Thunder Rolls: Episode 8 (Rising Storm) Page 9

  “I hate to say this, but maybe Dakota lied.”

  “No. She wouldn’t, not about something like this.” She wasn’t sure how she knew it was true, but she did. She didn’t like Dakota. No. It was more that she didn’t respect her. But she’d seen her face. Dakota had been telling the truth.

  Brittany’s mind fluttered around a memory and she frowned, remembering. “I should have seen it. Marcus, it was right there in front of my face. We were all at Maggie Mae’s and Daddy was there. Doing his political thing. And Ginny got all weird and left. She actually left. Jacob went after her. I think that’s the night they got together. But it was my father who drove her away. Oh God. It’s true. And I should have seen it that night.”

  “You couldn’t possibly have figured it out just from that. And even if you had, what could you have done differently? If the baby is your father’s then Ginny was already pregnant. This isn’t your fault, Brit. Ginny made her own decisions.” He’d pulled her away from the crowd, behind one of the now empty booths. “And whatever happens next, we’ll face it together. I’m here for you.”

  “But what about Dakota? She’s your sister. Shouldn’t you go to her? I mean, despite what she did today, my dad hurt her too.”

  Marcus’s expression hardened. “Believe me when I say your father will pay for what he’s done to my sister. And to you. But right now, the only thing that matters is to get you out of here. You don’t want to go to your house, and we obviously can’t go to mine. So maybe we should go to the bed and breakfast.”

  Brittany shook her head, still trying to order her tumbling thoughts. “There’ll be guests. Strangers. And worse, people I know. I think the Abernathys are staying there. I don’t even want to think about facing them.”

  “Okay then, we’ll just figure out somewhere else.”

  “You’ll come with me,” Payton said, walking up to stand beside them.

  “Momma,” Brittany cried, reaching for her mother’s hand, without moving from the safety of Marcus’s embrace. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Her mother’s face was twisted with agony. “I should have protected you and your brother. I should have found a way to stop him.”

  Horror filled her. “You knew? About Ginny and…and Dakota?”

  Payton shook her head. “I promise you I had no idea. But I knew he sometimes had affairs. I just told myself it was part of being married to a politician.”

  “Oh, Momma.”

  “I can leave you guys if you want to be alone,” Marcus offered.

  “No,” they both said, almost in unison.

  “Brittany needs you more than me. And I need Brittany.” Payton’s smile was faint but genuine.

  It was the first time anyone in her family had acknowledged her relationship with Marcus. And despite everything it lifted Brit’s spirits.

  “Jeffry is with Suellen and Milton,” Payton said. “I talked to him, and for now I think he’s better off with them.”

  “How is he?”

  Her mother’s mouth tightened. “He’s pretty shaken up, but he’s hanging in there. He wanted to stay with them. Asked me if he could, actually.” Shadows chased across her face, but then she forced a smile. “Anyway, right now we just need to concentrate on us. And the best thing we can do is find a place away from all this madness.”

  “Where are you suggesting we go?” Marcus asked.

  “With a friend.” Payton’s smile grew a little firmer as Francine Hoffman walked over to where they were standing.

  “Everything’s all set,” Francine said, her voice, as usual, brooking no argument. “I’ve got a little cabin on the lake.”

  Brittany opened her mouth, but Francine waved it shut. “It’s on the opposite side from your father’s. And it’s the perfect place for us to go to wait this out. At least for tonight anyway. Marcus, you’ll drive?”

  Brittany turned to Marcus, her words catching in her throat. “You don’t have to come. You’ve done so much already. And I can’t expect you to just ignore your own family.”

  “My family will be fine. My mom’s with Dakota. And at least for now, they’ll be okay. I’ll see you guys safely to the lake, and then I’ll go and check on my mom and sisters. Sound like a plan?”

  It sounded like heaven. Brit didn’t know what she’d have done if he’d left her now. But she also knew she wouldn’t have begged him to stay. Maybe she was more like her mother than she thought.

