Dane waited until Jorie was a safe distance away. Then Dane leaned in.
“Talk to me.”
Hilary let out a shaky sigh as if she’d been holding it in since she sat. “She’s upset that I’ve lost focus during the week. I haven’t taken full advantage of the conference, she told me this morning.” She chewed on her lip like she was fighting back tears.
He felt himself frown as he studied Jorie’s retreating back. “She doesn’t have any right to say that. She missed almost four full days.”
He didn’t know the full breadth of their family dynamics, but from what he’d seen and heard in the last six days, Hilary and Jorie didn’t share an equal partnership. For whatever reason, Jorie held all the cards and Hilary deferred to her. Dane laid his arm across the back of her chair.
“Hilary, look at me.”
She sighed. Her face was drawn.
He rested his hand on her shoulder. “You’ve done nothing wrong. You have nothing to feel guilty about.”
Hilary sat forward, breaking contact with his arm around her. “But she’s right. I didn’t take advantage of the conference. It’s clear to me now.”
“Yeah, after she shamed you.”
Frustration boiled inside him. He struggled to keep the bitterness from his tone. Hilary took her sister-in-law’s approval to heart. Jorie took advantage of it too. It couldn’t be any more obvious. And this wasn’t what he wished their last night together would be like.
“No. It’s true. I didn’t want to come,” Hilary said. “I resented her for staying behind. And it wasn’t her fault Cal ended up in the hospital last weekend. She stayed behind to be with her dad. What kind of person does that make me?”
“You were frustrated because Jorie is your support system. You counted on her being here. What you felt was natural, Hilary. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Hilary dipped her head, looking across the room through her lashes. “She’s coming back. We can’t talk about this anymore.”
“Please tell me we aren’t going to tiptoe around her all night.”
Hilary bit her lip. Dane didn’t like the look on her face.
“I’m getting in line. We can talk more when she’s not nearby,” he said, rising. “Which is almost never.”
Hilary stared up at him with a blank look.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
After a few seconds, she pushed her chair back and got up, striding past him on her way to the buffet line. If Jorie hadn’t sidestepped out of the way, Hilary would have knocked her off her feet. Dane followed close behind.
But Hilary wasn’t getting in line for dinner. She marched out from under the tent, across the lawn, and into the side door of the inn. Dane was tempted to follow her, but he stopped himself. She needed time to herself. He didn’t trust his restraint anyway. As patient as he was, it was wearing thin, and he didn’t want Hilary to think his frustration was directed at her. Whatever made her angry, he’d get to the bottom of it before the night’s end. They’d say goodbye on good terms. He wouldn’t settle for anything different.
Fifteen minutes later, Hilary still hadn’t reappeared. He’d struck up conversations with two people, waiting for her to rejoin him at the buffet. When that didn’t happen, Dane halfheartedly filled his plate and headed back to the table. Jorie sat there alone, picking at the barbecue on her plate. She barely looked up when he sat down.
“Where’d Hil go?” she asked, moving the food around.
“My guess is to her room. She didn’t tell me.”
Jorie rolled her eyes lazily. “It’s not like her to go stalking off.”
Was he being blamed? He waited for Jorie to say something else, but she was too focused on the food she wasn’t eating. If she was baiting him, he wasn’t going to bite.
“Did she mention that she’s mad at me?”
He paused. What business was it of hers what he and Hilary discussed? “No, she didn’t.”
Jorie pursed her lips. She didn’t believe him. Not that he cared.
“I’m not sure you know all there is to know about Hil. She’s not very open about…certain things.” Jorie set her fork down and leaned back in the chair. “Maybe she mentioned Will’s accident though. It was a horrible time for her. For all of us.”
