Katie’s reaction to her brother’s presence at that moment was quite the opposite of the general female population’s.
“I came to see after Rill, that’s all,” she replied briskly, avoiding glancing at the tall, brooding shadow to the right of her. Rill’s latest accusation—that she’d come here with the mercenary purpose of seduction in order to flip him out of his funk—still smarted and stung. She gave her brother a wry glance.
“What? You couldn’t trust my judgment, either? Is that why you’re here?” she asked sourly.
Everett looked politely taken aback. “Retract the claws, Katie. Mom and Dad told me about you coming out here, and I thought I’d come join the two of you. Rill’s my friend. You’re my sister. I needed a vacation. These are beautiful woods. What’s so shocking about me coming for a visit? I need the fresh air.”
“Haven’t you got anything better to do?”
“Not really,” Everett said pleasantly. “Haven’t you?”
Katie’s fake smile melted into a frown.
“Rill’s made it clear how he feels about visitors. We’ll just have to cheer him up a bit, make him remember why he should appreciate us,” Everett blathered on amiably. Katie gritted her teeth. Her brother was playing the part of a cheerful, perennially clueless friend to perfection. Give him an English accent, have him say old chap, and he might be reprising his BBC role as the handsome, lovable, doltish aristocrat in Lord and Butler. Everett was an excellent actor, but Katie could see through this particular role perfectly.
She couldn’t tell if Rill was sweating it or not, but he needn’t worry about whether or not Everett knew what they’d been doing before he arrived. Everett knew, all right. He must have picked up some message in Rill’s call to her mother and father; some code a parent couldn’t quite catch. Hadn’t Rill said something stupid to her father like Katie wasn’t safe in the house with him?
The awkwardness of their delayed greeting likely only confirmed her brother’s suspicions.
“There’s not enough beds in the house,” Rill said.
“It’s a good thing we Hughes have skins thicker than a walrus, or we might actually get our feelings hurt by all this rudeness,” Everett said.
“Speak for yourself,” Katie mumbled.
“What’s that?” Everett asked.
“Nothing.” Great, Katie thought. That flat, lifeless quality was back in Rill’s voice. Next thing she knew, he’d be back to hitting the bottle. Katie didn’t need to see Rill’s expression to know that he definitely did not want her to pipe up and tell Everett that he could have her bed, as she’d be all too happy to join Rill in his.
“No problem. I’ll take the couch,” Everett continued. “I slept on it last time, anyway; remember, Rill? There was no heat up in the upstairs bedroom. So . . . what have you two been up to?”
Katie sensed the sparkle in her brother’s eye, even though her view of his upper face was obscured by his hat. Rill’s shadow went entirely still at Everett’s question. Rill’s obvious unease in this situation made Katie want to kick one of the intact posts on the front porch railing.
“You’re timing is impeccable, Everett,” she said.
“That’s what I’ve been told,” Everett replied lightly, ignoring her sarcasm. “So what about it, Rill? I’ve had a long trip. Why don’t we go down to that little pub down in Vulture’s Canyon and get a beer so I can unwind a little.”
“Everett,” Katie exclaimed in disbelief. “Rill hasn’t been drinking lately. What are you trying to do? Ruin everything?”
“Aw, Katie, give it a rest. He just wa
nts to talk to me. Maybe I’ve got a word or two for him, as well,” Rill said woodenly as he clomped down the front steps.
Katie glared flaming knives at her brother, but he only smiled.
“No worries, Katie. Leave it to me to take care of him.”
“If you’re his caretaker, we might as well purchase his casket now.” She sighed when Everett smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Don’t do anything stupid, Everett. The last thing he needs right now is a drinking buddy,” she whispered when he remained with his head bent. “He really has been doing better.”
“I just want to talk to him, that’s all,” Everett said softly, all signs of his old-chap act gone. “I’ll wait to talk to you in the morning about what the hell kind of stunt you’re pulling.”
“It’s not a stunt.”
Everett surprised her by removing his cap. He studied her, serious and somber. After a moment, his eyebrows went up in quiet surprise.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I can see that.”
All her annoyance at her brother faded when he said those five words. Her uncertainty remained, though.