Will’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh yeah? And whose fault is that?” Valerie pointed at Will. It was her turn now to appear oblivious to her audience. “You won’t tell me anything. You just give commands. Open this account, move that over here, stay home with the baby.”
“It’s for your own good,” Will hissed, obviously about to come undone.
He dared a glance at Charlotte, who merely eyed him, her arms crossed. Apparently, regardless of what was happening between them, Charlotte was not about to get involved in this marital spat.
Lacy’s wide eyes found mine, and Savilla gripped my arm. Myrtis and Jemma appeared just as stunned. We could all see that these new parents were fragile, on edge, and about to burst into flames.
As Ollie started to fuss in Will’s arms, Valerie took the child from her husband. “You don’t even know how to properlyhold him.”
“We need to go,” he said, voice quivering even as he lifted his chin and tried to push back his shoulders to reclaim some sort of dignity. He led Valerie out of the café, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if on a death march.
When the door closed behind him, it was as if air had suddenly been let back into the room. I heard clinking behind the counter and saw Gladys’s head pop up from the bottom of the glass case she’d been cleaning. She removed a earbud from her ear and raised an eyebrow.
“What did I miss?”
None of us answered. I wasn’t quite sure how to explain the tension in the air or the way that Will had looked at Charlotte one last time before hurrying his wife and baby out of the store.
One thing I knew: Will Hurt was terrified.
SEVENTEEN
Charlie was waiting at the door to Lacy’s and my guest suite when she and I arrived back at The Rose.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically, as he looked at Lacy. “I need to talk to Dakota for a minute, and I thought it’d be better in person.”
“It’s fine by me,” Lacy said, though she raised an eyebrow at him as she took the key from her purse and opened the door. “I’m going to fall into bed and sleep like the dead till at least noon. Just don’t punch anybody else, especially not my fiancé, got it?”
Charlie gave a hesitant nod of his head as if he knew he deserved that kind of teasing.
Lacy closed the door behind her, and I turned to Charlie, my stomach flip-flopping at the sight of him. I was both relieved he was okay and still very concerned that he’d lost his cool enough to punch a priest this evening—although, perhaps that assessment wasn’t fair. As he’d said, it did seem like it was the only option at the time. Unfortunately, whatever the Texan side of this wedding was up to was making me doubt everything—even Charlie.
“A half-hour ago Will stormed into the Morning Brew with Valerie and then slunk out with their baby,” I said, starting mid-conversation after mulling over the scene all the way back to The Rose, Myrtis and Charlotte tucked in the back seat, practicallyrefusing to say a word. “He seemed afraid, but it doesn’t make any sense because…” I trailed off, not quite knowing how to explain Will’s unjustified fear.
Charlie glanced up and down the hall as if to check no one could overhear us. “Maybe we should talk in my room.”
Before I could agree, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close, as if he wanted to ensure I couldn’t get away… or that someone couldn’t get to me. I wasn’t sure which.
Charlie led me down the hall and a flight of stairs, toward the wing of the house reserved for hotel guests who wanted more modern accommodations. When I tried to ask him why we were hurrying, he put a finger over his lips and motioned for me to keep quiet, as though someone might be listening around any corner.
I realized I’d been holding my breath when we finally reached his room and he shut the door behind us. “What’s with all the secrecy?”
Charlie peered through the peephole in the door before scanning the room and the bathroom. He opened the closet doors and checked to ensure no one was on the balcony as I watched in astonishment.
“Are you okay?” I asked, frowning. Charlie didn’t seem like any version of himself that I’d ever seen.
“Something strange happened when I got back home and lugged Todd to his room.”
I sank to the edge of the bed, waiting for him to continue.
“There was another man there, one with a gun. I know because it was pointed at us as soon as I opened the door.” Charlie’s brow wrinkled as he continued letting the evening unfold in his mind.
My heart leapt into my throat. “Someone pulled a gun? On you?”
“It was aimed at Todd. I just happened to be there too.”
“Who was it?”
