Page 32 of Keeping Secrets

Where was Nick?

She scanned the crowd, but her tall brother would have stood out from the throng at a glance. She didn’t know where he could be. She tried to find Chloe and ask, but Chloe was busy chatting with potential donors about Community Property Renovations.

Keely hovered on the edge of the crowd, unsure of what to do. The food was made, and she didn’t know enough about CPR to try to talk it up alongside her friends. She stood awkwardly near the table of food, too nervous to eat.

It was times like this that she wished she could drink, but she knew better than to jeopardize her sobriety like that. She was only six months sober. Even though she had built the foundation of a normal life here, she had to be always on her guard. Alcohol hadn’t been her main problem, but alcohol would cause her guard to drop and her thoughts to fog, and she couldn’t afford that. Maybe someday, but not now. Not yet. She had to be smart.

And where was Travis? She knew that he had bought a ticket for the night, and she had wasted energy fretting over whether she should make small talk with him or ignore him, and he hadn’t even shown up. The nerve of some people.

The hors d’oeuvres were disappearing rapidly, and it was almost time to drive home for the ice cream cakes. She went through the crowd to find Chloe and ask if she wanted to come with her or if she should just make the short drive down the hill on her own.

"Keely!" Chloe exclaimed when she saw her. "Come meet Guillermo and Sunday."

She recognized the names from conversations that she had overheard between Chloe, Willa, and Nat. These were the huge donors who had funded CPR’s most recent project. The room was filled with their friends from San Francisco, potential donors all. She pasted on her most professional smile and held out her hand.

"No, we don’t do that anymore," Guillermo said airily.

"Forgive my husband," Sunday said in a musical accent. "He has his peculiarities."

"That’s the great thing about being rich," he said with a teasing smile. "Any oddities are now reframed as delightful eccentricities."

"No one has ever called your refusal to shake hands delightful." Sunday reached out and shook Keely’s hand. "It is good to meet you, my dear. Chloe tells us that you are responsible for the phenomenal food."

"Not all of it," she said modestly. "Chloe helped."

"Helped is right," Chloe said. "You’re the mastermind here."

She felt her face color and knew that she must be turning pink — one of the dangers of being a redhead. Sunday took pity on her and turned her attention back to Chloe.

"We thought that you might order us cheeseburgers and Neapolitan shakes again."

"I can if you want to."

"No, the food tonight is much too good to order in."

"I was just about to run out for dessert," Keely said.

"Oh, I’ll help you." Chloe smiled at Guillermo and Sunday. "We’ll be back in two shakes."

"Two shakes of what?" Guillermo asked as they walked away. They were too far away now to hear Sunday’s response, only her lilting voice and her musical laughter.

"You don’t have to come if you don’t want to," Keely said. "I can handle it."

"I know you can, but I’m grateful for the excuse to step away. I want to call Nick. And honestly, I wouldn’t mind putting my feet up for a while."

"Where is Nick?" She had been too caught up in her worries about food for the event to dwell on it, but it was unlike her brother to just disappear when they needed him or when they might even possibly have need of him.

"Scot is in the hospital."

"Oh no! What happened?"

"I’m not sure. It sounds like he fell, but I know that his health has been flagging lately. Travis has been worried about him, but I’m not sure what exactly is going on. I hope everything‘s all right."

When they drove to Chloe‘s house, Nick was sitting out on the front step with his head in his hands. The moment he saw them, he jumped to his feet and turned solicitous, but Keely couldn’t get the image out of her mind of her brother folded in on himself, clearly worried. He focused on getting Chloe to the couch and setting her feet up on an ottoman, insisting that she rest for a few minutes before they went back up to the event.

She did as he asked, sitting back on the plush couch and elevating her feet, but her face was worried.

"Are you okay? How’s Scot?"