  Or maybe her mother had just taught her to be strong.

  She glanced over at Payton, surprised to see tears on her mother’s cheeks. Payton never cried. Francine reached over to squeeze Payton’s fingers, her eyes full of compassion and support. Her mother was lucky to have a friend like Francine.

  Brittany had thought she and Ginny shared that kind of friendship. But Ginny had lied. Not just about the baby, but about Brit’s father. And with those lies, Ginny had blown their friendship to hell.

  CHAPTER 10

  “Ginny, tell me this isn’t true.” Celeste Salt’s voice was barely above a whisper, her face completely devoid of color.

  “Let me explain,” Ginny said, her stomach clenching as she watched anger and betrayal cross not just Celeste’s face, but Travis’s too. And she hadn’t dared look at Logan, but she could feel his heat as he stood behind her. Her sister flanked her on the other side, staring out at nothing, her face awash with misery and regret.

  “I don’t want an explanation. I just want to know if it’s true. Did you sleep with my brother-in-law?”

  Ginny fought a wave of panic. There was nothing to be gained by letting fear take hold. She shot a look over at her sister, but Marisol was still ignoring her. “Yes. It was a mistake. But yes, I slept with him.”

  “How long?” Travis demanded, the anger in his eyes much more palpable than the sadness in his wife’s. “How long were you with him?”

  “About three months,” Ginny choked out, wishing that Marisol or Logan would say something. Show that they were on her side.

  “And you had unprotected sex?” Celeste barely choked the words out.

  Ginny flinched, for the first time in all of this feeling dirty. “Yes. Sometimes he insisted. He doesn’t like condoms.” She stared down at her shoes, wishing she could just disappear. She never should have lied. But even so, it never should have come out like this. For that she blamed Dakota. She’d never forgive her. Never.

  “And so it’s possible the baby could be his.” Travis again.

  Ginny nodded miserably.

  “And my son?” Travis asked, his tone full of derision. “Did you actually sleep with him?”

  Ginny nodded, cold sweat breaking across her brow. “Once.”

  “And did he know about the senator?”

  “No. It was over by then. And Jacob wouldn’t have understood.”

  “That you prostituted yourself out to a married man?” Travis’s tone was condemning.

  “Enough.” This from Marisol, who’d finally found her voice. “That’s enough. No matter the situation, she’s still pregnant. Is it true about Jacob?” she asked. “Being infertile, I mean?”

  Celeste burst into tears, and Travis wrapped an arm around her. “Yes. He had an accident when he was a kid. Crushed both testicles. Dr. Allen didn’t think he’d ever have kids. It’s not impossible, I’ll grant you, but it’s highly unlikely. Especially in light of the news about Ginny’s affair with the senator and the fact that they had unprotected sex. I’m assuming that was true with Jacob, too?”

  Ginny nodded, mortification threatening to swallow her whole.

  They were standing off to the side of the stage, people still milling about everywhere, staring at them all like they were a three-ring freak show. But then again, maybe they were. Or at least Ginny was.

  “Why. Why did you do this?” Celeste asked. “First you take Jacob from us and then you lie about his child.”

  “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you the whole truth. I d
idn’t know about the fall. I mean, I remember when he fell; I just didn’t know it was so serious.”

  Although in hindsight maybe it explained Jacob’s lack of concern over using a condom. Tears filled her eyes as she pictured his face, the caring in his eyes that night. They might not have been together, but Jacob had loved her. And no one could take that away from her.

  “The baby still could be his,” she offered. “It would mean everything if it were true.”

  “But it’s not likely,” Travis was quick to point out. “And despite the fact that you weren’t telling us the whole truth you allowed us to take you in. To make you part of our family. You tricked us and used us and now you’ve shattered my wife.”

  “But I didn’t. I just wanted to be closer to you. And through you to Jacob. Don’t you understand? I lost him too.”

  Behind her Logan shifted, and she realized that she’d hurt him with her words. God, all she seemed capable of doing was hurting people.

