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Katie blinked. “What? That’s crazy.”
“Well, the photo makes it seem plausible, so welcome to the Riverbend rumor mill.”
Katie winced at her friend’s obvious anger. She couldn’t blame her. Katie had come between her brothers. Avery wouldn’t be the only one angry with her. Gavin’s whole family would probably shun her. Worse yet—she deserved it.
Her chest tightened at the thought of losing the family that had come to mean so much to her. She’d grown close to Lisa, especially, but the woman wouldn’t want anything to do with her now. Bad enough she’d kissed Cooper, but now people would think she’d gotten pregnant by her boyfriend’s brother.
Her mother.
Katie had taken the relationship slowly, concerned her mom wouldn’t pan out to be what Katie needed her to be. But ultimately it had been Katie who’d faltered. Beth would probably believe the worst of her. Why wouldn’t she? Katie couldn’t even imagine telling Beth who she was now after she’d publicly embarrassed herself. Katie may have just lost her only chance with her mother. If she hadn’t been enough when she was a child, she certainly wouldn’t be enough now. Something inside shriveled up at the thought.
But this was no time for a pity party. She needed to talk to Gavin. Needed to apologize to him even though she didn’t expect or deserve his forgiveness.
Avery took out her phone and checked the screen, her frowndeepening. “Gavin got wind of the photo before Cooper got to him. It came to blows.”
“Is he okay?”
Avery raised a sardonic brow. “Which one?”
Shame washed over Katie. She closed her eyes, her pulse throbbing in her temples. “I should go see Gavin.”
“You might want to let him cool off awhile. He doesn’t lose his temper often, but when he does...”
Katie wanted to get it over with, but this wasn’t about what she wanted. The least she could do was give him a little time to process this.
“All right. I guess I’ll wait till morning.”
A few minutes later Katie let Avery out of her house and sagged against the door. It would be a long, sleepless night.
35
Cooper pressed a bag of frozen vegetables to tomorrow’s black eye. Great look for a sheriff candidate. He didn’t bother with the living room lights, preferring to sulk in darkness.
He’d resolved nothing with Gavin. Five minutes after his arrival, Rodriguez had pulled up in a cruiser—someone had called 911. For once the deputy didn’t give Cooper a hard time. Once he saw it was Cooper, Rick quietly left the scene. He probably had no idea what was going on but he would soon.
Cooper’s betrayal would be all over town by tomorrow—along with new rumors about Katelyn’s supposed pregnancy. Had Avery reached her? She probably hated him now too. He sank deeper into the sofa cushions, wishing he could disappear into the crack with the Doritos crumbs.
Lights swept across the living room. It could be a neighbor returning home, but he couldn’t be that lucky. He reluctantlypeered through the curtains and spotted his mom’s Tahoe. Would this night ever end?
A minute later three sharp raps came on his door. It was futile to ignore her. His vehicles were out front, and Mom wasn’t one to give up. He pulled himself off the sofa and ditched the bag of frozen peas. He’d been punched a time or two in the line of duty, but not like this. His ears still rang. His head throbbed. He welcomed the pain as due penance. He only wished it were enough to absolve him from the guilt gnawing away at his gut.
He pulled open the door. His mother took in his battered face, no sign of sympathy in her stern look. She pushed past him into the apartment.
He closed the door and flipped on the lamp, feeling vaguely spacey. Their gazes clashed across the small space. There was nothing he could say in his own defense. He’d pulled a pin from the grenade, and some idiot had thrown it right into the middle of their family. “I already talked to Gavin.”
Mom crossed her arms. “I can see that. But now I want you to talk to me. I want you to explain to me how you thought it was okay to steal your brother’s girlfriend. Your brother, whom I might add, recently lost his only son and went through a difficult divorce. How does one excuse that?”
Guilt pinched hard. “I can’t, Mom.”
Her shoulders stiffened and she narrowed her eyes. “Try.”
A wave of dizziness passed over him. He blinked against his blurry vision. “Have a seat. Please.”
She stared hard at him for a full ten seconds before she perched on the edge of the sofa.
He lowered his weight into the recliner. “Listen, I didn’t intend for this to happen, Ma. When I met her that day out on the cliff, I didn’t know who she was. While I helped her through the crisis, there was just some kind of attraction. Strong attraction. Once Irealized who she was, I tried to put her from my mind. Tried to fight it. Tried to stay away. And then Gavin asked me to go on that hike with her and—”
“Don’t you dare blame this on your brother.”
