Maisie’s eyes narrowed, anger all but coming off of her in sparks. Considering that I was furious at Tori’s dad and Shelly, I understood the feeling. I wanted to fix everything for Tori.
“Well, fuck,” Griffin finally said. “That’s a depressing story.”
“Nobody’s perfect,” Beck commented.
“Well, there’s nobody’s perfect, and then there’s brutal betrayal on multiple levels. You better be nice to Tori,” Maisie added, her gaze swinging to me.
I held up both my hands. “Hey, I haven’t done anything. I’m definitely not planning to marry her, or anyone else for that matter, and have a decade-long affair with someone’s best friend. Sheesh,” I muttered under my breath.
Beck clapped me on the shoulder. “Good. Don’t be an ass. Loyalty matters, you know.”
I thought of my own father, who hadn’t even bothered to stick around at all. I knew well how much it mattered, and what it meant when someone couldn’t even be bothered. “I know,” was all I said.
The afternoon before the fundraiser, my mom’s physical therapist was coming over. My mom adored him.
“Chris is the best,” she said when she heard the doorbell ring.
“All I want is for you to be in less pain,” I replied, meaning it completely.
I wasn’t ready to say it out loud, and I almost hesitated to even think it, but my mom did seem to be getting stronger. She had actually gone up and down the small set of entrance stairs several times without her cane. Although I had purposefully bought a single-story home, there were two areas where there were three steps leading from one area to another, along with the steps in the front.
“Hey, Chris,” I called over as he walked in.
He flashed a grin. “Hey, hey. Your mom’s doing great.”
“I know. She seems to be.”
My mom just beamed at him. Chris chuckled and immediately got to work on the latest routine of exercises for her.
“Kincaid has a date,” my mother announced as he was stretching one of her knees.
Chris winked when he looked my way. “I heard about it.”
“You heard about my date?” I sputtered in disbelief.
“Dude, have you lived in small-town Alaska before?”
“There are small towns everywhere, and gossip is always a thing,” I countered. “I guess I just didn’t expect my mom’s physical therapist to be privy to my dating life.”
“For better or worse, gossip runs hot in Alaska, because we’re so far from everything. Local news is the news.”
“It’s for the fundraiser,” I felt the need to point out.
“Her name is Tori Shackelford,” my mother added.
“Mom. How do you even know her name?” I managed to keep from sighing in frustration.
“I have my sources,” she said, lifting her chin slightly and looking a little haughty.
I bit back a laugh. “You’re the collector of gossip.”
“About you,” she said unabashedly.
“Where did you hear this?” I couldn’t help but ask Chris.
“Well, apparently some of your fellow firefighters told Nate about it, because he’s going with Holly. Obviously, I work with Holly at the hospital since I’m a nurse and a physical therapist. All this to say, that’s how I have the scoop.” He waggled his brows. “Holly and Tori are old friends. I knew Tori growing up. She’s always been a great person. You’d better be good to her.”
“I’m getting the impression that no matter what I do, I better not fuck it up,” I muttered.
