“That’s right.” Everett snaps his fingers. “Our Katie has such a good handle on things sometimes I forget how young she is.”
“Thanks.” For some reason I shake Vicky’s hand anyway, immediately regretting how awkward it is. Especially since my hands are clammy.
Everett introduces me like he’s got no idea I’m dating his son. Which, of course, he doesn’t. I have to bite back how surreal it is that I’m carrying Everett’s grandchild in my belly and he’s oblivious to the fact that Wayne and I are anything to each other besides casual acquaintances.
They chatter for a second and I twist up inside myself over the whole situation.
It’s not like Wayne has been activelyhidingour relationship, right? Like, he’s not lying to anybody or trying to hide me. We just haven’t been super public about things. When we were justfooling around, that made sense. I wasn’t exactly trumpeting our relationship from the rooftops myself.
But things are different now. This feelssowrong.
“Earth to Katie,” Vicky says, and I snap back to myself.
“Huh?”
“God.” She laughs, putting her hand on Everett’s arm. “She hasn’t changed a bit since high school. Her head’s always in the clouds.”
Big words coming from an airhead like her.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “I was just thinking about the regimen for today?—”
“Anyway,” Vicky says, “I was just saying how good you look.” True to form, Vicky’s not even listening. She looks me over from head to toe, and when her eyes pass over my stomach, I reflexively knot my fingers in front of myself. “Things must be going well.” A little nasty glimmer appears in the corner of her eye. “You’ve even put on a little weight. It suits you.”
I want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
Everett barely notices the jab. Leave it to a rancher not to see through a catty bitch like her.
“Well, do you want to come inside until Wayne gets back from the store?” He asks.
“Sure,” Vicky and I both say at once, and my face immediately gets hot.
“Oh.” I shrink back into myself. “Sorry. I thought…”
“I get it.” Vicky swats a hand at me. “Everybody wants a piece of his time. But I really have to tell you, Everett.” Her hand lands on his arm again, possessive and conspiratorial at the same time. “It was sogood reconnecting with Wayne again while he was in Las Vegas. It was just like the old days when we got up to all kinds of mischief. Well…” The bitch actually winks at me. “Nottoomuch mischief.”
My stomach heaves and pinpoints of light dance in front of my eyes.
Suddenly Wayne’s radio silence while he was away with his buddies has a very concrete reason I’d never considered. A short, acid-tongued,curvylittle reason.
Looking at Vicky’s wicked little smirk, it’s dangerously possible to picture the two of them cavorting through Sin City together. I can so easily picture old Wayne, off his leash again. They’re both up to their eyeballs in drinks, dancing in the streets, then hitting the sheets.
Misery balloons inside me. Potential betrayals swell up, one after another, from my brain down to my seething gut.
Shit. I’m gonna vomit. And I can’t do it in front of them.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I stammer, chewing back the bile rising in my throat. “I should—I need to get to work. See you later, Everett. Vicky.”
“Bye, Katie,” Vicky calls at my back as I stagger away. It’s the final dagger in my heart. Thank goodness I’m out of sight before doubling over to throw up in a ditch.
WAYNE
“Come on,” I mutter as the phone keeps ringing. “Pick up.”
It goes to voicemail.
“Shit.” I toss my phone on the desk and lean back in my chair, blowing through my lips.
Don’t panic, I try to tell myself, but it’s easier said than done. Katie hasn’t picked up a call or responded to a text in almost three days. Maybe she just needs a bit of space, but I’ve been crawling out of my skin over here.
