The family is screaming about fake money when I feel a hand squeeze my shoulder.
I turn.
Grace.
“Summer…” she whispers.“Can you…can you look at something?”
“Everything okay?” I ask softly.
Ethan lifts his gaze, instantly alert.“What is it?”
Grace hands me her phone.
My stomach drops before my brain can catch up.
On the screen:
A local newspaper headline.
And under it, a photo—
Kevin.
Me.
Mia.
That old staged Christmas card picture, the one where my smile didn’t reach my eyes.
Beneath it, a candid shot of Ethan and me slow dancing at Midnight Rodeo, his hands on my waist, my forehead against his cheek.
Then the headline hits me like a punch:
Montgomery Heir Left Her Husband for a Cowboy — Took Child Away From Her Father
A roaring fills my ears.
My vision tunnels.
Black spots bloom at the edges.
I can’t breathe.
“Summer?” Ethan says sharply, cupping my face.“Baby, hey. Hey, look at me.”
I can’t.
I’m falling.
His voice cuts through the panic.
“Tell me three things you can see.”
I try.
Try again.
“Table… couch… tree…”
