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He looked from Ivy to Scarlett. What the hell was wrong with these women? They were overreacting. Had to be. Shaking his head, Cal left them to head up to his bedroom. He needed a long hot shower. More than that, he needed time to figure out how to deal with Millie Sue. Because as much as he hated to admit it, Ivy wasn’t wrong.
Millie Sue Jenkins splashed all over social media, trending on more than one platform, wasn’t a good thing. Especially with him at her side.
She was going to be pissed. The only question, was…how bad was it gonna be?
CHAPTER11
It wasfive thirty and already dark when Millie made it back to town.
She’d spent the better part of the day holed up at her place, eating leftover pizza and watchingFriendsreruns with Mr. Higgins. A part of her would have liked to have stayed put, but she’d promised Bent she’d stop in to see him. She knew that Cal and Scarlett had already been to the hospital with Nora, so her chances of running into the only man in Big Bend she wanted to avoid were pretty low. That was courtesy of Mike Paul. He’d sent her a text message an hour earlier. Thank God for buddies looking out for her.
She wasn’t ready for that particular Bridgestone just yet.
She didn’t want to think about the night before. Of Cal being onstage with her again. Of opening herself up and exposing her weakness for the world to see. How the hell had she let that happen? She’d all but curled up into a ball when she’d first opened her phone, which had blown up with so many messages, it took her forever to scroll through them. They all had one common denominator: a link to Insta or something like it. Her cook, George Caplan, had sent one link along with at least thirty emojis, followed by a big old red heart.
Her heart had sunk, and after mulling it over, she’d finally clicked on the link.
In the clip, she was on stage singing a tune she’d written years ago, a melancholy song of love, loss and longing, and Cal was up there beside her, his harmony a perfect blend to her voice, something that hadn’t changed.
Why she’d started strumming that song was beyond her. She’d literally forgotten he was up there with her. It happened when she was on stage. The world fell away, the music moved through her, and she laid bare everything inside, comfortable in her little Sundowner cocoon and the community of Big Bend.
Except this time, the world had peeked in. An outsider, none other than Tabitha, had taken the video and posted it online. It had been a self-serving post, a way to look as if she was “in the know.” She might have not meant for it to gain as much traction as it had, but it was out there. As of now, Tabitha’s post was homing in on one million views and had gone viral, shared many times over.
Millie knew this because, despite herself, she’d looked at it more than once.
“Shit,” she said roughly as she pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. She’d worked so hard to build a life without him. And she’d been fine. She’d moved on. She was happy. Kind of. And now her little corner of the world was in peril. Her life could unravel at any moment, and her secrets, the ones she’d tucked away in a place she never visited, might come to light.
If that happened?
“Stop it,” she murmured, hopping out of her truck. As her grandma used to say,no sense in borrowing tomorrow’s trouble.
Snow crunched underfoot, and she yanked up the collar of her coat. The air was crisp, the night sky a brilliant wash of stars as she entered the hospital and headed to the third floor. She kept her head down as she walked down the corridor, but she was aware that folks were staring. By the time she made it to Bent’s room, her jaw was tight, and she had to work to unclench her teeth.
Mackenzie was sitting on the end of Bent’s bed, chuckling at something he’d just said, when she walked inside. They both looked her way, and Mackenzie got to her feet, eyes warm as she smiled at Millie.
“We were just talking about you,” she said with a wink. She turned back to Bent. “This is your last visitor. Even though you’re on the road back, you still need to rest. Especially if you want to be home for Thanksgiving.”
Mackenzie grabbed her tablet. “Don’t be too long,” she whispered as she passed by.
Millie walked to the bed and kissed Benton on the cheek. “I’m so glad to see you’re on the mend.”
“Takes more than a bump on the head to keep this boy down.” His voice was low, he spoke slowly, and it was obvious he was tired.
“Can I get you anything?”
“No,” Bent said. “They’re looking after me like I’m something special.”
“That’s what we call the Bridgestone effect,” Millie replied with a chuckle.
“More like the Cal effect. Those nurses are buzzing around something fierce, hoping he’ll make a second visit.”
Her smile slowly faded, and she glanced away. “I’m sure he factors into it.”
“Who knew a coyote running into the road would bring our Cal home.” He paused, those knowing eyes settled on her. “I know it can’t be easy for you.”
“I’m good,” she replied. “We’re good.”
“I saw the video.”
