“I think it goes deeper than that. He’s fighting it, but no other woman’s even turned his head since Raelynn.” Otis stared off into space before focusing on her again. “And if I don’t make it—”
She stiffened. “Don’t talk like that.”
“Listen to me,” he said gently. “If I’m not going to make it, I want to die knowing my son is happy.”
“But would you trade happiness now for sorrow later?”
“She was only thirteen when Barker disappeared. I suspect she’s as innocent as he claims she is.”
“What about her family?”
“It’s time this town forgot the past and moved on.”
“That’s easy for us to say. It’s not our loved one who’s missing.”
“I want to support Kennedy in the relationship. It might be the last thing I’m able to do for him.”
Camille had talked to Grace several times since the boys had started going over there so often and had begun to like her in spite of her earlier prejudice. Heath and Teddy worshipped her. And Kennedy was, at the very least, infatuated with her.
“If only he’d give us the proof he told me about,” she said. “The fact that he attacked Joe, who nearly drowned saving his life, tells me he’d sacrifice anything to protect her. But I think it might be best for both of them if the truth finally came out. It might be the only way they can be together.”
Otis winced as he shifted his position, and worry burned like hot acid in Camille’s stomach.
“Are you okay?”
He grinned slightly. “Stop worrying, woman. I’m fine.”
“Maybe you should lie down—”
He put up a hand to stop her fussing over him and went back to their conversation. “Can’t you talk Kennedy into telling you what this proof is?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve tried.”
“Do you want me to speak to him?”
Camille thought Otis could get the information out of him—if anyone could. But she didn’t want to force Kennedy to choose between the woman he desired and the father he loved. If only she could figure out what he had, she’d know whether it could help them in some way. Then, if it turned out not to be worth the pain it might cause Grace, she’d forget about it. “Maybe later,” she said. “I’m going to talk to Buzz.”
“You think Buzz might know something about it?” Otis asked in obvious surprise.
“He and Kennedy have been close for years. If anyone knows anything, it’ll be Buzz.”
“Have you seen Joe’s face?” Grace asked as she, Madeline and Irene carried a blanket, a picnic basket and a bag of fireworks through the gate of the Stillwater High football field. The fact that one of the town’s mayoral candidates had left her house in the middle of the night and beaten up the guy who’d once saved his life had started a big scandal. Grace didn’t want to be here tonight, giving all the gossips a focal point. But Madeline and her mother wouldn’t hear of her skipping out. Besides, Teddy had called to make sure she was coming. She didn’t want to disappoint him and Heath.
“Not yet,” Madeline said. “But I’ve heard plenty about how bad he looks. I’ve even heard that Joe filed assault charges.”
“Those won’t stick,” Grace said. “Joe was trespassing. Besides, Judge Reynolds knows both of them.”
“And in this town, a fight is still just a fight,” Madeline added. “They happen occasionally at the tavern. As long as it’s one-on-one between two grown men and no one’s permanently injured, the police pretty much ignore it. Especially when one of those men might be their future mayor.”
“He’ll be fine,” her mother responded. “Joe got the worst of it.” She smiled triumphantly. “His nose is crooked and swollen, he has a cut on his cheek, and both eyes are puffy.”
“Sounds like Kennedy made his point,” Madeline said.
Irene raised her chin. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
Grace agreed, but she also felt horrible about it. Kennedy had tried to go home earlier in the evening, but she’d asked him to stay.
Madeline moved the picnic basket to her other arm. “That kind of violence is so unlike Kennedy.”
“He’s always been calm and rational,” Irene said.
He wasn’t very rational last night, Grace thought. They’d both lost all inhibitions, thrown everything they had into their lovemaking. Knowing their affair couldn’t last had made it that much more frenetic.
“What set him off?” Madeline asked.
“I don’t know for sure,” Grace admitted. “I heard some hollering and came rushing outside to find Joe bleeding.”
“Kennedy wasn’t hurt?” Irene asked.
Grace lowered her voice because they were entering a more crowded area. “He seemed fine last night, but Teddy told me his hand was swollen this morning.”
“I hope he didn’t break it,” Irene said.
Madeline found them a nice spot on the grass and began to spread out the blanket. “No, from what I heard, Dr. Phipps X-rayed it this afternoon. It’s just a bad sprain.”
“Then we can still be happy about Joe getting what he deserved!” Irene said.
Grace would’ve been happier if she hadn’t seen the glint in Joe’s eyes last night. He’d retaliate in some way. She knew it.
Cindy was with her sister on a blanket nearby. Sensing her attention, Grace was tempted to move to a new location. Cindy had tried to warn her to stay away from Kennedy, and instead of taking her advice Grace had created more problems for him.
She was embarrassed about that. But there was nowhere else to go, at least nowhere that would be any more private. Everyone seemed to be whispering and watching her.
“I hate this,” she muttered.
“Really?” Her mother fluffed her hair. “I love it. So, are you meeting Kennedy after the show?” she asked far too loudly as she arranged their picnic.
“Stop it,” Grace muttered under the breath. “I’m not going to see him at all.” But then she spotted the object of their conversation only three blankets to their left. His T-shirt and baggy shorts revealed his lean, muscular build, but it was the memory of what lay beneath those clothes that made her cheeks burn.
He met her gaze and held it for several seconds. She told herself to look away, but couldn’t. Finally, he bent to answer Teddy, who was tapping his arm.