Page 123 of Weight of Guilt

His skin was pale with dark shadows beneath his eyes.

Mom sat at the table staring at Christian like she still couldn’t believe her eyes. She had very little to say, but her eyes still looked brighter than they had in years.

Nora glanced over. “Hey.”

Wren rubbed a hand over her face. “Why didn’t anybody wake me?”

“Because there wasn’t anything new.” Nora turned off the burner.

She pulled out a chair and sat. “Where’s Nash?”

He’d slept in the recliner last night. This morning, the chair was empty and a blanket folded on the arm.

“He went to take Roy’s receipts to Luke,” Nora said. “He said to let you sleep and give you the message.”

Wren nodded. That sounded like him. But some strange part of her missed having him here.

Nora set a plate in front of her. Wren stared at the eggs but didn’t pick up the fork.

Instead, she glanced at her phone sitting on the counter. There were no calls or messages.

Nothing from Mason. Maybe some foolhardy part of herself had hoped there would be.

She forced herself to take a bite of her breakfast, but the eggs tasted like nothing.

Bo suddenly barked from the living room. Once. Then again.

Marlowe frowned and stood. “Who’s here?”

She went to the front window, then stopped.

“What?” Wren asked.

“You’ve got to be kidding me . . .”

Wren was up and at the window to see for herself.

She drew in a sharp breath when she saw two news vans had pulled onto the road. A cameraman was climbing out of one.

Marlowe grabbed the curtain and pulled it closed. “They have a lot of nerve.”

Nora came up behind them. “Are they here about Mason or Christian?”

“How did reporters find out?”

“I don’t know.” Marlowe shook her head. “If it’s Christian, how would they find out?”

“Great question,” Wren said.

Wren’s phone buzzed on the counter. Then again.

She saw an unknown number, and her chest tightened.

Outside, someone called toward the house. “Christian Loveless?”

Wren froze. This was about Christian. Somehow, word had gotten out.

Another voice joined it. “Christian! Can we talk to you?”