I made a so-so gesture. “Maybe? Or maybe he’s been staying at Skylar’s place this whole time, and the volunteer work is the point of the visit.”
“Are you saying that Rowdy, who Woody’s known his entire life, might not actually be fucking his way through the entire Central Texas gay community?”
I nodded along with his inquiry. “I think that’s a real possibility.”
Em held up a finger. “That very first pasta night Woody came to. Rowdy and I were talking about him after he left.”
“Typical.”
Emery shot me the finger. “I'm trying to tell you—Rowdy warned me that the Lockwood family doesn’t do casual. I’d focused on what that meant for Woody, but now I’m wondering if he was including himself in that.”
“That actually makes sense.”
Emery wrinkled his nose. “But then why would he do everything to make us believe he got around? What about the texts he sends you? Why the long con?”
“I dunno. I’m telling you—we’re still missing something.”
He rapped his knuckles on his head, like knocking on a door, asking for answers. I was familiar with the sentiment.
“What I don’t get is the fact that he’s said nothing about this volunteer work. These organizations always need more people and more money. Hell, you know I’d send Stevie out with him in a heartbeat.” Em grimaced and shot me a look. “Unless you think he needs a break from her.”
I immediately cut off that line of thought. “Rowdy has all the time in the world for Stevie. But I just get the sense...”
“You get the sense what?”
“It’s like I said before—I keep getting the sense that none of us really knows him at all.”
“You think he’s hiding something else from us? Like, on purpose?”
I tapped the side of my nose, the gesture Em liked to use when I sniffed out a lie. “Been sensing something’s off for a while now, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
Emery took a long drink of tea, his eyes never leaving mine.
“What?”
“How’d your third date—the raincheck guy—go?”
“Shut up.”
He crossed his arms over his chest.
Fine. “I went. Begrudgingly. Then bailed after cocktails.”
Emery’s all-knowing gaze was making my eye twitch.
I gestured at him. “Go ahead. Say what you’re gonna say.”
“You’re completely occupied—to the point of both distraction and inability to see anyone else—because you can’t figure out what Rowdy’s hiding from us. Fromyou.”
“Well, aren’t you? Like, why the hell wouldn’t he tell us about the volunteer work? And what the fuck else is he hiding?”
“Have you considered volunteering with him?”
A smile spread across my stupid mouth before I could stop it.
“What? What have you done?” Em asked, leaning in.
I hesitated until his eyes were practically bulging, then admitted, “I found out from Skylar that Rowdy’s going to a youth group meeting this week, and I was thinking of joining him.”
