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By now, most of the town of Prospect is aware of where the money came from. The gossip mill is running strong and steady. And boy, oh boy, did we give them something to talk about.
Doesn’t help that dear old Mom and Dad never could keep their mouths shut, especially if they think they have reason to gloat. Those idiots think they got one over on the Kincaides.
And dammit, they aren’t wrong.
As far as they see it, I’m their eternal, winning lottery ticket.
And as if Travis can read my mind, his question cuts through my disparaging thoughts. “What are we going to do about Arlene and Otis?”
The sick, sinking feeling that now lives in the pit of my stomach whenever I think about them boils and scorches its way up my throat.
“Don’t you mean how are we going to stop them for asking for more money as soon as they burn through whatever outrageous amount Ridge gave them?” Hand shaking, I lift the glass of water to my mouth.
“You two all right?” Kelly sidles up to the table to take our lunch baskets.
It isn’t her job, but she’s been sticking close to me since things fell apart with Ridge, and I’m grateful for her support.
Travis nods and hands her his bottle, hanging on to her hand longer than is necessary. Kel flushes and mumbles she’ll see me later as she spins toward the kitchen.
I watch my brother eye my best friend for a beat or two. He thinks his interest in her is unnoticed, and if I called him on it, he’d deny it or remind me of all the ways in which Kelly is wrong for him.
He catches me looking at him, and his jaw tightens as he scans the club. While it’s open, only a handful of customers take up the dark corners of the room, drinking alone or waiting for their favorite dancer to come out and offer a lap dance.
Eventually, his gaze swings back to mine. “Fuck, Lacy, maybe this is it.”
His dark hair sticks up in all directions from the countless times he’s run his hand through it, and his warm brown eyes are steely, locked on mine.
I cock my head to one side and worry my bottom lip. “What are you talking about?”
Is he going to fess up to having feelings for Kelly or is he still talking about Ridge?
He leans forward and grabs my hands in his, squeezing tight. “Let’s leave town.”
Like a flag riding up the flagpole, my spine straightens. “What?”
“Look, we both know our shit parents are going to come back for more. They’ll hound you and me. Make a whole lot of trouble. But they can’t do that if we aren’t here.”
I’ve been living with Travis since breaking things off with Ridge, and once or twice, we’ve joked about skipping town, finally getting out of this place, but he can’t be serious.
“Of course they can.” I pull my hands from his grip. “It doesn’t matter if we’re gone, they’ll go back to Ridge. Make his life a living hell.”
“Yeah, exactly. It’ll be his problem, not ours.” He shrugs and slides back into his chair. “And it would serve him right.”
My insides churn. A part of me likes the idea of leaving Prospect—it was always an option and something I’d planned on doing before the baby. But it feels wrong to leave Ridge to fend off Arlene and Otis.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right.”
It would be like throwing Ridge to the wolves. Though some might say he could handle them. The man’s as scary as a charging bull when he wants to be. But it might take a lot of trial and error before he figures out how best to deal with Arlene and Otis, and he’d be sure to have scars when all is said and done.
And why is this my problem? He’s the one who created this mess.
“Fuck right.” Travis snorts. “If he cared about what was right, he would’ve talked to you before going to our fucking parents. Or better yet, he would’ve kept his nose out of it.”
Exhaling a long, exhausted breath, I rake my fingers through my unruly hair. “I don’t know.”
“What’s holding you back?”
It feels wrong, like I’d be running away, but maybe that’s my silly heart talking again. It certainly would be easier to live someplace not too far so Ridge could see the baby, like Helena or even Winslow Grove—any place that isn’t here. Any place where I wouldn’t risk running into him all the time. A place where I wouldn’t have to watch him move on and build a life with someone else.