  “I think we’ve heard enough,” Travis said, pulling his wife closer. Across the way, Ginny saw Kristin Douglas shift out of the shadows for a moment, pain etched across her face as she turned and strode toward the gazebo. If only Ginny could do the same. Turn her back and walk away. From all of them. But this was her home and, for better or worse, these were her people. And even if Travis and Celeste no longer believed it could be Jacob’s baby—she did. Because it had to be. It couldn’t be Sebastian’s. It just couldn’t.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” Travis was saying to Celeste, “let me take you home.” He glanced once more at Ginny, his disgust apparent, then he turned to Marisol. “I’d appreciate it if you’d have someone come and get your sister’s things. The sooner she’s out of our lives the better.”

  “And if the baby turns out to be Jacob’s?” Marisol asked softly.

  “It isn’t.” Travis’s words caused Celeste to sob harder. “But if it is, then you can be assured we’ll sue for custody.” Reflexively Ginny wrapped her arms around her belly. “Now if you’ll excuse us.” With a look of pure venom, he took Celeste’s arm and led her away.

  “Ginny, I want you to go over to the gazebo,” Marisol said. “There aren’t as many people there. And I’ll bring the car around to get you.” Marisol, as usual, was short on compassion but not lacking in practicality. For her, the best way to resolve anything was to find a way to take action. But for once Ginny didn’t feel like arguing. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep until all of this had passed over.

  Except that none of this was ever going to go away. Dakota hadn’t just ruined her life. She’d ruined the senator’s. Not that he didn’t deserve it. Ginny couldn’t believe he’d moved from her to Dakota. It felt like some kind of sick obsession with hometown girls. And it made her queasy to think she’d been a part of that.

  “What have I done?” Ginny sighed as her sister walked away and she and Logan moved to the relative safety of the gazebo. “I’ve managed to ruin so many lives. And all I wanted was for the baby to be Jacob’s.”

  “You’ve made that abundantly clear.” Logan’s eyes were full of reproach and something else. Something more terrifying.

  “Logan, you know how I felt about Jacob.”

  “Except that all of that was in your head. You never had a real relationship with him at all. You had a one-night stand.”

  “It was beautiful,” she spat out. “Because it was Jacob. I loved him. And in his way he loved me, too.”

  “So where does that leave me? A wounded warrior you just happened to latch onto to help you ease the pain?”

  “You know that isn’t true.” Ginny hated the note of pleading in her voice, but Logan looked so devastated.

  “Do I? How can you expect me to believe anything you could possibly say? You’ve just been proven a consummate liar. And by Dakota Alvarez, of all people.”

  “She shouldn’t have outed me like that.”

  “Maybe not, but she had the right of it. People deserved to know the truth. The Salts in particular. Ginny, you played on their grief for your own gain.”

  “Not for me. For my baby.” But even as she said the words, she knew that in some ways he spoke the truth.

  She’d wanted a “real” family. Something beyond the cobbled-together one she had with Marisol and Luis. She missed her father and mother, and she missed Jacob. And by moving in with the Salts, by convincing them she carried their son’s child, she’d gotten exactly what she wanted. Only it turned out it wasn’t as great as it had all seemed like it would be.

  And now…now she’d ruined everything with her lies.

  “Fine, believe what you want,” Logan said, starting to turn away.

  “All right.” She grabbed his arm, pulling him around to face her again. “I admit it was partly for me. But that doesn’t make it wrong. It really could be Jacob’s child.”

  “You heard what Travis had to say, Ginny. Now you’re lying to yourself.”

  “So, what? I’m just supposed to give my child over to the senator? Watch him groom him to become the next little political machine? I’ll be damned before I do that.”

  “I can’t fault you for your instincts, but if the kid turns out to be the senator’s, you’re going to have to accept that he has rights. Hell, you should have thought of that before you had unprotected sex with him.”

  “It was the biggest mistake of my life. I know that. I’m the one who walked away. And now because of a stupid mistake I have to pay for it forever.”

