AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brooke stood in the doorway. “I will.”
His eyes held hers. “Lock the door behind me.”
She touched his arm, reluctant to see him go. “Okay.”
He lingered, searching her face for another beat before he turned and started through the darkness.
Brooke wanted to follow him, to enjoy one more kiss, to ask exactly what the kisses had meant. Instead, she shut the door and secured the bolt, then turned to her friend waiting just inside.
“Are you two—?” Jasmine sat her overnight bag on the couch and took a long look at Brooke before a knowing smile bloomed. “Oh, yeah, you are. Ain’t love grand?”
They stayed up much too late talking about the hooded man and the trouble with Vincent and Marsha, but mostly they’d talked about men. Two in particular, Gabe and Cade. Jasmine was in love with a young man from the wrong side of the family and she knew Arabella did not approve.
Early the next morning, after less than three hours’ sleep, Jasmine asked Brooke for help.
“I have a favor to ask.” Jasmine leaned on the speckled Formica counter in Brooke’s kitchen, waiting for the tea kettle to whistle on the old white porcelain cookstove.
“One good turn deserves another.” Toast popped up, releasing a hot scent. “Butter and cinnamon?”
Jasmine shook her head as she extended a saucer. “I’m a jelly girl.”
Gingerly juggling the hot bread, Brooke dropped a slice on the saucer and went to work on her own. “What kind of favor?”
Jasmine’s hesitation gave her fair warning. She was not going to enjoy this favor.
“Go with me this morning to talk to Arabella.”
“About what?”
“Cade and me,” she murmured softly.
“Oh.”
Jasmine rushed on. “You know how Arabella feels about us being together.”
“She has good reasons, Jasmine, even though you’re the most mature and sensible eighteen year old I’ve ever known.”
“Age is not the only reason she opposes our relationship, Brooke. Admit it. You’re prejudice against him, too, because of his family.” She sighed. “But Cade’s not like them. He’s sweet and honest, and he loves and respects me.”
Brooke chomped down on her toast. “What do you want me to do? Tell Arabella to lighten up? She loves you, Jas. She only wants the best for you.”
“I know. She’s been wonderful. I love her like a big sister and I hate to hurt her…but I love Cade. I won’t give him up.”
“Has she asked you to?”
Jasmine looped a lock of hair behind one ear. She took a deep breath and said, “You know what it’s like to be young and in love. Don’t deny it. I saw the way you looked at Gabe.”
Still digesting the events of last night, Brooke was not ready to discuss her feelings for Gabe Wesson. “What does that have to do with talking to Arabella?”
“I want you there to make things easier for me, for her, for all of us. Kind of a family council. She’s going to need someone to talk to afterward.”
Brooke didn’t like the sound of that. “So what’s to talk about?”
“Cade is coming over to the house this morning. We’re going to tell her the news.”
Alarm prickled Brooke’s scalp. Arabella would die if Jasmine was pregnant. “What news?”
“Cade and I are getting married.”
Chapter Twelve
The scene in the vaulted living room of Clayton House was tense to say the least. Brooke, who kept wondering how she’d gotten involved in the first place, was glad Arabella had confined the triplets to the playroom with a DVD. This council of family, small as it was, throbbed with conflict.
To his credit, Cade Clayton behaved like a real man. He sat beside Jasmine on Grandma’s silk rose divan holding Jasmine’s hand while he laid his hopes and dreams before Arabella.
“We want your blessing, Arabella. It’s important to both of us. I promise to take good care of her.”
Arabella, wringing her hands like a tragic Shakespearean heroine, paced the faded Turkish rug in front of the hearth. “How do you propose to live? You’re nineteen, Cade. Jasmine is eighteen. Neither of you have any real job skills, no college degrees.”
