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Would she? Allye wasn’t sure, but the critical-thinking part of her brain felt like it had been operating on fumes for weeks. At this point, she wasn’t sure she could trust herself. She rolled Bryce’s words around in her mind. He was probably right.

Her body slouched further in her chair, whether from relief or the weight of helplessness, she wasn’t sure. Perhaps a combination of the two.

“I wish you’d told us what you were dealing with.” Corina’s soft voice held concern and maybe a bit of hurt too.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry everyone, and I guess maybe I didn’t want to admit how bad things were getting. It would have felt so ... final.” But it hadn’t felt that way when she’d spilled her guts to Eric and Hailey. And while the weight of her illness hung heavy with every word, she realized it was no more real now than it was a few minutes ago.

“What can we do to help?” Corina asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t have any idea what I actually have if it’s not MS.” And she didn’t want them to feel obligated to step up. They were still newly married and had their own lives to tend to.

As if he’d read her thoughts, Bryce got up from his seat and gathered her into a bear hug. “We’re here for you, sis. And we want to be. You’re not an obligation.”

She squeezed him back, but she couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat. Hailey had said basically the same thing, but didthey really get what kind of toll that could take on them if she ended up needing more than occasional support? She’d heard so many stories of burnt-out caregivers.

After Bryce retook his seat, he and Corina gently pressed her for details about her symptoms and then about the attacks she’d experienced. The more she shared about the latter, the harder his expression grew.

“You really shouldn’t be staying here alone. Why don’t you stay with us for a couple days?”

“Absolutely not.”

Corina touched her arm. “You and Bryce stayed with me through all my danger last year.”

Allye shook her head, determined to hold her ground on this point. “That was different. These threats aren’t aimed at me, they’re aimed at you guys to intimidate me into keeping my mouth shut. Plus, you have the baby to think about.”

“There’s a lot less chance someone will come after any of us if we’re all together.” But Corina’s hand slipped to her stomach and hovered protectively over the tiny bump.

“They used my camera for target practice when I was with Eric last night. If they’re not afraid of a cop, I doubt they’ll be scared off by you two.” She shot her brother a look. “And don’t even think about offering to protect me by yourself—leaving Corina alone would be like putting a bullseye on her back.”

“What about a bodyguard?” Corina suggested. “I could look up the info for Peter’s agency.”

Allye thought about the British bodyguard who had nearly lost his life trying to help protect Corina last year. Those had been unusual circumstances, but she still shuddered to think how close he’d come to dying. She wasn’t sure she’d be okay with someone putting himself in that kind of danger for her.

A sigh escaped her. It was irrelevant anyway. She had no idea what hiring a bodyguard cost, but it had to be far more than shecould afford. She was already going to be making payments on the copay for her MRI.

She shook her head. “I’ll figure something out.” A bodyguard was out of the question, but she was not going to endanger the people she loved—at least, not any more than she already had.

32

Telling her mom was easierthan Allye anticipated. She’d opted to go it alone, despite both Bryce and Corina offering to accompany her. As it turned out, she’d had to settle for a phone call anyway because her mom was doing a showing out of town and wouldn’t be home until late afternoon. She supposed she could have waited, but she’d been afraid to take any chances.

Like Bryce and Corina, Mom had been more concerned about Allye than about herself. And while she hadn’t been at all convinced that Mayor Jennings was somehow involved, she’d agreed not to say anything that might impede an investigation.

It felt like a huge weight had lifted with that phone call. Her problems hadn’t gone away, but the burden of secrecy was gone. She hadn’t realized how heavy it had been.

Now she had to figure out what to do with herself for the rest of the day. While a fresh pot of tea steeped on her counter, she evaluated her options.

She should go to her studio and get some work done. Maybe print off those extra postcards to add to her festival booth. Although she’d lost a lot of her recent photos when her primary camera was destroyed, the ones from the Spicebush Trail were on a different memory card.

She should have printed them earlier this week, but she’d been too preoccupied with everything going on to make it to her studio. As she removed the infuser basket from her teapot, a touch of panic settled on her at the thought of returning alone to where this whole mess had started. Was she even safe there? Being alone at home with her new locks was one thing. But at the studio, she’d be exposed both on the stairwell and in the alley.

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. She groaned and set the tea leaves aside. As much as she loved people, it felt like her house had a revolving door today.

She nudged back the curtain blocking the window. Her neighbor smiled and held up a container. Allye quickly disengaged the locks and opened the door. “Shannon! Come on in.”

“Hi, Allye. I’ve been in a baking mood and got a little carried away, considering there’s only two of us in the house now that Tyler’s away at college. Would you be interested in some cookies?”

“I can always use cookies.” She motioned for Shannon to follow her to the kitchen. “You have time to stay a few minutes? I just made a pot of tea, or I can put on coffee if you’d prefer that.”