  “It’s a child, Ginny.” His expression bordered on horrified. “Not a burden.”

  “I didn’t mean the baby. I meant everyone condemning me. Ostracizing me because I slept with Sebastian.”

  “If they’re ostracizing you it isn’t because of your affair. It’s because of what you did to the Salts. To Celeste and Travis. Hell, to Brittany as well. She’s supposed to be your best friend and you slept with her father. God, it—it just doesn’t get much worse.”

  “But you’ve seen lots of atrocious things. You told me so. This isn’t as bad as that.”

  “The things I saw were the result of war. It may have been misguided and at times pointless, but for the most part it was done with at least a modicum of honor. And there is nothing remotely honorable about what you’ve done. And that, Ginny, has nothing to do with Dakota or Sebastian Rush. It has to do with your lies. And the fact that you let them perpetuate even knowing that people could get hurt.”

  “But I didn’t know about Jacob’s injury,” she protested even though she knew she was clutching at straws.

  “Doesn’t matter. You knew there was still a chance that the baby might not be Jacob’s. And considering the odds, even if he were totally functional, you knew there was every probability that it was Senator Rush’s baby. You let Celeste believe that she had a grandchild growing inside of you.”

  “I gave her hope.” The tears that had been threatening finally started to fall.

  “You gave her a lie. And now she has to pick up the pieces all over again. Grieve all over again. Hurt all over again. Because of you, Ginny. Because of you.” He blew out a long breath, and the disappointment reflected in his eyes almost killed her.

  “Can you ever forgive me?” she asked, wiping her cheeks with her fingers, angry at herself for showing her weakness.

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly, his words cutting through her like a knife. “But I’m not the one you should be worried about. If you want to seek forgiveness start with Celeste. And Brittany.”

  “But, Logan, you mean so much to me. You’re the most important person in my life.”

  His smiled was twisted and bitter and didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah, so much so that you kept the truth from me. After everything I shared with you, you couldn’t even see your way to be honest with me?”

  “I didn’t want to lose you.”

  “Well, it’s too fucking late for that.” He searched her face for a moment more, and then stalked away, his anger lingering in
the air behind him.

  Ginny’s tears started all over again, her whole body shaking with the force of Logan’s rejection. She’d lost everything. Jacob. Brittany. And now Logan. And no matter how much she wanted to blame Dakota or the senator, she knew that the only one truly at fault was herself. And now she was going to have to pay the price for her arrogance.

  She’d never felt so alone.

  “Ginny? Honey, you can’t stay here.” Kristin Douglas materialized at her side, seeming to come from almost nowhere.

  “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters anymore.”

  “Of course it does. Even if you don’t care about yourself, you’ve got to care about your baby. I know it all seems really awful right now. But talk will die down. And things have a way of working out.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  “Actually, I do.” Kristin’s smile was sad. “I’ve been through some really rough times. And even so, it doesn’t seem like I ever learn my lesson. But the point is that no matter how bleak things seem to be, you will go on. If for no other reason than because of the life you carry inside you.”

  Kristin was right.

  Ginny nodded, lifting her chin. No matter what she’d done, Little Bit needed her. She had to find the strength to carry on.

  Marisol pulled to the curb, motioning to the two of them. As they drew close, Ginny could see the concern in Marisol’s eyes. Her sister loved her. That much was certain. And Ginny had no doubt that Luis would rally around her as well.

  Kristin opened the car door and helped her to get settled inside. “Just remember, Ginny, you’re only alone if you let yourself be. You’ve got your family. And you’ve got me. And after the dust has settled, maybe you’ll find that there are others on your side. But most importantly you have your baby.” Kristin almost looked wistful. “And believe me, that’s as good as it gets.”

  Ginny nodded, taking comfort in Kristin’s words. If only she could have recognized what she’d always had—what her parents and then her sister had offered right from the very start. A family. Her family.

  “Ready to go home?” Marisol asked.