She looked at me like I was stupid. “Right, but you said you don’t think Stewart would say the stuff that’s going around now. So we should find out who is.”
“I’ve been thinking. It might all be Stewart. I mean, he’s crazier than I thought he was. Maybe he’s the one behind all of this. I guess I really hurt him. He’s the only one who makes sense to me. No one else has a reason to be mad. At least I think.” I’d done my best to stop thinking about it. After the initial panic around it all, it seemed like a useless endeavor to try to point fingers. The rumors were coming at me from all sides. I had no idea how to fight that type of tidal wave.
Kayla shrugged. “Well, so what if it is. Then we prove it was all Stewart. Over and done.”
Noah had popped another bite of what was left of my meal into his mouth and spoke without chewing. “I agree that it would be great to know who is doing all of this, but I don’t see how it would make it over and done.”
She looked between the two of us. “Seriously? You’re gay. Aren’t you two supposed to be more dramatic? Like a soap opera or something? You’re being as dull as the evening news.”
I gave a bitter laugh. “Oh yes. Life has felt extremely dull lately. I’ve been desperate to find something to spice it up a little bit.”
Kayla ignored my scorn. “It’s obvious. We find out who is doing all of this and then get enough dirt on them to prove they’re an unreliable source.”
Noah caught on quicker than me. “So dig up the dirt and then publish what we find about Stewart. If it’s Stewart.” He had a look of disgust on his face.
Kayla’s excitement lessened, and she sounded unsure, suddenly. “Do you think that’s not a good idea? That it would be wrong, or something?”
“Wrong?” Noah’s brows popped up. “Wrong to dig up shit on the person spreading this stuff about Randall? Hell no, I don’t think it’s wrong. I hate this whole thing. I’m with you, Kayla. I wish I’d thought of it. I say find the fucker and burn him alive.”
I gave him a look.
“What? I don’t mean literally.” He grimaced. “Although I can’t say it isn’t tempting.”
I turned back to Kayla. “Okay, so maybe that is a good idea. It would be nice to go on the offensive for a bit. I thought I was with the video, but that only seemed to make things worse. However, as you may have heard, I haven’t exactly been getting lots of clients calling the past few weeks. I can’t imagine how much a private investigator costs.”
She waived me off again. “Don’t be stupid. I’ll cover that. You were the one who pointed out I have more than one diamond.” Kayla stopped talking when the waitress came back to pick up the bill, which I’d forgotten about. “Perfect timing.” Kayla handed the server a credit card and looked back at us. “I’m getting this too.” She waited until we were alone again, then began whispering once more, her eyes sparkling like she was going on an adventure. “I have your permission to try to find someone?”
There was a spark of hope at the thought, but trepidation too. It felt like we might be biting off more than we wanted to handle. “I don’t want you paying for that, Kayla. There’s got to be—”
Noah cut me off, closing his hand on mine again. “Let her. Don’t let your pride get in the way. Kayla is family, and if it works, it might help your dad lighten up with Bailey.”
I shook my head. “No. It doesn’t matter what we find out. Dad isn’t going to change on that.”
Kayla added her hand on top of Noah’s. “No, but Dustin might. I think he hates this whole thing. And I think he’s looking for a reason to stand up to your father. I really do. Things have gotten bad. Your dad’s been a holy terror to Dustin ever since you left. One minute demanding everything under the sun from him, no matter how stupid or inconsequential, and then the next mocking him for not having a backbone. Even in front of Bailey.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them and then nodded my assent. I had a million other concerns, but the decision had already been made, so why bother. I had to admit, if Kayla’s PI turned up any dirt on Stewart, I was going to love watching him burn. Even if it took us both down. Even if such a thought made me a truly horrible person.
Chapter Twenty-Six
AFTER LUNCHwe got the dogs and picked out fresh produce and halibut from the public market for dinner that night. We’d just stepped into the hallway of the hotel after dropping the dogs off, when I pulled the wig off my head. I looked at it like it could answer a question for me, then pulled out the hotel card key once more.
Noah turned to watch. “What are you doing?”
I inserted the key and opened the door to all three of the dogs yapping and leaping toward me like they hadn’t seen us in days instead of it being less than half a minute. “Sorry, kids, we’re not staying.” I held the door open.
Noah followed me inside the room.
Tossing the wig on the counter, I peered into the mirror, seeing how bad my smashed hair was. I met Noah’s gaze in the reflection. “Let’s do the tourist thing this afternoon as ourselves. No more wigs.”
He looked surprised. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” Was I sure I wanted to do this? What if people recognized me? “Yes. Let’s do it. Kayla’s paying for an investigator. The least I can do is hold my head high in public and not pretend to be someone I’m not. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I don’t think either of us really wants the answer to that question.” As he spoke, he slid his own wig off and then ran his hands through his longer hair before pulling it back into a small bun.
“You’re probably right. Let’s just hope, whatever the worst is, it doesn’t happen.” I reached out and squeezed his arm. “However, this affects you too. Like you said, I’m not the only one running the risk of getting recognized.”
“Yeah, more than sure. Any chance to watch you be brave.” He made a sound deep in the back of his throat. “Sexy.”
