Page 32 of Just This Once

So I tried to answer all their questions, even though, technically, I’d only spent a year around the boys between my liver transplant when Alec and I had really started to get along and when my mother dragged me to Ohio. But I’d come back every summer to visit, and Alec had told me all the stories over the years. I could argue that I’d basically been around them in spirit.

“So did you ever meet this Madisyn woman from the grief center who Damien had his first super crush on?” Oaklynn wanted to know at one point.

“Of course,” I answered. “She’s the sweetest. Still sends me Christmas cards.” Pulling out my phone, I started to look her up. “She and her family moved to San Antonio about eight yearsago, way before the big scandal went down,” I added, waving a dismissive hand. “And we’ve been friends on social media ever since. Here we go. Her oldest is going to graduate from high school this year. See.”

When I turned the phone to show off a profile picture, Oaklynn and Raina rose from their seats to squeeze between Hudson and Parker for a closer look, and Faith craned her neck higher from the end of the table to see.

“She’s gorgeous,” Raina said.

“She is,” I affirmed, pulling the phone back to me. “Definitely worthy of a young boy’s first crush.”

“But what scandal are you talking about?” Faith wanted to know with a confused shake of the head.

I blurted out a short snort. “Right. Like you don’t know.” But when I glanced up, all three girls blinked at me in confusion, while every guy in the room suddenly seemed interested in something else.

“Seriously?” I asked, growing sober. “Are none of you from Westport?”

“Nope,” Oaklynn reported with a shake of her head. “I’m from Plano.”

“Atlanta,” Faith spoke up.

Raina lifted her hand. “Galveston.”

“Wow.” I gave a low whistle. “Well, I’m not sure if I’m the best source for this story, but about three or four years ago?—”

“Which was well over a year afterwecollectively stopped attending meetings there,” Hudson added quickly, waving a hand over the rest of his fellow seven—the ones present anyway—to claim complete innocence.

I rolled my eyes. “Doesn’t matter. Youknowit happened while you were there, too.”

When pretty much every male in the room slumped deeper into their chairs as if guilty, Oaklynn, Raina, and Faith gazed at their boys in confusion.

“Whilewhathappened?” Raina finally asked.

Keene cleared his throat and decided to be the one who answered. “The whole place almost got shut down.”

“I guess the director of the center at the time—Gerald Sprout—raped a bunch of the girls there,” Alec added with a wince.

“What?!” Oaklynn whirled to send Damien a condemning glance. “You always talked about that place as if it was so great.”

“Itwasgreat,” he answered with a slow nod. “For us.” Then, cringing, he added, “Just not so much for other people.”

“And you had no idea this was happening while you were there?”

Gaping at her as if he couldn’t believe she would ask him that, Damien merely said, “Seriously?”

“It was a complete fucking shock toallof us,” Hudson swore, shaking his head sadly.

“The director went to jail,” Foster spoke up. “Nearly half the staff got fired, probably for covering it up, and new ownership took over completely, basically building it again from the ground up.”

“Our old counselor, Matt, became the new director, though.” Alec nodded his approval before wiping a hand over his brow in relief. “Thank God; he ended up being one of the good guys.” With a shrug, he added, “I mean, he was a sucky counselor, but I never thought he was a badguy.”

“Did you know any of the girls who were—?” Faith gulped audibly, unable to finish the question as she turned to Hudson in concern.

He shrugged. “No idea. All of their identities were concealed. The news just said that thirteen came forward to help convict the bastard.”

“Thirteen?” Faith echoed aghast. “God.”

“Probably for the best that they remained anonymous,” Raina murmured sadly, shuddering as she hugged herself. “Those poor things. Can you just imagine; going somewhere for help because you were trying to grieve the loss of a loved one, only forthatto happen to you on top of everything else?”

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