The Best of Winter Renshaw - An 8 Book Collection - Winter Renshaw Page 0,56

plastic cup of hot pink punch and munching on a Madeleine cookie. His navy sweater is covered in crumbs, and he flashes me a boyish grin, the kind I rarely see anymore since he started practicing law.

He’s happy Brooks woke up.

Flinging my arms around his broad shoulders, I cling to him, not sure if I’ve ever been this happy to see him.

“What’s up with you?” he laughs. “You know we just saw each other, like, two days ago.”

“Just glad to see a friendly face.”

My back is to Brenda, and she’s yammering on to a group of women I’ve never seen in my life. She’s soaking this up, all this attention. And she’s good at it. People are drawn to her, and I’m not unconvinced that most of the women in Rixton Falls want to be her when they grow older. She’s unsinkable yet sweet, polished yet approachable.

“I don’t recognize anyone here,” I say.

“I overheard some people saying they came all the way from Oregon,” Derek says. “I think people were really touched by Brooks’s situation, and they’re coming in from all over. That’s the irony in tragedy. It’s beautiful like that. It unites us.”

“If they only knew . . .”

Derek chuckles. “What are you talking about?”

I swat him away when I see Delilah gabbing it up with a group of girls I vaguely remember from high school. I recognize their faces, but most of their names escape me.

“Jesus, everyone came, didn’t they?” I glance around the room in search of more familiar faces and come up mostly empty-handed. There’s the checker from the Quik-E Save, Father Batiste from Holy Trinity Church, and Sister Sapphire, but there’s nothing recognizable about any of the other faces here.

“Mom and Dad are on their way,” Derek says. “Haven’s with her mom this weekend.”

“I saved us a table.” I point across the expansive community hall. This is where most people have wedding receptions in Rixton Falls. There’s a stage, a dozen sparkling chandeliers, a parquet dance floor, and a catering-quality kitchen in the back.

“You’re not sitting with Brenda?” Derek scratches his temple.

“There aren’t assigned seats. This isn’t a wedding.”

Derek laughs.

“Sweetheart, now that the guests are mostly here, we’ll be making a speech in a moment. Stick with me, please.” Brenda’s voice in my ear sends a wicked zing down my spine.

“A speech?” I whip around to face her. “You didn’t say anything about a speech.”

“Just a few lines, dear. Speak from your heart. Tell the guests how you feel about my son, and how excited you are for your future together. How the money we raised will allow you to stay home and care for him as he recovers. They came all this way. You at least owe them that.”

Brenda’s sweet eyes darken for a second, but her smile remains relentlessly unshaken.

“I’m going to look for Mom and Dad,” Derek says, “and tell them where we’re sitting.”

So much for my quick appearance tonight.

I had no idea this was some kind of event-planned production, complete with a PA system and an open bar.

Rarely have I held a bad thought about Brenda, but in this moment, I resent her for turning her son’s tragic accident into a three-ring circus.

I untether myself from Brenda with an excuse about using the ladies’ room. She tells me to be quick, and I promise I’ll try. As soon as I’m inside, I shut myself in a stall and take out my phone.

I can’t wing a speech.

I barely passed speech class in college.

Had to take an Ativan before each one just to survive.

Stick me in front of a classroom of five and six year olds, and I’m golden. But public speech? In front of thousands?

My heart gallops in my chest, refusing to calm down.

And speaking about Brooks from my heart?

I highly doubt they want me to do that right now.

With eyes closed, I pull in three deep breaths and try not to choke on the cheap bathroom air freshener that invades my lungs. I try to focus on happier times. If I do that, maybe I can bullshit this enough to come out alive on the other end.

The beginning was good.

That boy swept me off my feet like no one’s business.

Those shiny blonde waves, swept into an expensive haircut. Those glimmering green eyes that took my breath away. That cocky smile that made all the girls in the campus dining hall do a double-take.

I was sitting alone, minding my own business in the cafeteria when Brooks took the seat across from me.