Page 24 of Midnight Creed

“That’s right. I forgot about that.” He greeted Hannah’s dogs, Lady and Hunter, but they were more excited to see Grace. “How do you think that’s going?”

“Poker night?”

“Yeah. Every time I ask Brodie all she says is that she’s learning a lot. But she says that about so many things.”

“Truthfully, I think she’s having a ball. She trusts Jason’s friends, and I think she feels safe at the Segway House. The one person who has a problem with it is Taylor.”

“Taylor? Did Jason tell you that?”

“Uh huh. She’s been working some nights at the hospital so she can get extra time off for Christmas to be with her little boy. But poker night lands on her only nights off.”

“I’m sure they’ll work it out. He’s crazy about her.”

“Speaking of Christmas, the boys are asking when we can put up the tree.”

Hannah’s boys were still young enough to believe in Santa. In years past, they’d have the tree up and decorated the day after Thanksgiving.

“You’re worried about Brodie?” Creed asked her.

“Aren’t you?”

It was just over a year ago that Creed found his sister. After sixteen years, he’d almost given up.

Brodie had disappeared from a rest area during a family road trip. She was eleven at the time. Creed was fourteen. Hannah called it a miracle when Brodie was found in an old, abandoned farmhouse. It was nicknamed the Christmas house because its previous occupant had been committed to a nursing home just before Christmas. The family hadn’t bothered to take down the decorations. Instead, they simply abandoned the house.

“Has she ever talked to you about it?” Hannah asked.

He shook his head. He didn’t like to think about what his sister had gone through. And he certainly didn’t want to remind her. She had been working with a therapist, but their sessions were becoming less frequent.

“She seems to be doing really well.” But he looked to Hannah for reassurance.

She waited too long to agree, then said, “Maybe I’ll ask Jason.”

“Jason?”

Hannah raised an eyebrow at him. “You didn’t notice? Those two have been thick as thieves since y’all got back from Nebraska. I think worrying about and looking for you brought them a lot closer.”

Maybe he’d been too concerned about Grace’s injuries, and Maggie’s revelation that she loved him.

“How close are we talking?” He matched her raised eyebrow, and she immediately waved a hand at him.

“I don’t mean like that. You’re right when you said Jason is crazy about Taylor.”

But Creed had noticed the way Brodie sometimes looked at Jason when Jason wasn’t watching. He would never claim to be an expert on women—far from it—but he thought he recognized that look.

“Also, speaking of the Segway House,” Hannah had moved on, “your tuxedo arrived.”

As a dog handler, Creed had trained himself to control his emotions, but he now allowed an audible groan.

“Stop that!” she laughed at him. “You’re always the most handsome man at the ball. I love how all the other women are so jealous of me. Plus, I only ask you to do this once a year.”

“You’re right.”

“It’s for a great cause.”

“I know.”

“You sure Maggie’s not coming?”