His sunglasses were gone, and his face was so deep red it was purple. He was shouting at me, and all I could make out were the words “trash,” “coward,” “sister,” “girlfriend,” and, finally, “faggot.”
The men pulled Curt away and convinced him to leave before we gathered even more attention than we already had. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might pound out of my chest and fly away. I was full of a mix of anger, fear, and grief all mixed into one, and Curt Billingham had become the very epitome of all the things I’d felt about my hometown all those years. Hatred, unwelcome, bigotry, homophobia, and violence. It was ugly and awful and reminded me how much I needed out of that place for good.
I twisted out of West’s arms and practically elbowed him away from me. I sure as hell didn’t need pity from any of these idiots—especially from the aw-shucks, goodie-two-shoes doctor with the kind eyes trying to calm me down.
Fuck that. No thanks.
I made my way back to my car and jerked the door open.
“Nico, wait. Let me help you get home,” West offered. The crowd around us had begun to disperse, and I realized my hands were shaking so hard I wouldn’t have been able to unlock the car if it hadn’t already been unlocked from before.
“I don’t need anyone’s help. I’m fine on my own.”
I said it with such fierce determination, I almost believed it myself.
Chapter 10
West
I stood in the parking lot staring after him. What the hell had just happened? How had a simple stop at the grocery store turned into a heated confrontation between Curt and Nico? Was Curt seriously holding grudges after all this time? Surely not. Nico hadn’t even been around when they’d lost the sheriff and Mrs. Billingham.
Curt still stood several cars away, trying to catch his breath. The men who’d held him back wandered off after several glances back toward me to make sure I wasn’t going to cause any trouble. I waved at them to let them know it wasn’t my fight, but I walked over to Curt to ask him about it.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, Curt?”
“That son of a bitch comes back here after all this time and just, what? Takes over where he left off?” Curt spat.
“What do you mean?”
“Everything Adriana left behind should have been left to us, not him. And that punk-ass piece of shit just waltzes back into town like nothing happened and takes over? Fuck that, West.”
“This is about the house? The bakery?” I asked in surprise. “What, did you want the baby too?”
I’d said it just to prove the point that the assets weren’t all financial. There were responsibilities laid on Nico’s shoulders that Curt wouldn’t have wanted if his life depended on it.
“Who’s he to you?” Curt asked, squinting at me without his reflective lenses on. He must have lost them in the scuffle.
“A… friend,” I said, testing the word on my tongue. It didn’t seem quite right. “Why?”
“I saw the way you touched him, the way you looked at him. You want to fuck him, don’t you?”
I was taken aback by his harsh language, the f-word sounding completely wrong in that scenario.
“None of your business,” I said with a laugh. “And considering you’re dating Chloe Metz, it’s particularly none of your business. What, is that jealousy you’ve got going on, Curt? Really?”
He looked around the parking lot, trying to be subtle about it, but I knew exactly what he was doing. The same old scaredy-cat dance.
I rolled my eyes. “Grow up,” I muttered, turning to walk into the store.
“I’d stay away from that freak if I were you, West,” he called out from behind me. “That family is nothing but trouble. Ask me how I know. Better yet, ask my brother.”
I shook my head as I walked away. After a quick run through the store to pick up my own groceries, I made my way back out to my truck and loaded up. Grandpa and Doc drove up in Grandpa’s old beat-up truck and pulled into the parking space beside me and rolled down Doc’s window.
“This is a surprise. Just getting groceries?” I asked.
“We spent the afternoon with Pippa,” Doc said with a grin. My heart did a familiar proprietary flip-flop whenever I thought about someone besides me having time with the baby, but I squelched it. This was my grandfather for god’s sake.
“You’re kidding? Nico let you watch her? Seriously?”
Grandpa got a twinkle in his eye as he glanced at Doc. “This guy’s a miracle worker. The plan worked like a charm. Nico said we can come as often as we want for a few hours a day to get our baby fix.”
“What?” I asked, frustrated. “That fucker won’t leave me alone with her for one damn minute.”