She sat down then, too blindsided to stay on her feet. Eli had lied to Hunter. He’d made her out to be the villain. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he was protecting his mother. Chances were, Amy had something to do with the story. But it didn’t make it hurt any less. Eli had lied and Hunter believed it.
Hunter believed she was a drunk who’d all but kidnapped his kid. He wasn’t asking her for her side of the story or asking for the truth. No, he was telling her he wouldn’t defend her if she had charges pressed against her. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him the truth, to defend herself. She looked up at him, blinking back the sting of tears.
She stood, pushing the chair in at the table with careful deliberation before she stepped back. “You’re a good father, Hunter. Please tell Eli I’m sorry. I never meant to cause any problems for your family.”
“I don’t understand...” His expression shifted, a mix of confusion and desperation.
If she told him the truth, it would be her word against Eli’s. Eli already thought of her as the bad guy. She’d never thought he hated her this much, but still... This wasn’t how she wanted them to end up, but she was foolish to believe anything permanent was an option for them.
“Everything okay?” her dad asked.
“Fine.” She smiled. “Just saying goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” Hunter asked.
“I fly out tonight,” she answered quickly. “Lots to do before the move. I am sorry I won’t be able to do the mural. I’ll let Dr. Lee know.”
“Josie—” her father started.
“Tickets are a steal Christmas Eve.” She pressed a kiss to her father’s forehead. “Lola’s waving you over, Dad.”
Hunter waited until her father was out of earshot before asking, “You couldn’t wait till after Christmas to leave?”
She shrugged. “Dad’s better. That was the only reason I was here. The only thing keeping me here. Besides, I’ve caused enough damage, don’t you think?” She wrinkled her nose, trying not to break. It wouldn’t help for him to see just how devastated she really felt. She had to get out of here, she had to get out of this room away from these people, before she lost her control and her dignity.
His eyes raked over her, his expression hard and unreadable. “Good luck to you, Jo.” He turned, heading from the bakery without a backward glance.
“You, too, Hunter.” She choked out the words before stumbling blindly from the bakery, through the kitchen and into her father’s house.
“Josie?” Annabeth was calling out.
Two sets of footsteps followed.
“I need a minute,” she answered.
“Like hell you do,” Annabeth appeared, followed by Lola. “You need to tell us what’s going on.”
“Nothing—”
“Joselyn Marie Stephens,” her father barked, coming up behind Lola. “I want the truth and I want it now.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, Dad.”
The bell over the bakery door rang. Her father and Lola exchanged a glance before he headed back into the bakery.
“You can’t leave,” Annabeth argued.
“Try to stop me.” Josie sighed, heading toward her bedroom. “You’ve got Dad taken care of, right, Lola?”
“Of course, sugar,” Lola answered. “But I’m going to side with your father on this one, Josie. Annabeth and I won’t tell a living soul what’s going on, but we’re not leaving until we know the whole story.”
Fifteen minutes later, Annabeth and Lola were speechless.
Josie clicked the buy button for her eight-fifteen airline ticket back to Seattle, then pulled her suitcase out.
“You’re sure about this?” Annabeth asked, eyeing the suitcase.
Josie nodded.