Page 96 of An Adventure For Aster

“Colton?” he asked. “So? It’s not like I think she’s going to go running to him.”

“She won’t,” Brooks said. “But Colton showed up at the diner and started asking my mother all sorts of questions about Raine. How is she doing? What’s going on in her life? Things like that. Said that he was divorced and coming back to the area.”

Aster didn’t like hearing that, but again, it’s not like he didn’t trust Raine. “I don’t see your mother as someone who would volunteer much. Nor Raine caring.”

“No,” Brooks said. “My mother doesn’t get mad often and didn’t while she was working, but she did slip and let my father know and of course my father told River and me. Raine doesn’t know we know.”

“Yet you think she told me? Now what am I supposed to do? If I confront her, she’s going to know your mother told your father. Your father told you. She’s going to be pissed at everyone.”

“Yep,” Brooks said. “We can all share the pain, but I thought she would have told you.”

“It doesn’t sound like there is much to say,” he said. “The guy came to town and asked about her. Big deal.”

“No,” Brooks said. “But he found out where she lived and showed up at her house Friday afternoon.”

Nowthatpart pissed him off and Raine didn’t say a word. “What happened?”

“I don’t know those details. Raine didn’t say too much to my mother, but I know she was upset and hurt. You have no idea how badly Colton messed her up in the head.”

“Which is why you guys are so protective of her?” he asked.

“Yes. I worried that his return would make her start to doubt herself again. I don’t want to see that. I just thought maybe you had something to do with it. With the place she is in now. To see her slip back would tick us all off.”

“I had no idea,” Aster said. “But I’m giving you fair warning I’m going to find out so you better prepare the rest of your family for her knowing.”

Brooks was grinning. “Heard.”

“You did this on purpose,” he said after a second of thought. “I know you did. I can see it. You’re willing to take the heat for telling me too. Why?”

“Because it’s time she put the past where it belongs and if everyone loses some skin in this, then it might be worth it.”

He watched Brooks leave and had to wonder how much skin he was going to lose too, but he had to admit, he was pretty pissed off and needed time to cool down.

32

BETWEEN US

“Excuse me?” Raine asked when Aster walked in her door and dropped a question at her feet that made her want to duck for cover.

“You heard me,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me your dickhead ex came to see you last week?”

She pursed her lips, then felt them squirming around trying to form words that wouldn’t come. What she wanted to do was shout, but she didn’t do that often.

“How did you find out?”

“That’s what you’ve got to say? How I found out? There are only a few ways I could have if you think about it.”

She snarled. “My brother,” she said. “No way my mother would tell you, but she would have told my father and he would have called in recruitments. River wouldn’t seek you out even if he had time to, so that leaves Brooks. No way Ivy would do it. She’d understand me.”

“Meaning she’d keep this from Brooks too?” he asked.

“I don’t know if she would or not and it’s not my business. But I can almost guarantee he kept it from her because I know she would have given me a heads up.”

She believed that one hundred percent Ivy would have stood up for her, just like she’d stand up for Ivy if her brother was being unreasonable.

“That’s between them,” he said. “This is between us. Why didn’t you tell me he was here?”

“Don’t you trust me?” she asked. That never occurred to her either.

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