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Ally passed a mug of coffee to Brooke, squeezing her fingers as she took it. “So what did they say?”
“Dad started shouting again. His face was so red I was afraid he was going to have a heart attack. In the end, Mom dragged him away, but not before he’d called me every bad name under the sun.” Brooke took a sip of coffee. “That’s when I called you.”
“It must have come as a shock to them. Remember how shocked Ember and I were when you told us Aiden was back. Give them time to get used to it.”
“There’s not much else I can do,” Brooke said, looking around the beach house Ally shared with her fiancé, Nate and his daughter, Riley. “Thanks for taking us in.” Though it was spacious enough – with a beautiful spare bedroom more than big enough for Brooke and Nick, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at imposing on her friend. “It’s only for one night, I promise.”
“You stay as long as you need to,” Nate told her, carrying a trayful of coffee into the living room and setting it down on the smoked glass coffee table. “There’s plenty of room here. Plus Riley’s having the time of her life with Nick.”
It was early on Monday evening. Brooke had picked Nick up from school and brought him straight to Nate and Ally’s – thanks to their kind offer. The thought of staying one more night in the bungalow, knowing what her parents thought of her was too much. She needed to put distance between them, to sort out her thoughts. And more importantly, to get control of her anger.
They’d manipulated her and lied for all these years. The thought of them forcing the Black family to leave town in the dead of night made her heart hurt. For Joan, for Aiden – even for Jamie. But most of all for her and Nick. She’d been so in love with Aiden it had hurt, and when he left it was as though she’d been torn in two.
“I need to start standing on my own two feet,” Brooke said, her voice resolute. “I want to find somewhere Nick and I can put some roots down. It’s been a long time coming, after all.”
Her eyes met Ally’s. More than anybody, her friend understood the need to call somewhere home. It made Brooke feel so happy to see Ally in love with Nate Crawford. Their love story had been unexpected but so right. And now they were living together, engaged to be married, and so happy they lit up the air around them.
“I’ve never left home,” Brooke said, her voice soft. “And I’m almost twenty-eight-years-old. What does that say about me? And more importantly, what kind of message am I sending to Nick? I’m the biggest failure.”
“You’re nothing like a failure,” Ally protested, frowning. “Look at you. You’ve managed to bring up your son to become a fine young man, you’re studying for your degree, and you’re single handedly keeping the animal shelter going. Who raises more money for that place than anywhere else? Brooke Newton, that’s who.”
Brooke’s eyes stung at her friend’s passion. “You’re too sweet to me.”
“No, that’s not true. I’m only telling you what’s obvious to everybody else. You’re amazing, Brooke, and I wish you could see it for yourself.”
Brooke wished she could, too. She felt anything but amazing. She was homeless, and even worse, Nick was too. He deserved stability and happiness, and she needed to make sure he had it.
“We meant it when we said you could stay as long as you need,” Ally said. “You’ve always been there for me whenever I’ve needed you. Let me do the same.”
Brooke reached for Ally’s hand and squeezed it tightly. Their eyes met in deep understanding. The kind you only got when you’d had your friend’s back for a long, long time. There was a bond between them – between the three of them – deeper than family ties. They would do anything for each other. Through thick and thin, no matter what.
“Mom, can we go to the beach?” Nick asked, breathless, as he ran into the living room. Riley was close behind him, a grin on her face which made Brooke wonder what they’d been up to.
“Sure. Let me get my swimsuit on, okay?”
“Can Riley come, too?” he asked, looking up at the older girl. Riley shrugged, trying to remain cool, but the expression on her face showed she wanted to join them. Like Nick, she was an only child, and at almost seventeen, she was eight years older than him, but the two of them often sought each other out when Ember, Brooke, Ally, and their friends were all together.
“Sure. The more the merrier.” Brooke stood and looked at Ally and Nate. “You guys want to join us?”
“Why not? It’s a beautiful evening.” Ally glanced at her fiancé.
“Yup. Let’s do this thing.”
Nick ran out of the living room, chatting excitedly with Riley about surfing and the waves and how he loved to swim. Thank goodness he was so adaptable.
“You okay?” Ally murmured, walking to join her by the living room door.
“Yeah. I was thinking about what to tell Nick about moving out.”
“Maybe leave that until tomorrow,” Ally suggested. “You’ve had enough to deal with today. Anyway, he’s going to be fine. You both are.”
Brooke opened her mouth to answer, but the shrill ring of her phone swallowed her words. She pulled it from her pocket, wincing when she saw her mom’s name flashing on the screen.
“You going to get that?” Ally asked.
“Not right now. I’ve got nothing to say to her.” Brooke winced. “Or nothing good, anyway.”
“What if she wants to see Nick?”
