Page 119 of Our Little Secret

“I’m not sure about that. Marilee’s going to college in a few years.” She eased onto the approach to the airport.

“And I’m dead broke, okay? But you don’t care!”

“Of course I care.”

Leah scoffed, “What’s it to you anyway? The loan’s secured. You never want to sell the damned cabin, so I figure it’s a win-win! You end up with ‘our’ cabin and I get a little cash.”

“A little? Leah, I don’t see—”

“Of course you don’t!” Leah cut in. “You never do! You never see anything from anyone else’s point of view!”

“Wait a second. What are you doing? Why is this all coming out now?”

“Because I saw with my own eyes how fucked up you’ve made everything with Neal, and with Marilee, and with me. So, okay, I’m finally doing what my therapist said and telling you how I feel.”

“Now?” Brooke said, disbelieving, as traffic started moving again as the terminal loomed ahead at last, the tower lights visible in the rain.

“Why not? The truth is, Brooke, you just take what you want and don’t care what happens to anyone else!”

“That’s not true!”

“Of course it is!” Leah charged angrily, her emotional floodgates, shut too long, suddenly overflowing. “It always has been!”

“I’m trying to drive, damn it!” Brooke said. “I can’t do this right now!”

“You started it,” she pouted. “Bringing up the money.”

“You started it by coming up here just to get money! I don’t know what the hell you have over Neal, but he sure seems like your personal ATM.”

“Oh Jesus. Is that what you think?” Leah let out a breath of disgust and yanked her purse from the floor to her lap. “That’s sick, Brooke.”

“That’s what it looks like!” Brooke tried to maneuver to the curb while arguing with her sister. A convertible, vying for the same space, honked loudly. “Shit!” she yelled, yanking on the wheel. “Prick!”

The sleek car squeezed ahead of her with inches to spare. The driver, a woman in her twenties, shot a finger into the air.

“Idiot,” Brooke muttered.

Leah didn’t notice. She was too hot. “You just don’t know how to count your blessings. You have a good man in Neal. A damned good man!”

“I know that.” She eased toward a space at the curb.

“And yet you don’t appreciate him.”

“What? Of course I do.”

Leah let out a breath of disgusted air. “I don’t know why you don’t divorce him and get it over with!”

“What’re you talking about?” Brooke hit the brakes and the Explorer jerked to a stop. “Seriously, do we need to do this now?”

Leah was undeterred. “I’ve seen what’s going on!” She opened the passenger door, and the noise of the airport under the portico—echoing voices, running engines, horns, tires humming on pavement—seeped inside the vehicle. “I know what you’re up to, Brooke.” She stormed to the back door and flung it open. “And, by the way, Neal does too!” She jerked her bag from the back seat.

“What?” Jesus God, did Neal know about Gideon? Did Leah?

“So you’re not getting away with anything.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you do.” Leah glared at her for a minute, her eyes a dangerous shade of blue. “You know, Brooke, things would’ve been different, a lot different, if I married Neal.”