“I don’t even know.Aly and I went up to the Harrington cabin to help them dig out.Apparently that asshole detective was there yesterday and questioned Glenda.Without Jill in the room.”
Nate didn’t like the idea of that—but he never liked the idea of Detective Hayes.Something about the guy… but he couldn’t work out exactly what becausemostof what he didn’t like about Jake Hayes had to do with his interest in Sam.“About Glenda’s statement?”That didn’t have to be dire.Or bad.It could just mean…
“No, apparently not.Apparently about that guy Sam’s investigating.”
For a moment, Nate’s mind went completely blank.Because why would Hayes know about Bo?Why wouldGlendaknow about Bo?
“You mean…” Nate looked over at Sam.
He didn’t want to say the name Bo Lake in front of her right now.Because he knew he’d talked a good game before Cal’s phone call, but Bo connecting to things was going to… complicate it all.
You knew this was going to be complicated going in.
“Yeah, the guy that looks like us that you think is Dad’s long-lost kid or whatever the hell.Why does Hayes know about that?Why doesGlendahave anything to do with that?”
Hell if Nate knew, but what he did know was this was about to make what should be a pleasant day… complicated.
Bo Lake complicated every damn thing.
“Listen, Nate.That’s only the surface.Glenda wouldn’t tell Jill anything the detective asked, so Jill and Aly get it in their heads she’ll talk to me.So she did.”
“Like… talked talk?”
“No.She wrote it out.Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Listen.”Cal was starting to sound more… clear.More determined, less freaked out.“That detective is poking around that guy that looks like us, and thinks Glenda knows something about it.Glenda, who has done nothing but help us no matter how fucking cryptically, thinks he needs to be far away from here.That’s what she wrote down.You need to get him far away from here.We need to make that happen.You and me.You can’t tell anyone else.Let’s not complicate it.Let’s just find a way to get him to leave.”
Nate looked at Sam cleaning up after breakfast wearing slouchy sweats with her hair sex-tousled from last night.How they’d just had this whole conversation about beingdirectandseeing where this goes.
Could he really turn around not five minutes later and lie?Maybe he should.Maybe thatwouldbe easier.
But he couldn’t.“I’ve got to tell Sam.”
Hearing her name, she looked over her shoulder at him, concern written into her expression.
“You think she’s going to let you kick one of her cases to the curb?Because I don’t.”
“It doesn’t matter.Look, if you want to keep this from Landon and Aly, that’s your choice for right now because you’re the one there dealing with them.But… where have secrets gotten us, Cal?”
“Where has the truth gotten us, Nate?”
Nate sighed, rubbing a hand over his hair.“I’m going to tell her.She has to know.And we’ll decide how to move forward from there.”
“You’ll regret it.”
“Maybe,” Nate agreed.“Maybe I will, but I’m doing it.And I’ll handle… him.You leave this to me, okay?”
“Glenda talked tome.”
“And you’re calling me.So let me handle it.”
Cal was silent so long Nate worried he’d ended the connection.Not that what he eventually said made Nate feel any better.
“We’ll see,” Call muttered, then hung up on him.
Nate kept the phone to his ear for a minute, trying to get his head on straight.Trying to figure out what to say, how to broach this.
