Cottage by the Creek by Elizabeth Bromke

Author:Elizabeth Bromke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elizabeth Bromke

Chapter 20—Clara

With Amelia’s problem addressed and Megan’s new idea validated, Clara turned to Kate. “How about you? Anything new in the life of the de facto Hannigan matriarch?”

The others laughed, but Kate glowed. “I like that,” she replied. “I’ll be the matriarch, sure. And to answer your question, not really. I suppose I’ve become the boring one.”

“You were always the boring one,” Megan teased.

“Not always,” Amelia said. “I mean, she did get pregnant in high school, after all.”

“True.” Megan tipped the rim of her water glass to Kate.

Clara pressed on. “Everything’s going well with Matt?” Then she lowered her voice. “And Vivi?”

Megan choked beside her, sputtering on her sip of water.

“Are you okay?” Clara asked, patting her sister’s back.

Nodding, she answered through coughs, “Fine. Fine. Wrong pipe.”

“Matt is great,” Kate answered. “Vivi is okay, too. There are growing pains. You know. Exactly what you might expect.”

Clara nodded. “She’s a complicated child, I think.”

“Every child is complicated,” Megan said, recovering at last from her fit. All eyes turned on her.

Amelia spoke next, “Is this about the Sarah thing?”

“What Sarah thing?” Megan shot back.

Clara winced. Even at school, she’d caught her niece squeezing down the hallway, an injured puppy among jumping, barking hounds. It was a marked difference from the summer. An alarming one. But it wasn’t Clara’s place to sound the alarms. And anyway, Sarah had gone out the night before. Maybe things were settling in for her?

“Sarah eating lunch in the bathroom, remember?” Amelia replied, looking at the others for back up. “I think we were all a little shocked and traumatized to hear that.”

“Oh,” Megan seemed to relax. “No. I mean yes, but… she went to that party last night. With Vivi and Mercy. Paige and Chloe, too. And I think it went well. Well enough that she was still snoring when I left the apartment. She stayed for the whole thing.”

Clara glanced from Amelia back to Megan. “Is she living at the apartment full-time now? What happened to the arrangement with Amelia?”

“She sort of flits between us, but during the week, she’s home,” Megan replied.

“Most weekends, too. I guess she’s getting tired of me.” Amelia winked at Clara, and the tensions instantly settled.

Kate shifted in her seat. “Actually,” she drew their attention back to her, “Matt and Vivi and I are doing as well as can be expected. I have a new game plan, and I think it’ll help us bond a little.”

“What’s that?” Clara asked.

“I think I’m going to tell her about what happened,” Kate said slowly, unevenly.

Megan jumped in, “Do you mean you’re going to tell her about Clara?”

Clara’s jaw fell open. She was already in a sensitive situation with Vivi and all the other girls at the high school. “No,” she spat.

Kate turned to her, concern filling her eyes. “What?”

“You can’t, Kate. It’ll ruin everything.”

“Ruin what?” Amelia asked.

Megan held a hand up. “Actually—”

“No,” Clara interrupted her, leaning forward and pressing her palms on the table. “Kate, please. If Vivi knows that I’m technically her half-sister, she’ll make my life a living hell at school.

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