I would have kept her secret if it meant keeping her safe. But I was too mad to admit that to my sister.
She let out a breath. “This is all so crazy. Callie’s alive, and Dad knew, and now you were her secret friend? What else are we going to find out? That she’s been living out in some shack in the woods all these years and you send Henrietta Van Sickle out to her place with supplies once in a while?”
I shook my head, some of my anger dissipating. “I don’t know where she is. I always thought she was dead.”
“Oh, Gibs.”
Before I could stop her, she’d wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I didn’t like hugs, but once in a while, I had to tolerate one from my sister.
“You know what’s gonna happen now, though, don’t you?” she asked, stepping away. “The whole town’s gonna know about you and Callie in a hot minute.”
“No shit,” I grumbled.
“I assume Jayme’s already told you what you can and can’t say,” Devlin said.
“Yeah.” I plopped down on the couch and leaned my head back. “Basically, no comment.”
The muffled sound of a car pulling up outside carried through the walls. I groaned. Great, who else was here?
A few seconds later, someone knocked.
“Gibs?
Jameson.
Scarlett answered. Jameson barreled in, followed closely by his fiancée, Leah Mae. Jameson looked a lot like me, with dark hair and rough stubble. He wore a faded t-shirt with a couple of burn holes on the front. Leah Mae was tall, with blond hair and a few freckles. She had on cowboy boots with her sundress.
“Gibson was secretly friends with Callie Kendall, and he had a photo of the two of them together in his wallet,” Scarlett said before either of them had a chance to say a word—or ask a question. “But he didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance and didn’t know she was alive. He also doesn’t know where she is now.”
Jameson blinked a few times, like he was absorbing that information. “Well holy shit.”
“Can we talk about something else?” I asked. “Or nothing, and y’all get your asses out of my house?”
“Who else knows?” Jameson asked, ignoring me.
“Only us at the moment,” Scarlett said. “But that won’t last.”
“I’ll just stay here till it blows over,” I said. “I told the sheriff everything I know. People are gonna say what they say. I don’t give a shit what this town thinks.”
“Speaking of talking about something else,” Leah Mae said. She had her phone in her hand. “There’s something you might want to know.”
“What?” I grumbled. I was pretty sure I didn’t.
“This is amazing.” She paused, excitement in her eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“What are you goin’ on about?” Scarlett asked.
“I saw it the other day, but with the wedding and everything, I didn’t want to make a fuss. And I can’t even believe it, the views must have doubled in just the last twenty-four hours.”
“Views of what?” Scarlett asked. “Did someone record Gibson giving Misty Lynn the verbal smack down?”
Leah Mae shook her head. “No, this is so much better. Someone filmed Gibson singing at the Lookout last week and put it on YouTube. It has over two million views.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” I stood and swiped the phone from her hand, only to have Scarlett immediately snatch it from mine. “Hey.”
“Let me see.” Scarlett tapped the screen and turned up the volume.
It was me. I looked over her shoulder and rubbed the back of my neck. The video was dark, but you could see me well enough. I sat on a stool, strumming my guitar, playing one of my songs. One I’d written myself.
“Oh my god,” Scarlett squealed. “This is incredible.”
“It really has two million views?” Jameson asked, pushing me aside to look over Scarlett’s shoulder.
“I don’t see why this is a big deal.” I went back to the couch and sat down.
“Gibs, this thing went viral,” Leah Mae said. “Look at all the comments asking who you are. People love it. They love you.”
I just grunted.
“You never know what could happen with something like this,” Leah Mae said. “You don’t have a manager, do you? You should really consider representation. If you need an entertainment lawyer, let me know.”
“Why the hell would I need an entertainment lawyer? Between Devlin and Jayme, I’m up to my nuts in lawyers already.”