Page 66 of Steadfast

“And why is that?” Oakleigh pulled her arm free, shrugging nonchalantly as she did a routine makeup check using the screen of her phone. Running her fingers quickly through her hair, she swept away any rogue eye makeup from under her eyes. She gave herself a quick nod of approval before she tapped the big red button and wentlive.

“Hey guys, thanks for joining us. I’m here in the church with my sister Paisley and Mia Hollister.” Oakleigh threw her arm around Mia and aggressively pulled her into the frame. “You guys know my best friend, Mia? Of course, you do.” She let her anger overflow. “With friends like her, who needs enemies, am I right?”

Mia’s mouth hit the floor as she turned to Oakleigh. Her eyes filled with hurt as she froze in front of the audience of thousands who had joined the livestream to consume every crumb of the drama.

“I should have listened to all of you who tried to warn me. Shout out to Shayna, thanks for always having my back.”

Paisley snatched the phone from Oakleigh’s hand, slamming her finger onpause.

“Hey!” Oakleigh shouted angrily as she grasped for her device.

Paisley held strong, keeping it just out of her reach.

“Oakleigh, that’s enough!” Paisley’s voice broke with frustration in the heat of the moment. “Look what you’ve done to her.” She beckoned to Mia, whose red, puffy eyes betrayed her as she held back tears that threatened to overflow down her cheeks.

“She did it to herself,” Oakleigh spat. “Throwing a party while my life was in ruins—”

Paisley threw her hands out to the beauty of the church building around them. “You call this ruins?”

The swift correction from her sister stole Oakleigh’s last defense.

Paisley wasn’t done yet.

She still had one bullet left to fire.

“I really had hopes for you, Oakleigh.” Paisley shook her head, “You walked away from the family, and pretend for your fans that you’ve changed somehow, but it turns out—you’re just likeMom.”

It was a step too far.

Snatching her phone from her sister’s hand, Oakleigh stepped past the construction crew. She ignored their quiet judgment as she made her hasty exit.

“What are you all looking at? Get back to work,” she shouted back to them, knowing that Maeve would not only hear about it but would probably have to pay them a little extra for her outburst.

Lead by listening.

Maeve was going to be so disappointed in her.

Climbing into her car, she grasped the steering wheel and buried her head in her hands. She had to somehow take control when she got back to the ranch.

After all, she was still in charge.

Mia followed Paisley to the truck. Despite all the drama, she admirably maintained her poise. Oakleigh was all too aware that the two would gossip about her all the way home.

The truth was, she didn’t care.

Let them talk.

Chapter 21

Howl

Oakleigh kept her instructions brief and to the point as she assigned the ranch work for the afternoon. Paisley took her task with a deep, resentful glance, and Mia avoided eye contact with her entirely. It was clear that they would be saying very little to each other that afternoon.

In the midst of the weighty, awkward tension, Oakleigh was surprised to find herself thankful for Audrey, who was simply overjoyed to be included.

Scrolling through the lengthy list, she allowed the responsibilities to press heavily on her mind. It was a welcomed distraction. She glanced over the top of her phone screen and examined the ever darkening sky above the ranch. It occurred to her then that Maeve’s concern may have actually been legitimate.

There had been no break in the rain that afternoon, and the powdery dirt driveway had become a layer of slick, sticky mud that clung to the bottoms of her boots.

---