After the Climb (River Rain #1) - Kristen Ashley Page 0,78

shit about my dad when it’s none of their fucking business. She’s a c-word and I wish I could say it, but I don’t even live with Dad, and he’d ground me until I was twenty-five if I did,” Gage added.

Okay, I would love Duncan’s boys just because they were his boys.

But now I just loved Duncan’s boys because they were good guys.

I gave them both a weak smile and looked to Duncan. “I’m so sorry, darling.”

“You got dick to be sorry for,” he bit out.

“I’m lying,” I told him.

“What?” he clipped.

“About Tom. I’m releasing a statement that he didn’t do that.”

“Good. It’s nobody’s fuckin’ business. You need my office?”

I stared at him.

My Duncan.

Protective, almost to a fault.

Of me.

And mine.

And on this thought, it started happening.

Then he was there, his hands cupping my jaw, his face in mine. “Gen, fall apart in an hour. We got you. But now you need to keep your shit tight.”

I nodded, fighting back the tears.

“I gotta call Sheila, baby. I’ll need your statement so she can devise language around it if she gets questions.”

I nodded again.

“Go to my office. I’ll check in, in a bit. You finish your breakfast?”

I nodded yet again.

“You need more coffee?”

Totally gin.

I didn’t say that.

I said, “Yes, please.”

“Sul, get Genny a cup, cream and one sugar, take it to the office,” he ordered.

“Got you, Dad,” Sully replied, leaving.

“Gage, stick with Sash. Not close, but close enough she knows you’re there if she needs you.”

“On my way, Pops,” Gage said and took off.

“Thank you for understanding,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

“You’re right, sometimes this Imogen Swan shit is a pain in the ass.”

That made me smile, though it was trembling too.

He pulled me up as he came down, and he kissed me quickly.

When he pushed me back, he didn’t let go.

But he did say, “We’ll get through this. All of us. Now go take care of our families.”

That made me get it together.

And I nodded one last time.

He gave my jaw a squeeze.

And I left the room to get on taking care of our families.

*****

“Then she was all, ‘well, you’ve got five minutes to become one with it, Tom, because it’s happening.’” Sasha relayed for the third time.

This time to Harvey and Beth, who were both over to provide moral support.

And yes, Beth brought her air fryer, because, from Harvey: “She’s gonna take that goddamn thing on vacation with us.” Which brought: “Yes, Harv, because we’re camping in our RV and I have a kitchen, as such, and I also have a need to cook good food in a short time so I can enjoy my vacation.”

This was after Heddy showed.

I was currently on gimlet three, which Gage was feeding me, and at that moment I sure was glad I had the foresight to stock the ingredients for my gimlets when I went to the store the day before to get the stuff for my red sauce and meatballs.

Much earlier, Sienna Sinclair had left a message on my cell saying, “We’ll be sorry to see you go, but we’re sorrier about today’s interview and will understand if that’s your decision. I say this because we’ve had both phone and in person requests from journalists. We’ve shared that our policy is that we do not release information about any of our guests, but at no time have we had an Imogen Swan registered with us. And rest assured, all my staff are very aware that this is our policy. Please take care of yourself and thank you for staying at The Queen. It was a pleasure for us to have you.”

And what she said wasn’t entirely a lie, since I was registered there under Virginie Forbes.

Talk about a dame.

A classy one.

This meant Sasha and the boys had taken a brief trip to The Queen to pack me (and Cookie) up and move us to Duncan’s.

And now was now, early afternoon, and Sasha, the boys, Heddy and Beth were in fits of glee watching the fallout of Mindi’s strongly worded counter that Samantha Wheeler told grave falsehoods about Tom Pierce.

And yes, after warning Hale I was going to do it, and getting his approval, I threw that bitch right under the bus when she tried to do the same to the father of my children (this, after soothing his fury that his mother made passes at my husband and the dad of the only real family Hale had ever known).

Thus I shared her interview was due to the fact she had frequently made