The three of them moved out of earshot. Kind of pointless since the remaining guests consisted of Nia’s parents, Conn’s parents and sister, and the friendly pastor, all of whom would undoubtedly be updated on the situation in the time it took him to go to the can. Still, announcing the recent events to the group didn’t sit right. It wouldn’t be nice for Nia and it wouldn’t be fair to Sara, crazy as that sounded.
“Where is she?” Nia’s soft voice broke through his silent musings.
“Took off. No idea where or why. I thought she’d calmed down.” He grunted under his breath. “As much as that’s possible, I suppose.”
“Yeah. Sara is…” Conn glanced at his almost-wife, then back to Curtis. “Complex.”
Nia sighed and leaned in, head snuggled to Conn’s chest, arms circling his waist. Conn pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. Two pieces interlocking automatically, a perfect fit—that’s how they seemed. Something that ideal couldn’t last forever. For both their sakes, Curtis hoped they logged a lot of good years before the glow disappeared.
“We drove around a bit. Stopped to put gas in her car.” No need to tell them they’d been shooed from the station after almost making out in the front seat. “She told me to head back here so she could make things right. She was laughing and smiling one minute, then went cold and snappy the next. After tricking me out of the car, she practically dove back in, locked me out then bolted.” He met his brother’s gaze and did what needed to be done. “Sorry, man. Hope I didn’t make things worse somehow.”
“It’s not your fault, Curtis.” Nia worried her bottom lip between her teeth, then nodded, obviously settling some internal debate. “She’ll be fuming mad at me for sharing this with you, but that’s what she gets for storming off. As she always does.”
“A trait that used to run in the family,” Conn said, grinning when Nia squeezed him in some sort of lame, romantic chastisement.
“Ignore your brother.” Not a hint of annoyance lived in that statement. Just adoration, about three hundred percent’s worth.
“Done,” Curtis said. Enough with the sappy displays of their endless love. Whatever the thing was that Sara wouldn’t want him to know, he wanted to hear it. Five minutes ago.
“It was the chainsaw that set her off. Years ago, my dad had an accident while cutting up a felled tree. A bad accident, almost fatal.” She shivered and Conn rubbed his palm over her arm. “The ER doctor said the saw missed the femoral artery by about half an inch. Sara was playing nearby when it happened, she witnessed the whole thing. Heard the scream, saw all the blood.”
“Jesus.” That explained why she’d lost her freaking shit when she caught her dad showing them his new saw. That’s what she’d been referring to when she yelled at him about his broken promise.
“My mom is a nurse, and thank god she was home at the time. If not…”
“Sara would’ve watched her dad die.”
Nia looked up at Conn. Unspoken communication passed between them, as clear as the night stars.
Curtis narrowed his eyes at them, his brother in particular. “You want my help with the maid of honor tomorrow? Time to cough up whatever ‘need to know’ information you didn’t think I needed to know when you asked me to babysit her the first time.”
“Shit.” This from Conn. A solid response since Nia was giving him the wounded-puppy expression while sliding free of their embrace.
Guess Conn hadn’t shared that request with his bubbly bride-to-be. Oh well. Secrets—one of the three big relationship killers. Best his baby brother figured that out now.
“Sara was eleven when the chainsaw accident happened. Her real parents died in a house fire the year before, on Christmas Eve.”
“Her real parents?” What the fuck?
“Yes. Ray and Brenda Robinson. My parents’ best friends. After the fire, my parents legally adopted Sara, but back then, they were still Peter and Meredith to her. That was when she spoke to us at all. Seeing Peter go down like that, the sound of sirens when the emergency vehicles got here…” Nia shook her head and resumed her former position as Conn’s conjoined other half. “I’m amazed she didn’t withdraw even further into herself.”
In his line of work, Curtis had witnessed a lot of horrible shit. He’d had to deliver devastating news to loved ones. He’d grieved the loss of a fallen officer. All of it sucked, but none of it had been personal.
“She got really quiet and pale when we pulled in the driveway. I said she looked like she’d seen a ghost.” He leaned against the railing and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Safe to say it’s my fault she fled the scene the second time.”
You’re either a dick, an idiot, or clueless.
He’d been clueless. The best of the three options she’d spat at him, yeah, but that didn’t make him feel like less of an idiot dick. “Any idea where she might’ve gone? I’ll go apologize.”
Nia shook her head hard enough to give him a headache. “Oh god, do not do that. Please. She’d take it as pity. Not a good thing.”
Fuck, he hated having his hands tied. Especially when his gut told him he needed to fix the fractures. “Then what should I do?”
“Call it a day and forget any of it happened when you see her tomorrow.”
“You sure that’ll happen?” The way she’d looked when she drove off, he wouldn’t be surprised if Sara was city-bound with no intention of returning for the wedding.
Conn’s lips thinned to a straight line. Thinking the same thing as Curtis, probably.
“She’ll come back,” Nia said, apparently reading both their minds. “She’s my only sister and my best friend. She’ll be there for me when it counts.”
For both women’s sakes, Curtis truly hoped so.
Sara
The alarm on Sara’s cell went off, though unnecessarily. Nobody would be oversleeping in this house today. Conn’s giant dog had paced past her door fifty times already. Across the hall, the bathroom door had to have closed at least a dozen times since she gained full awareness. Her parents had been banging about in the kitchen for an hour, the resultant aromas of quiche and bacon having snuck through the crack beneath her bedroom door about ten stomach-growling minutes ago.
Unless she could exist on the half package of mints in her purse, she’d have to suck it up and go out there for sustenance. Face the music for bailing on the party last night.
Maybe the mints would see her through after all.
“Sara?” Nia’s voice, soft as always. “May I come in?”
“Sure.” As if she could say no to her sister on her wedding day.
The door opened and Nia stepped inside. “I come bearing caffeine,” she said, raising two steaming mugs.
“It’s true, you really are an angel.” She accepted one of the cups, then shifted over so Nia could sit alongside. “Though with all the naughty deeds you and the almost-hubster have been getting up to lately, your halo’s looking pretty tarnished. I’m thinking I may have to work that into my wedding toast somehow.”
“Oh my god. Remind me why I tell you anything?”