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“No, but Troy has mentioned you.” A small smile wobbles on Olivia’s face but fails to click into place. “He said you’re interested in interviewing me for an article. Because my late husband had PTSD.”
Her expression crumples for a second, and my heart breaks for her. Her husband didn’t deserve what happened to him. Olivia and her daughter don’t deserve what happened to them.
My smile is no stronger than Olivia’s, sympathy for everything she’s gone through holding the curve of my lips in place. “If you would be willing to. But I know it might be difficult for you. So I understand if you aren’t interested.”
“Can I think about it? I’m still not sure if I’m ready to talk about it yet.”
I nod, a new level of self-consciousness clawing at me. Olivia is pretty, her face scar free. Troy has known her since they were kids. It’s possible he crushed on her when they were younger, before she and Colton hooked up…
“Hi!” The little girl waves at us, interrupting where my thoughts are headed, and she points to Sidney in Jerome’s arms. “Baby!” Her mouth stretches into a big grin.
“That’s right. That’s Sidney,” Olivia tells her daughter. “How are you two enjoying parenthood?” She directs the question to Kim and Jerome, which leads to a short discussion between the three of them about the joys of being parents to a baby.
I bite hard on my lower lip, preventing my own comments from spilling, longing for those moments when I held Amelia as a baby in my arms. Her sweet smell. The way she blew raspberries or giggled.
“Hi, I’m Cora,” the woman with Olivia says. “Livi’s big sister.” Her gaze shifts between Avery and me.
Avery and I introduce ourselves, the relative newcomers to the group. It’s obvious everyone else already knows Cora.
Olivia switches her daughter to her other hip. “I thought Troy was also coming. And is there a reason you three have dirty faces?” Her question is aimed at Troy’s brothers.
Kellan exchanges glances with Garrett and Lucas, the unspoken message between them lost on me. “We were all, including Troy, on a search and rescue. He was going to be here, but he had to leave and won’t be back for the rest of the day.”
The rest of us keep quiet about where Troy went. He probably wouldn’t want her to know about the arrest and worry her. I’m worried enough for the both of us.
“How’s California?” Emily asks Cora, swiftly changing the conversation away from Troy.
My body goes rigid and adrenaline pumps through my veins. California. Fuckers.
“It’s better now that I’ve left. I just went through a bitter divorce after I discovered the cheating…” She looks down at her niece. “The cheating banana loaf was hooking up with some peanut butter.”
Snorted laughs come from the guys.
“So I’m here for the next few months, getting over that, and plotting the next stage in my life. Plus, spending more time with my sis and my adorable niece.” She smiles at Nova. Nova grins back.
“Where in California?” I keep my tone as friendly as possible, wrestling with the panic that threatens to betray me. Please don’t be from San Diego.
“San Francisco.”
Relief trickles in, but it’s not enough to douse the fear. My hand goes to my hair, and I subconsciously tug on the blond ends. The roots have recently been retouched.
Hopefully between the hair color and scars, it’s enough to keep Cora from recognizing me.
I fight the urge to duck my head and prevent her from seeing past my fake identity. Her expression holds no hint of recognition. No sign she has seen me before but can’t quite place me.
But even then, it’s not enough to untie the tension knotted in my muscles.
That will only happen once Troy is released from jail.
Garrett drops me off at my house a few hours later. Butterscotch trots into the hallway from the living room as I reactivate the alarm, and we go to the laundry room to let Bailey out of her crate.
“You’ll be staying with me tonight,” I tell Butterscotch. “Your daddy tried to get into a fight with that asshole Chief Wilson, who didn’t take too kindly to that. So your father will be spending the next few nights in the slammer.”
A chill clambers over my body just thinking about Troy being stuck in there until Tuesday. “You two want to go for a walk?”
I stick close to my house while walking Bailey and Butterscotch, not wanting to go near Violet’s house in case her husband’s there. Not wanting to give him a reason to investigate me.
We return home, and I reactivate the alarm.
