I followed him into the kitchen and picked up a serving dish. We were walking toward the back door when voices suddenly rose outside.
“Hey!” someone shouted.
I rushed through the doorway with the dish in my hands and stopped so suddenly that Tom nearly collided with me.
Rachel was kissing Michael.
My parents were standing only a few feet away. Conversations throughout the yard stopped instantly. Michael pulled away as soon as he saw me, all the color draining from his face.
“It was a dare,” he said.
Rachel stepped back with a smile, acting as though nothing serious had happened.
“Sorry, sis, but he kisses better than Tom. I might not give him back! Just a joke.”
The dish seemed to become unbearably heavy in my hands. I set it down on the nearest table before I could drop it.
Heat rushed up my neck. Part of me wanted to cross the yard and force Rachel to take back every word, but I was still trying to understand how Michael had allowed any of this to happen.
Then Tom gave a quiet laugh behind me.
Rachel’s smile vanished.
Michael went pale.
They both looked at Tom as if they had suddenly realized he knew something they never expected him to know.
Tom moved to my side. His expression was calm, but his eyes were completely different from the night before.
“Actually, I have a special gift for you. I’ve been waiting for the right moment.”
No one responded. Mom looked from Tom to Rachel while Michael swallowed hard.
Tom walked over to the chair where he had left his jacket, took out a small envelope, and removed several glossy photographs.
He handed them to Rachel and Michael.
“These were taken at the estate,” he said.
Michael studied them.
