The look on his face made my stomach drop. Like I’d just punched him. Disgust, disappointment, pity. It was all there. But I didn’t understand it until he spoke again.
“I thought you were done kidding yourself,” he scoffed.
“Kidding myself?” I snapped.
“Yeah. Whatever you had going with West Brooks. That wasn’t real. I thought you were finally realizing it.”
The air drained out of me. “Excuse me?” My hands curled into fists, ready to argue, to claw back some dignity. But then my face fell, because I realized that of course he knew.
The whole damn town probably knew.
Rumors in Harmony Haven spread faster than wildfire. He had warned me that Grams and Gramps were just as bad at gossiping as everyone else. Of course if they knew, along with Miles and Easton, then everyone else did. I was the only fool still pretending.
I shoved Aiden in the chest, forcing him back, and slammed the door before he could see the moment I finally broke.
And I did. Right there, pressed against the cheap wood, I unraveled.
I didn’t get much sleep. The night came in pieces—ten minutes here, an hour there—until the late morning sun slipped through the blinds and my phone buzzed.
It was Dad.
He was being discharged, going home. And he wanted me to thank my boyfriend for arranging it.
My heart cracked wide open. The words stabbed straight through me.
How could I lie to him?
I took the smallest sliver of comfort in the fact that I’d never told him West and I were married. Not out loud. Not in so many words. But I should never have let them meet. I should never have let West charm him. It had only taken two hours for Dad to see how amazing West was, and less than twenty-four hours for West to break my heart in more ways than I could count.
By noon I was at the hospital. Lisa wheeled Dad down the hall and as he saw me approaching, he pointed at his favorite slippers, letting me know he got the delivery. I wrapped my arms around him, trying not to cry. He kept telling me over and over again to thank West, to invite him over, to make sure he knew how grateful he was. Each time he said his name, my jaw locked, and I had to fight the tears threatening to spill. Not over West. But because Dad was so happy, so hopeful. And he deserved the truth before the whole town figured out what a fool I’d been.
We rode the elevator down, and sure enough, Marshal was waiting beside his shiny black SUV, dressed in a fresh suit like he hadn’t lost a wink of sleep.
“I hope you get paid per mile,” I grumbled, even though I was grateful beyond words that he was there.
He smiled faintly, but didn’t find me funny. Instead, he helped Dad into the SUV with a gentleness I didn’t even know he had, then insisted Lisa climb in, too.
“Oh no,” she waved him off. “I have my car in short-term parking. I’ll follow you.”
“I’ll drive your car back,” I cut in quickly, the idea forming on the spot. “There’s something I need to do before I head home.”
Dad tilted his head, concerned, but then nodded, letting me know he trusted me to take care of whatever it was.
“Are you sure?” Lisa asked, already digging through her purse. “I really don’t mind.”
“I don’t either.” I smiled, plucking the keys from her hand. “Red Honda, right?”
“Yes. Bottom floor of the parking garage.”
“Perfect. I’ll be a couple of hours behind you. And when I get home,” I added, looking straight at Dad, “we need to talk.”
He caught the strain in my voice but he just nodded again and winked softly. Lisa climbed in beside him, and Marshal shut the door.
He started to circle around to the driver’s seat but stopped, turning back toward me. His jaw flexed, and for the first time, his calm cracked.
“Mr. Brooks found your car on the side of the road last night,” he said evenly, though I could hear the restraint in his voice.
“I grabbed a ride from a friend,” I said, brushing it off. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
