The church ladies fenced me in so I couldn’t escape. Rose in her prim navy-blue suit. Enid, beside her, flustered, fingers fussing with her white hair. Yolanda, silent and still, hovered behind the wall of cakes and biscuits, her steely eyes fixed on me.
I straightened my spine, ready.Inquisition incoming. I could feel it.
Rose kept a tight hold of my arm. “You seemed to be having averyfriendly conversation with the young Hollyoak.”
“A nice boy,” Edith added.
Rose snorted.“Boy.”She wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, honey, he’sallman now.”
Edith squealed a laugh. “Oh, you wicked thing!”
Rose turned to me. “Ryan is a respectable man. His family owns the cattle station outside town. Did you know?” I had noidea, but she didn’t wait for me to answer. “Five generations in these parts.” She smiled sweetly. “He’d make a wonderful husband.”
My cheeks heated. Rose was about as subtle as a sledgehammer in a room full of delicate porcelain plates. I shot down any talk of dating by saying, “I’mreallynot looking—”
“Ryan’s always talked about wanting a family of his own,” Edith interrupted.
Rose nodded in agreement. “And you can hardly blame him. Stuck out there in the valley with only his father and a bunch of hairy cows for company! That homestead has been too long without a woman’s touch. He was only a boy when he lost his sweet mother.”
Edith angled herself closer and whispered, “Ovarian cancer.”
I forced a tight smile. Those were Ryan’s secrets to share, not something to be discussed in front of a stranger. My gaze searched for Yolanda. What did she make of all this gossiping? Her eyes narrowed, watching the exchange—me—with intense interest.
“And didn’t Ryan prove himself the gallant hero last night!” Rose continued. “Standing up for you against that brute! What’s his name again?”
“Evan Barnes,” Edith added helpfully.
“Yes,” Rose said. “That’s the one. A toad of a man. Were you terribly frightened?” She patted my arm. “I heard the things he said to you. They’re not fit for repeating!”
“An absolute villain,” Edith agreed.
“But I suppose it’s hardly a surprise about Evan,” Rose continued, oblivious to anything but the sound of her own voice. “Not after he harassed the little blonde one. What’s her name again?”
“Brooke,” Edith confirmed.
“That’s the one,” Rose said. “Dreadful business last Christmas. Fancy making asexualadvanceon a woman young enough to be yourgranddaughter!”Indignant, she stuck her pointy nose in the air. “Unlucky for him, she’s got a bite to her. A little pit bull, that one!”
Edith squealed another laugh. “Oh, you’re terrible!”
Yolanda finally spoke. “Evan’s lucky Aiden wasn’t there,” she said. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if he’d seen—”
“He was there.” My voice came out in a low, shaky whisper.
Yolanda’s lips pressed into a grim line. “Impossible.”
“He was.” Pain seared through my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut. Just for a second. Just long enough for me to gather the strength for no one to misunderstand how little Aiden cared about me. “He stood there and didnothing.”
“That doesn’t sound like Aiden, pet.”
I flinched. I’d heard that before. It was always my imagination.My fault. No one believed me. I was so tired of it. No. I wasexhausted. If Yolanda wanted to fool herself into thinking Aiden couldn’t watch a pig like Evan tear me apart, then she was no friend of mine.
“If you’ll excuse me…” I said.
Lifting my glasses, I dashed the tears stinging my eyes, searching for an escape route. I wanted to be anywhere in the world other than the hall. I ignored Yolanda’s frantic apology, but before I could disappear into the crowd, the universe had one more test for my new strength.
Aiden stood behind me.
He was rooted to the ground like a proud oak, his shoulders squaring up, a box full of fruits and vegetables hooked under his arm. But his perfect posture lied. The buttons on his shirt hadn’t been done up right. The one in the middle was notched in the wrong hole, and his white T-shirt peeked through the gap. Hishair was mussed and untidy, and dark circles bruised under his eyes. If someone told me he hadn’t slept, I’d believe them.
