Three Christmas Wishes - Krista Wolf Page 0,61
him to Danielle. She called, and—”
“Fuck that,” I said abruptly. “We’ll all go.”
“No way,” Kade shook his head. “This is your time. You’ve been waiting your whole life for—”
“Are you kidding?” I cut him off. “So what? They’ll be other shows, other exhibitions. This means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Family comes first.”
I saw Kade shift uncomfortably. “But Brandon’s not your—”
“No, but you are,” I said. “And that’s all that matters.”
A checklist began running in my mind. I had to get my coat, my bag. I had to—
Someone tapped me on the shoulder mid-thought. I whirled to find the curator standing behind me. His face was all smiles.
“The owner would like to meet you,” the man grinned happily. “He wants to extend—”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, “but I have to go.”
The curator’s expression changed so quickly it would’ve been funny under any other circumstances. But not now.
“W—What do you mean go? You’ll miss the toast at midnight! Plus—”
“I have to leave,” I said, not even concerned I was standing between three hulking men in nearly identical tuxedos. “Family emergency.”
My eyes flitted to Kade as I said the words. I let them flare dangerously, daring him to disagree.
“O—Okay then,” the curator said. “But… Ms. Parker, I have to say—”
“C’mon,” I said, grabbing Kade by the hand. “We’re wasting time.”
Forty-Five
SLOANE
We found Danielle at the house, crying. Sitting alone in the semi-darkness, beside the Christmas tree we’d all decorated together. The mood was somber and melancholy — a far cry from the joy and holiday spirit I’d felt the last time I was here.
“And you have no idea where he is?” asked Kade.
She shook her head sadly. “No. I tried all the usual places, called all his usual ‘friends’. None of them said they knew where he was.”
“Yeah, well those ‘friends’ lie,” growled Kade.
“I know,” Danielle said, “but not this time. I don’t know why, but I felt like they were telling the truth. They said they hadn’t seen him for weeks.”
“So that’s good,” Valerio piped in. “Right?”
He was trying to be hopeful if not helpful. It wasn’t really working.
“I can’t believe he did this again,” said Brock, shaking his head. “I—I really felt like this time was different.”
“It was,” Danielle sniffed. “Brandon even said it himself.”
“And you can’t track him?” I offered. “His phone?”
Brandon’s girlfriend nodded toward the coffee table. “He didn’t bring it with him,” she said. “He didn’t want to be found.”
“If he didn’t want to be found he could’ve turned off tracking,” said Kade. “No, he didn’t want to be called. He didn’t want to be talked out of anything.”
I slid up beside Kade and very gently laid a reassuring arm around him. It pained me to see the look of hurt in his eyes. Even worse though, was the betrayal.
“Maybe he just forgot his phone,” said Valerio.
Brock shot him a dirty look. He shrugged and mumbled a low apology.
“Nah, don’t be like that,” Kade said, looking back at his friend. He swung his gaze toward Valerio. “You’re always the eternal optimist,” he smiled weakly. “I appreciate that. Don’t ever be sorry for it.”
Just then the phone rang, right in the middle of the coffee table. Brandon’s phone. It happened so abruptly all five of us jumped. Danielle, the first to recover, picked it up so quickly it didn’t even make the second ring.
“Hello?”
Her eyes shifted to Kade. He stared back at her and she nodded.
“Speakerphone? O—Okay.”
Danielle pressed the button and put the phone back in the center of the coffee table. We all shifted position, huddling around it.
“Hi,” came Brandon’s voice over the speaker. “Can you guys hear me? Is everyone there?”
“Yeah we can hear you,” Kade said. “And we’re here. All of us.”
“Good.”
Kade’s brow crossed angrily. “Now where the fuck are you?”
“Somewhere safe,” Brandon answered calmly. “I had… an episode.”
Silence reigned. For a long moment, the only indication of the passage of time was the twinkling of Christmas lights.
“I got tempted,” Brandon admitted over the phone. “I almost used. But then I thought about Danielle, and what that meant for her… and for us. And so I didn’t.”
“So you didn’t do anything?” Kade asked.
“No,” his brother replied. “For once I backed away. I thought about all of you, and how much you’ve done for me. How much you’ve been there for me, through the good and bad.”
Kade looked up at us, his eyes searching for our opinion. Brandon sounded coherent, sober, totally in control. One by one we nodded at him.
“Where are you now?” Kade asked.
“I