My first thoughtwas yelling at Brooke for what she’d done. I didn’t know how a person couldn’t care less about how they affected others, but she somehow did. When I got back into the bar area, I didn’t see her. Maybe it was better that way.
All eyes were on me the second I came into view of others, though.
Kerry tried to sneak past me, probably to find out more information, but I held my hand out.
“Nope. Grace isn’t available for questions.”
“So, are you then?” she asked.
Goddammit. “Back to the bar.” The words were forced out, my voice deeper than I ever let it get.
Kerry’s eyes widened and she scurried away.
I hated these kinds of people. I hated that they were always trying to get information. I hated that this kind of thing was huge news. I hated that I had to do this.
But I would for Grace.
“So, what’s the plan?” a woman whispered to me. She was the one who I’d seen Grace talk to many times. They were close. “We probably need to get Grace outta here and then we figure out how to minimize ... damage.”
Damage.That word irritated me. We were grown fucking people. Grace could do what she wanted, be with who she wanted. She shouldn’t be terrified of what they all thought.
I pulled a chair out and stood on it before thinking.
“Hey! People!” I didn’t need to yell. All of them were watching me anyway, but it felt nice to raise my voice.
“Are you finally ready to tell us what happened?” Kerry asked, pushing her way to the front of the crowd. “Because I have plenty of?—”
“This isn’t about gossip,” I snapped. “This is about Grace.”
“We just want the story!”
“You all do realize she’s a real fucking person, right? She’s not a story.”
Her face slowly paled, but someone else took over. It was Tammy, the woman I’d met outside. I’d seen her in the diner and she’d barely given me a second look. I had a feeling she didn’t like me all that much.
“Hang on, you come to our town and tell us how to take care of our own? We’ve known Grace longer than you, buddy!”
Now Iknewshe didn’t like me.
“Oh, yeah,” I snapped back. “You know her. And she knows you well enough to hide from you because she’s terrified of what you’ll think. You’ve clearly done a real good job of making her feel safe.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Uh, Tammy?” Mark spoke this time. “He was the first one to go after her.”
Tammy’s jaw dropped and her questions stopped.
Kerry took over. “You can’t blame us for having questions. We’re owed an explanation.”
“We don’t owe you shit.”
“This town’s like a family,” Tammy said. She must have processed what Mark had said and was right back to it. “Not that you’d know much about that, city boy.”
I was already on my last straw. This sent me over the edge. “First of all, I grew up in a town like this. You all think you’re family, but then don’t give a flying fuck when someone’s hurting. It’s all about the gossip. All about some infoyouneed. The second someone doesn’t do what you want, they’re ousted. You’re not fucking doing that to Grace.”
“You think we’re gonna oust her because she’s pregnant?” Kerry asked, her voice growing high. “God, no! This might be a shock, but she needs extra help right now!”
“I would’ve given her extra food at the diner!” Tammy said.