My stomach churned and I grimaced. “Oh, absolutely not. We’renottogether.”
Even thethoughtmade fear ripple through my body.
“Excuse me?” Tammy snapped. “Is there something wrong with the beautiful angel that is Grace?”
“N-no! She’s great. Just not for ... me.” Tammy narrowed her eyes so much that I thought she might throw something at me. “The point is,” I said, “just leave her alone.”
“Yeah, leave your woman alone that you’re not dating.” Dale scoffed. “That makes sense.”
“Friend. I meantfriend.”
A wave of whispers made its way through the crowd. I wanted to yell.
“Is everyone fucking clear on not bothering her?”
“Don’t worry, friend-of-Grace,” Mark said, clapping me on the shoulder. “We all hear your message loud and clear.”
I had a feeling he was talking about multiple things, but I didn’t care. I was done with these people and I needed to make sure Grace was okay.
“Back to business then. I’m getting her home. Continue with questions tomorrow.”
Grace didn’t say anything on the way home. It was only when we pulled into the driveway that she finally spoke.
“This is my worst nightmare.” Her voice was slow, and broke halfway through her sentence.
“Brooke telling everyone?”
“Everyone knowing. I’ve made it my life mission never to get in trouble like this.”
“Are you in trouble?”
She shook her head. “Not with you, I guess. But I don’t do things like this. I don’t sleep with someone and get pregnant. I don’t step a foot out of line because Brooke always does it for me. I can only imagine what they’re thinking.”
“Don’t imagine it.”
“I can’t help it. I bet they think I’m as bad as Brooke is. Or that I’m a complete idiot.”
“They’re not thinking that,” I said softly.
“Then what are they thinking?”
“That it’s a shock. But they wanna help.”
“Really?”
“The people in this town care about you. Even if they don’t understandhowthis happened, they’ll adjust. And it’s gonna be okay.”
Grace’s eyes were wet and she let out a long breath. “That’s ... incredible. It’ll be hard to deal with them adjusting, but at least they’re not thinking I’m a failure.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” And I meant it.
Iwashappy that the town had reacted like they had. Even if they weren’t happy withme, they’d showed that they wanted the best for her. That was a good thing.
But for me, it felt a little like being punched in the stomach. This was the best-case scenario, but it still brought me back to being a teenager, where I was an outsider in the place I spent all my time.
“Were they hard on you?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about me. You just spent a night in a bar while you have a smell aversion to alcohol, and your sister did the most selfish thing I’ve ever seen. You need some rest.”