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“Carrie?” He touched her arm. She stopped but didn’t turn to face him.
“What?”
He stepped in front of her and leaned in. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks flushed and damp.
“Carrie, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head and gave an unconvincing laugh. “I’m fine. It’s nothing. Really.”
“Liar.” He took her elbow and led her into the office where she lowered herself onto the small couch. “Let me get you some water.”
He found a coffee mug and ran it full of icy water from the bathroom tap.
“Something’s upset you. How can I help?”
Her face crumpled and the tears he’d interrupted returned. She put her fingers to her forehead, pressing against her skull as if that might stem the flood. Her hands were shaking.
His anxiety heightened. She’d been afraid and upset when they’d first met, but she’d been completely in control. What could have undone her like this?
“I’m f-f-fine, Ethan,” she managed.
He handed her a tissue. “Try again.”
She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “Really, it’s nothing. Just business stuff.” She hesitated. “Oh, Hell. My mom found out about the picture.”
Her voice broke.
“And not just my mom. Terlecki, from the high school, printed off the picture and just happened to show it to my aunt, who showed my mom. I thought you said you’d taken them down.”
There was no censure in her voice, only defeat. Like she’d never really expected that he could prevent the disaster from happening.
“They must have gotten to it before I secured the links. We knew it was a risk. Carrie, I’m so sorry.”
He felt terrible. He’d worked as quickly as possible, but honestly, he’d always known the chances of keeping this quiet were slim to none.
She smiled crookedly through her tears. “It’s not your fault. I went to the high school. That’s probably what got Mrs. Terlecki nosing around.”
Poor kid. All she wanted was to keep her private business private and now it was anything but.
“Half the town knows by now,” she continued. “Every teenage boy in Cherry Lake probably has pictures of my pictures on his phone now. Who knows how far they’ve traveled on the internet. Between the cherry harvest and the festival, my family’s working flat out and now they get to have this juicy bit of gossip to deal with. Uncle Robert has been stressed out, my grandfather is an old man and my mom,” she paused and sucked in a fresh breath. “She was just here. Thought it would be best to deliver the news in person.”
She got to her feet and started pacing the small room. “In the last week, I’ve lost two bookings. On top of the wedding. I thought I was being paranoid, but obviously I’m not. I could lose my business, Ethan.”
She whirled around to face him, distress in every line of her face.
“Carrie,” he said, taking her arm. He pulled her closer and she didn’t resist.
“You don’t understand, Ethan. I’m a Jackson,” she said, with emphasis. “I might have my father’s last name, but in Cherry Lake, I’m first and foremost Nate Jackson’s granddaughter, and nothing will ever change that. I could get married and change my name ten times, it wouldn’t matter.”
“You need to move.”
“Stupid thing is,” she went on, ignoring him, “I always knew what would happen if anyone found out. So why did I keep those photos around, where they could be found? It doesn’t even make sense.”
Maybe not to her.
“Carrie, have you ever thought about resurrecting that side of your business? You’re good at it and you’re obviously still passionate about it. Why not?”
“Haven’t you been listening? It’s killing my business. My family gives new meaning to the pillars of society idea. Upright, straight, no secrets. They’d never stand for it.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Carrie. Everyone has secrets.”
He thought of Vincent. He wondered if it would make Carrie feel better if he told her about him. But it wasn’t really his story to tell.
