Her brow furrowed. “From what?”
Brenna’s eyes began to water all over again. “From my life.”
Elise’s soft gaze moved over her sympathetically. She went to Brenna’s side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You want to grab some coffee? We can sit down and talk.”
“I can’t drive anywhere,” Brenna blubbered. “My car’s dead.”
“That’s okay. Emily was baking when I left this morning. We can head back to the Peppermint House and have muffins.” She nudged Brenna down the road. “Come on.”
Numb, Brenna followed her.
The Peppermint House Bed and Breakfast was only a block away, so it wasn’t a long jaunt. And to Brenna’s relief, Elise wasn’t the kind to ask all sorts of prying questions. She just simply hugged Brenna close and offered quiet support. That was good. That was exactly what she needed right now. No questions, just friendship.
When they walked in the door of the Peppermint House, Emily came out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. It faltered at the sight of Brenna’s red eyes and wet cheeks. “You poor thing,” she exclaimed, moving forward to hug Brenna. “Are you okay?”
Brenna sniffed. “Just dandy.”
“I just pulled some muffins out of the oven,” Emily told her. “Why don’t you sit down and eat? I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee.”
Brenna nodded and let Emily drag her to one of the barstools in the breakfast nook. She sat down, Elise sitting right next to her. Immediately, Emily pushed a plate heaping with muffins over to her. “I’m making a batch for the firefighters, but you two can eat these and I’ll make some more. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” She began to pull out coffee cups, plopping them on the counter with determination.
That brought a hint of a smile to Brenna’s face. Every time she’d met Emily Allard-Smith, she was feeding someone. Even though Emily was only a few years older than her, the other woman acted like the entire town was hers to mother and feed. It was cute. All the guys in town loved her because all you had to do was mention your favorite type of baked goods and she’d make you some. Brenna secretly thought Emily had missed her calling of running a bakery shop, but a bed and breakfast was a decent substitute. She plucked a muffin off the heap and bit the top. It was a delicious chocolate pecan.
“Her car’s broken down,” Elise said softly. “Should we call a tow truck?”
“Don’t bother,” Brenna told her, her mouth full. She swiped at her lips with the back of her hand, then took the napkin that Emily pushed in her direction. “It’s dead. I’ll just leave it.”
“Leave it?” Emily looked scandalized at the thought. “Is someone coming by to pick you up, then?”
“I sure hope not.” Brenna took another big bite of muffin to forestall any questions.
Emily and Elise exchanged glances.
“You want to talk about it?” Emily asked.
“Not really.” Brenna shrugged miserably. “Don’t know what there is to say.”
Emily gave Elise another look and passed two cups of coffee. “Why don’t you two finish eating? I have decorators coming by in about an hour and I want to make sure I have my swatches ready for them.” She gave the counter a little pat, and then bustled away. “Just yell if you need anything.”
Elise watched Emily disappear into the back of the old Victorian. She said nothing until the door shut behind her, then glanced back at Brenna again. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I thought Emily was renovating this place on her own.”
“She is. She’s just lying to give us some time to talk if you need it.”
“Oh.” Brenna’s lower lip stuck out despite herself, and she couldn’t help but confess just a teeny bit to Elise. “Your brother’s kind of a dick.”
“He can be,” Elise said with a subtle smile. “What did he do?”
Oh God. She was not telling Elise the full story. Not at all. She’d learned her lesson. Uncomfortable, Brenna grabbed another muffin off the plate and began to slowly peel the wrapper down the sides. “I told him a really personal secret and he laughed in my face.” She crammed the muffin into her mouth and began to chew, her cheeks ballooning out like a squirrel’s. She knew she was acting childish, but she didn’t care. “He’s a jerk,” she said between chews, her mouth full.
Elise sipped her coffee, seemingly calm, though her brows drew together in a faint frown. “That doesn’t sound like Grant.”
Brenna snorted.
“I’m serious,” Elise said. “Grant is a lot of things. He’s kind of a control freak and completely unmovable when he thinks he’s right. He can be incredibly overbearing. And he’s arrogant at times. But he’s never out and out cruel.” She shook her head. “That really doesn’t sound like him. I’m sorry.”
The delicious muffin stuck to the roof of Brenna’s mouth, and she had to work to swallow. She grimaced and then shook her head. “I didn’t mistake it. There was a definite laugh.”
“So strange.” Elise gave her a helpless shrug. “Maybe you bring out the worst in him?”
Well, that was certainly true. Brenna said nothing, just slid another muffin toward her. Maybe she could take some with her for the road. “It doesn’t matter. I’m done here.”
“Done here?”
“I’m leaving. Maybe I’ll go back to Alaska.”
Elise looked her up and down. “In your pajamas?”
“I don’t have anything I want to take with me.”
“How about a pair of pants?”
Brenna shrugged again.
Elise looked concerned. “You sure you’re okay?”
She wasn’t okay. Not by a long shot. But she’d scraped herself off the floor before and started over. No reason why she couldn’t do it again. “I really just don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fair enough. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Brenna thought for a moment. “Wanna give me your pants?”
• • •
Goddamn it, where were his keys?
Grant tore through the main lodge, digging through his desk drawers again and then tearing through Dane’s normal spot and then Brenna’s desk. They were nowhere to be found, which meant she’d probably hidden them in one of her playful pranks.