“Justin, we’re not a couple.” She shook her head as she bit back on her annoyance. “I’ve explained this to you already. Multiple times. Including just two minutes ago. We are not together and we’re not going to be.”
Sunlight sliding through the front window slanted across that hideous belt buckle and nearly blinded her. She took a step back just to keep her vision clear.
“I’m sorry, Justin, but I think you should go now.”
She didn’t even watch him leave.
Five
“You sure you want me to wait in the car?”
Beth sighed, glanced at Gracie and looked back at Burt Wheeler’s ranch house. Truthfully, she’d rather have Gracie’s company. Heck, she’d rather not be here at all. But a deal was a deal, And since she’d be seeing Cam later today, she was here to hold up her end of their bargain.
“Yeah, if you’re out here, I can use you as my excuse to leave quickly if I have to.” Beth smiled at her. “Keep the AC running if you want, but parking under this old oak should help with the heat.”
“I’ll be fine,” Gracie said, reaching into her bag for her tablet. “I’ll go over the donations list while I wait.”
“God, you’re good.” Another sigh. She really wished she could trade places with Gracie, But she climbed out of the car and walked across the yard to the Wheelers’ white Victorian ranch house.
It was in beautiful shape, with a freshly painted, swept porch with bright blue tables and chairs sprinkled along its length. The window glass shone in the sun, and there was a summer wreath hanging on the front door. She knocked and waited and, when Burt opened the door, steeled herself for the conversation to come.
“Beth Wingate,” he said, his voice a gravel road. “What’re you doing out here?”
“I’ve got a favor to ask, Burt,” she answered brightly. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” He stepped back, a big man with a rounded belly, a full gray beard and a gleaming bald head. His brown eyes were curious as he steered her into the living room.
Burt’s wife’s stamp was all over the house. Overstuffed pastel furniture was gathered in conversational knots. Polished tables, family photos on the walls—Beth’s gaze went directly to a shot of Julie Wheeler with her brothers. Her fun-filled smile was frozen in time, and it must tear at the Wheelers whenever they looked at it. She shifted her gaze back to Julie’s father when he started talking.
“My Dottie’s in town at the market...”
“I didn’t come to see your wife, Burt,” Beth said, though she had to admit this conversation would have been easier if Dottie Wheeler had been there. “It’s you I need to talk to.”
“Sounds serious.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest, tucked his chin in and watched her warily. “What’s this about?”
“It’s about
Cam Guthrie,” she blurted.
His features turned instantly to stone. “I’ve got nothing to say about him.”
“I understand, Burt, but—” She’d known it would be hard, but Beth could see both anger and pain in the older man’s eyes, and she regretted causing it.
“You don’t understand,” he interrupted. “You can’t. Only me, Dottie and Julie’s brothers do. That man ran off with my baby girl. Took her away from her family. From her home. And then let her die out in that godless city in California.”
Julie had died of cancer. It must have been horrible for her family—and for Cam. But it was hardly Cam’s fault. “Burt...”
“No.” He shook his head, and if he’d had hair, it would have whipped around like a lion’s mane. “Whatever he wants from me, he doesn’t get.”
His voice, already rough and deep, got louder, and flags of red appeared on his cheeks. Beth wasn’t afraid of him, but she was a little worried that he might have a heart attack. Burt was well-known for his temper and for his ability to cut people down to size with a sharp tongue that took no prisoners. But she wasn’t going to be intimidated, no matter how much she might be sympathizing with him.
“Whether we like it or not, Cam’s back in Royal now,” she said in spite of his anger. “He wants to join the TCC and you’re the membership chair.”
“I am and I’ll vote no on letting him in,” he assured her. “He got my little girl pregnant! High school kids is all they were and she was pregnant!”
Beth swayed under that blow. Julie was pregnant? How had she never heard a whisper of that rumor? And how could Cam insist he hadn’t cheated on Beth, if he had married Julie because she was pregnant? And if she had been pregnant, where was the child? How many lies were flying around Royal these days? Oh, she really was almost as furious as Burt, yet the hurt she felt dwarfed the rage.
“Didn’t know about that, did you?” His voice dropped as if he was sympathizing with her now. “Well, we didn’t spread it around. Only her mother and me and Camden Guthrie knew the truth. We didn’t even tell her brothers.”