over. Tie her death to the judge. Why hadn’t anyone told me?
Someone took my hand and pulled me forward. Gibson. He spoke soft words I couldn’t hear through the blood roaring in my ears, but I let him lead me into the kitchen.
He touched my face, brushing my hair back. His thumb traced my bottom lip. “Callie, honey? Where you at? What’s wrong?”
I lifted my gaze to meet his. “He had your mom killed?”
His eyes went stormy, worry lines creasing his forehead. “We don’t know.”
“But it’s possible.”
As if reluctant, he nodded slowly. “The last place she went before she died was a hotel in Baltimore. Your mother was there that day, at a charity lunch. We can’t come up with another reason she would have gone out there, other than to see your mom. We always thought she’d been in an accident on the way home. But it might not have been an accident.”
I covered my mouth, my stomach roiling. “Oh my god.”
He put his hands on my arms. “If he did, it ain’t your fault.”
“How can you say that?” I asked. “How can you even look at me? I left, I abandoned everyone, and look at what happened.”
“Jesus, Callie, you were sixteen,” he said. “You didn’t abandon anyone. You got away so you could live.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about your mom?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. Because we don’t know for sure. Because there’s nothing we can do about it without proof.”
Connie Bodine. I remembered her calloused hands bandaging my wounds. Her authoritative voice as she and Jonah patched me up and tried to make me comfortable for the night.
“Gibson, I’m so sorry.” My voice broke and tears stung my eyes.
“Don’t.” He cupped my face. “It’s not your fault.”
Taking a deep breath, I straightened my spine and sniffed back the tears. Looking into Gibson’s stormy blue eyes, a sense of resolve filled me, pushing away the guilt.
“I want to take them down, Gibs. We have to find a way.”
“We will.” His voice was hard. “We’re going to end this, and we’re going to do it together.”
25
MAYA
The Bodines had decided there was only one thing to do in the wake of this new crisis: eat our weight in comfort food and go drink at the Lookout.
I hopped out of Gibson’s truck, feeling a little sleepy after such a big meal. We’d gone home to check on Cash and play with him a little before heading back to Moonshine for dinner. I’d devoured most of a huge pepperoni roll and I had zero regrets.
Gibson walked around the front of his pickup, dressed in jeans and a dark t-shirt. He gave me a lazy smile, then draped his arm around my shoulders. Even though the lawsuit was stressing everyone out, Gibson had seemed relaxed since our meeting with his family. Those edges of his weren’t nearly so rough. I was starting to feel like I had my old Gibson back.
“Can I tell you something that’s a little bit silly?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“I used to daydream about my first time going to the Lookout.”
“You’ve never been here before, have you?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I was too young.”
We started for the door, his arm still around me. “What’s silly about that?”
“This was kinda my daydream,” I said, feeling a little sheepish. “Walking in here with you.”
“You thought about that back then?”
I reached up and twined my fingers through his. “Um, yeah. I might have had a bit of a crush on you.”
He paused and looked down at me, one corner of his mouth hooking in a grin. “You did?”
“Come on, Gibs. You were the sexy, intimidating older guy. And you can sing. Of course I had a little crush.”
“And all this time, I thought you’d liked how I played guitar.”
“Look who has a sense of humor all of a sudden,” I said, nudging him with my hip. “A crush wasn’t why I liked hanging out with you. I just indulged in a little daydream once in a while.”
“Imagine that. Me, making a teenage girl’s dream come true.” He grabbed the door handle.
I looked up at him. “I’m not a teenager anymore.”
His brow furrowed and heat smoldered in his eyes. With a low rumble in his throat, he looked me up and down, a predator sizing up his prey. My body responded to his fire, a tingle rushing straight to my core. For a heartbeat, I wondered if he’d turn us around, put me in his truck, and drive us back to his place.