Of course Nolen would think that. He was the one who knew it before the rest of us. But in this case, I had to agree with him.
"I think so too. At least for her safety. We don't know who wanted the information, and since they were willing to beat Vanessa up for it, I think we need to play things on the safe side."
Just the mention of Vanessa had Nolen fisting his hands. I understood where he was coming from. Seeing Vanessa like that had been hard for all of us, so I could only imagine it was worse for him.
"So we can't say anything to her?" Nolen, being the troublemaker he was, asked.
"I never said that. I just said we won't be the ones spreading it across town. You got me?"
All of my friends nodded their heads including Hendrix. He could be a ball buster most of the time, but he knew when to be serious, and this was one of those times.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jo
I stepped out the front door and came to a screeching halt when I saw the vehicle parked at the curb. With a roll of my eyes, I stomped down the steps and marched straight over.
With a little more force than necessary, I ripped the car door open and flopped myself inside.
"What are you doing here?" I hissed at Nolen.
"I wanted to apologize in advance."
He genuinely looked sorry.
"For what?"
"Your secret is out with the guys, and they didn't seem happy. I'm sure at least one of them is going to confront you."
Ah, so Maverick hadn't told his friends where he went after he found out. Interesting. It was good to know he was able to stick to one of the rules I set forth.
I shrugged it off. "No big deal. I knew this might happen after you asked for my help with Vanessa."
It would've been nice to have a heads-up though.
Oh well. ’Tis life.
"I know, but I broke a promise, and that doesn't sit well with me."
I laughed. "You take things too seriously. Really it's no big deal. I wasn't under the illusion that I would be able to keep the secret forever. Not in a town this small. I'm just happy I've made it this long."
"What's your plan now?"
That was a good question. I didn't know where I would go from here.
"I guess it's going to depend on how the rest of the town feels when they find out."
"After they calmed down, the guys promised they would keep your secret."
I gave him an incredulous look. "The thing about secrets is, the more people who know, the harder it is to keep."
Nolen looked down at the steering wheel. "I know. I'm sorry."
I leaned over the center console and touched his arm. "Stop saying you're sorry. I know you are, and I promise I'm not mad at you." I waited until he looked over at me. "Now is that the only reason you're here?"
I had a feeling it wasn't, and Nolen confirmed it when he winced. "Ah, no."
Sitting back in the seat, I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"
