Page 59 of Secondhand Secrets

Chip’s lips parted in a sign he meant to say something, then abandoned that idea to look at his father, the two men silent now and picking up their cutlery.

“Well, that was fun.” Kelly spoke in an overly bright and sarcastic tone, then pressed her lips together and gave Ally a smile, her brown eyes wide in approval. “Believe it or not, the man beside me is, at times, capable of fair play. The man beside you, even more so. And I, for one, am sorry for their brutish behavior. I’d like to say it’s rare, but I also don’t like lying. See my dilemma?”

Ally laughed and nodded.

Kelly spoke again, “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here, and it’s nice to have another woman within these walls for a change.”

Ally’s heart thudded with gratitude, but also because she still didn’t quite know what to think of this woman since she’d been part of Bill’s dramatic exit from Harlow.

Though Chip never spoke much of her, some people in town did.

Never anything nice.

What with Kelly’s earlier nervous fussing and her kind support now, Ally suspected she’d been misled.

“So, can I say you two are officially dating?” Kelly’s focus bounced between Ally and Chip before finally stopping at Ally. “Chip’s never brought a girlfriend home. It’s nice that you both share some history.”

That last statement brought genuine warmth to Ally’s face. Kelly’s well-meaning curiosity and desire to keep the conversation flowing, marked her relationship with Bill as a case of opposites attract.

Maybe this woman was everything he’d needed all along. The sweetness to his sour. Maybe Ally would ease up and react in kind. Less on the historically nasty gossip, and more on what she witnessed with her very own ears and eyes.

“Weren’t you dating that law major we met at your graduation?” Though Bill spoke to Chip, the way he sawed at the chicken on his plate seemed extra disturbing, given his work as a surgeon and all. “Dionne something-or-other. Great conversationalist, bright, from an esteemed family. Yes, I liked her.”

The air disappeared from Ally’s lungs, and Chip pressed his eyes shut. She’d never heard of any woman named Dionne, much less someone he’d dated so soon to returning to Harlow. And what with his dad listing Dionne’s achievements, did the man ever let up?

“Bill!” Kelly shook her head at her husband, brows squished together in a clear sign she too was done with his barbs, her compassion-filled gaze soon connecting to Ally. “Don’t listen to him. Dionne was not Chip’s girlfriend.”

“No, she wasn’t.” Despite Chip’s confirmation, his stabbing words seemed aimed at his dad. “We went on one date. She spent the whole time listing her social connections or grilling me on which law firm she should aim for partner in ten years’ time, like I would know or care. I can understand why you liked her, but I hadn’t spoken to her since that date or when she insisted on introducing herself to you at graduation.”

Bill eyeballed Chip and chewed in silence, soon returning to his meat, like he hadn’t been at all offended. “Well, she seemed nice.”

An incredulous laugh broke from Chip, and because Ally sensed his rising anger, she lay her hand over his arm on the table in a gesture for him to calm down.

“Kelly?” Though her voice caught a little, she smiled across the table at Chip’s stepmother, the only person to offer solidarity. “Could you pass me more wine?”

Kelly gave a choked laugh, although something in her smile hooked in Ally’s mind. The slight waver. That her brown eyes dimmed even as she joked, “Sure. I think I need more too.”

The heavy silence as she slid the tall, green bottle closer spoke volumes. Like she saw a common thread in Ally. Maybe the one reason they couldn’t be friends.

That Ally would be another woman to divide this family. A family already thoroughly shattered.

Twenty-Nine

The next day, Ally rested her head on the grass within Boston’s Common gardens. Chip laid out beside her in the hot, early afternoon sun. Having strolled past the Southwest end’s softball fields, the Soldiers and Sailors monument on Flagstaff hill, and then a spray-pool-turned-skating-rink in the winter called the Frog Pond, she rubbed her feet, ruing the heels she’d have to wear at tonight’s Encode dinner.

She turned to Chip, where the frown he directed at the clear sky prevented him from noticing her, so she ran a hand over his wrinkled brow and vied for his attention. “You look worried.”

He shuffled on his side and nestled his head in her lap, his small act obscuring her sense of impending doom with belonging. “I am worried.”

She nodded. They both had so much happening, each complication like a loose kite string blowing in the wind and getting caught with other kites. The whole, giant tangle destined to hit the ground soon enough.

“Because of tonight?”

He peered up at her question before adding his reply, “Tonight. Tomorrow’s presentation. Other things.”

Wanting to make him feel better, wanting to maintain this loose connection, she ran her fingertips through his soft hair, her heart shifting at this losing battle.

His eyes drifted shut, and his scowl eased. As much as she resigned herself to an end here, wobbly uncertainty still wrenched at her tone. “Other things as in, me? Or your dad?”

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