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"Then, I'll be there."
"Cash, dear!" Fanny sings from the front porch. "Time for that golf lesson."
Cash takes a step back. "I'll pick you up at six tomorrow night."
"I'll be ready," I promise as I watch him jog over to his truck.
When he opens the door, he glances back at me and gives me one of his famously breathtaking Cash Allred smiles. As I watch him go, I realize that this is the first honest conversation we've had in four years.
Chapter 32
The Dinner Disaster
I'm standing on the front lawn, my black, body-hugging dress clinging to my thighs the same way my heart is still clinging to the hope that Wilder will realize he's making a mistake. I keep glancing down the street, hoping he'll appear like he used to. I don't want to bother him, but I miss him. And this gaping hole he left in my heart is refusing to heal. I think it's getting bigger and bigger as the hours wear on.
Missing Wilder Cox is like trying to breathe while underwater. My lungs are screaming for air, but I keep sinking closer to the sandy lake floor, praying that someone throws me a life jacket.
Cash's truck appears down the road, and I take a sobering breath. I can't think about Wilder right now. Right now, I have to focus on proving Fanny Allred is nothing more than a gossiping menace to our small-town society. Then, maybe I can salvage the Winthrop reputation and convince Cash to give Wilder a second chance. The lifelong besties need to be reunited and maybe Cash can crash at Wilder's again.
It's just that doing all of this—saving reputations and friendships—doesn't get me Wilder back. If anything, it'll just push him farther away. I still want to do it, though. Wilder depends on Cash's friendship. It's the one constant in his ever-changing world. I want him to have that back. But I was a constant, too. I was always there. I was always around. Doesn’t matter. He's made it clear he's not interested in letting me be there for him.
Maybe someday.
Cash rolls the truck window down and waves as I take several steps forward. Once I get in that truck, I know everything that happens after tonight will be a domino effect. If Fanny goes tumbling down, then a lot of us will follow. But I'm willing to scrape my knees and elbows to make sure she can't hurt anyone else the way she's hurt me and the people I love.
"You look nice," Cash offers as I buckle my seat belt.
"So do you," I give him a small smile. He looks great in a navy button-down and khaki pants. "Do you ever think about wearing something other than khaki?" I never would have asked him that question a few months ago, but things are different now.
Cash chuckles. "I would like to, but the country club has a strict dress code."
"I know," I sigh as I think back to dinner with Wilder. The dinner where we uncovered Archibald Allred and Clementine Church's affair. "Can I ask you a question about your dad?"
He nods his blond head. "Sure."
"Do you know about his affair with Clementine?"
Cash's fingers grip the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turn white. "Yes."
"Do you know how long it's been going on for?"
"Four years," he exhales.
"Oh."
"I found out around the time we started dating."
"You should have told me," I purse my lips.
"I should have told you a lot of things, Ingrid," he sighs, "but my parents like secrets."
"I've noticed."
"My dad pays for Clementine's house around the corner," Cash reveals, "and he spends most nights there after dinner with my mom."
"That sounds awful, Cash," I reach out a hand and gently pat his forearm.
Cash's blue eyes land on my fingertips. "It's not so bad."
