, he seemed preoccupied.
Well, of course he was,Brynn tells herself.He was worried about me, and upset about Tildys murder, and the bird on the counter, and trying to finish the research material he was planning to present at the symposium Who wouldnt be preoccupied?
Anyway, Garths frame of mind wont be important until theyre back at home, where sh.e.l.l have to figure out how to deliver her pregnancy news.
Right now, shes more concerned with Isaac Halperns frame of mind.
Why did he show up in Cedar Crest the day after Rachels birthday?
He never said.
And Rachel never mentioned that he was coming. Why not?