Stepbrother Untouchable(55)

She stills. “He doesn't treat Nate well?” she asks quietly.

“Oh, oh, I'm sorry,” I reply, looking at her through bleary eyes. “He's…he's very hard on Nate. He calls him entitled, selfish, when I think those are really things he knows deep down are true about himself.”

“My little Nate,” she murmurs to herself.

“But he's really…Nate is a good person, you should know that. Well, to be honest, at first I thought he was more like Pierce, but that's just a cover. Maybe it's that half his genes are yours, or maybe his father raised him to be a better person than he is himself, I don't know. But he's smart, funny, hardworking…”

“Thank you,” she says, taking my hand. “I'm sorry you have to go through this. Did you tell your mom?”

“She found out at dinner, but…” I shake my head. “She's completely under Pierce's spell. She gets like that about men, but I've never seen her quite so enamored of one before him. She looks a lot like you, actually,” I realize, studying her beautiful, slightly lined face.

“Pierce certainly has a type,” she says with a sad smile.

“There's another thing you should know…about Nate…I found out after you called: he thinks you left because he was too much for you, because he was a bad kid, basically. I tried to talk to him about it, really, but he wouldn't hear it.”

“Nate was a wonderful child, and even if he'd been the devil incarnate, I still wouldn't have left him.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. He said that the night before you left, you and Pierce had a big fight over him, because he misbehaved, and that's why you left the next day.”

“Oh, god,” she murmurs, covering her face in her hands. “He must have felt so alone, so responsible. No…I remember that fight, because it was our last. We'd been to some big gala that night, and we'd seen this woman there who was in our circle at the time. I knew he'd cheated before, but he promised me he'd stopped, and then at this party, I could just tell by the way they looked at each other that they were sleeping together. I confronted him about it at home, and he barely even bothered to deny it. I was yelling at him, asking what kind of example he was setting for his son. I left…I never thought that would be one of the last times I'd see Nate. I never thought that was even a possibility.”

“I want to help you,” I say suddenly.

“What? No. You have too much going on already,” Eileen says, shaking her head emphatically.

“No, I want to. Not just for you, either. For Nate. He needs you in his life. I can tell that you're good, and kind, and he needs people like that to love him. Please let me help you.”

“I don't want to put you in a position…I don't want to jeopardize anything. You and Nate, you have a special relationship.”

“Um, sure, yeah, he's a great guy,” I hedge.

“Brynn…it's OK. I know.”

I swallow. “Know what?”

“When I saw you that day at the boathouse, I could just tell. At first I thought you were his girlfriend, and then I realized who you were, and I saw the way you two looked at each other. You're in love,” she whispers. I begin to tug at my hair nervously. Shit. Shit. “You've acted on your feelings?” It's all I can do to nod. “Do your parents know?” I shake my head. “Brynn, you don't have to be embarrassed. Life's messy. People find love wherever they can. Hell, it's not like you're breaking any laws.”

My tears begin to slip down my face again, renewed. “I can't believe it's so obvious.”

“Maybe I just caught you two in an unguarded moment. But, see, if Nate and you are together, I don't want to come between you.”

“Honestly, I'd like him to meet you. I think it might do him some good. When Pierce was chewing me out tonight, he didn't say anything.”

“I'm sorry.”

“So you'll meet with him?”

“If you're sure it's OK with you.”

“I'm not sure how I'll set it up yet, but write down your number for me, and I'll get in touch with you when I know.”

She nods and tears a slip of paper from a paperback book in the back seat. As she hands it to me and I get out of the car, she leans over into the passenger seat.

“Brynn, if I could just give you a little advice…I would avoid Pierce for the next few days. He doesn't like it when people stand up to him.”

I nod and shut the door, walking slowly back to the house as I run my fingers over her phone number. I peer cautiously through the first floor windows, not wanting to walk back in on dinner, but it looks like they’ve finished and the plates have all been cleared. I quietly open the front door and tiptoe up the stairs to my bedroom, locking my door behind me. I put Eileen's phone number on my bureau and am just about to change out of my dress when I hear a soft knock on the door. Usually Nate just comes in now, so he clearly knows that I'm upset with him. I walk over and unlock it, then open it a few inches.