Want to Know a Secret? (76)

“Does Elliot know?” I manage.

She shakes her head miserably. “He’ll flip. I mean, this was supposed to be a casual thing. Fun, you know? A break from that evil witch he’s married to.”

“Right…” I chew on my lip. “But you have to tell him. If you’re keeping the baby.”

“Yes, but…” She frowns. “He’s just going to insist I get rid of it.”

“I don’t think it’s up to him.”

“He won’t leave April.”

I wonder about that part. Despite everything, Elliot does seem devoted to his family. But he has to know what April is like. Maybe he’s looking for a way out. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Brianna takes a sip from her tea. “This is really good, Julie. Thank you for listening to me.”

“Of course.” I take a drink from my own cup. This is the special Thai milk tea that I ordered from overseas. “I’m happy to do whatever I can to help.”

“So…” She lifts an eyebrow. “You’re not friends with April, I take it.”

“No,” I say. “I wouldn’t say so.”

I study Brianna sitting across the table. She looks so young. I think about what happened to Courtney all those years ago. April wouldn’t dare try something like that again, would she? Two assistants in a row? She has to know that would look very suspicious. Even so…

I get up and find my purse. I fish around inside until I come up with what I was looking for.

“Take this, Brianna,” I say.

She stares at the bottle of pepper spray. “What is it?”

“It’s pepper spray. Just in case. Keep it with you at all times.”

She cringes as I lay it down on the kitchen table beside her. “You’re scaring me. What do you think is going to happen?”

“I just… I think it’s good to be prepared.” And then I scribble down my phone number on a piece of paper. “Call me anytime. I want to help you.”

She manages a smile. “I may need help finding a good lawyer. One who isn’t too expensive.”

“You’re in luck. I’m a lawyer. And I’m not too expensive.”

I want to help this girl. And I know exactly how to do it. Enough messing around. I have that photo of April with Mark Tanner. All I had to do is show it to Elliot—that will be the end of their marriage. He won’t understand about her cheating, even if he has done it himself.

I can stick it to April and give Brianna a happy ending.





Chapter 49


The day of the fall carnival was just about the worst day of my life.

In the ambulance, Leo told me what happened. Bobby wanted a turn on the slide, and when Leo told him it was his turn, Bobby pushed him off the edge of the bouncy house.

Leo could have died. I could have lost my son that day, thanks to April’s little monster. The teacher told her repeatedly that he should be in some sort of therapy. But she won’t send him. In her eyes, he’s perfect. Like mother like son.

I keep reliving that moment when I saw Leo drop off the top of that bouncy castle. I thought for sure he wouldn’t survive. I thought I was going to run over there and find him dead on the ground. But by some miracle, he survived. He had a broken arm, but he was okay. He didn’t even need surgery—just a cast.

That night, I’m saying a prayer of thanks that Leo is still with us. Every time I think about it, I feel sick. For a long time, I’m going to see Leo plummeting off that slide every time I close my eyes.

I give Leo an extra squeeze when I put him to bed, being careful of his broken arm. I thought after all the excitement of the day, he might have trouble falling asleep, but his eyes are drifting shut before I even close the door to his bedroom.

I go to Tristan next. He’s lying in bed, his eyes so big and wide that I can almost see them glowing in the moonlight. It looks like he might need an extra squeeze too.

“Is Leo going to be okay?” he asks in a tiny voice that makes him seem younger for a change.

“He’s fine.” I lean in to kiss Tristan on his smooth forehead. “I promise.”

His lower lip juts out. “Bobby pushed him. I saw it. Everyone saw it.”

“I know.”

Tristan gives me a hard look with his dark, penetrating eyes. I swear, he’s going to be a prosecutor someday just like I used to be. “So what are you going to do?”

Great question.

“I’m not going to let anything like that happen again,” I promise him.

My conversation with Tristan has gotten me fired up. After I kiss him good night, I go downstairs and start ranting to Keith. Unfortunately, that proves a bit frustrating. Keith is upset too, but he wasn’t there. There was never a moment when he thought our son might be dead. He just got a call from me saying Leo had a broken arm. So he’s not as fired up as I am. Or even as fired up as Tristan.

“I think we should sue them,” I say to Keith, as I pace across the living room. “Don’t you think so?”

He’s sitting on the couch, doing something on his phone. He doesn’t even look up. “Sue who?”

“April and Elliot!” I nearly scream at him. He never listens to me.

“For what?”