Page 96 of Call Back

He pushed out a heavy sigh and flopped back down onto the sofa. “Let’s play a game.”

“What kind of game?” I asked suspiciously.

“It’s like strip poker.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Calm your ass down,” he said as he reclined and stretched his arm along the back of the sofa. “I said like strip poker. Take a seat. You’re going to like it.”

I groaned. “Spoken like a man.”

“Come on. I’ll even start.”

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not stripping, and I don’t want to see your bare chest.” That was a blatant lie, and I hated myself for it.

“More’s the pity. I’m not starting until you sit down.”

I sighed as I settled back into the chair I’d vacated a few minutes ago. “I’m sitting, but make this quick. I have to get to work at Alvin’s.”

His grin faded. “Ava was the one who told me to offer you the apartment.”

My stomach fell to my feet. I’d suspected, but it felt different to hear it confirmed. “How long ago?”

“A week after you came back. When she realized you were staying.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, and that’s the God’s honest truth, Maggie.”

“And you just went along with it?”

“Ava has ulterior motives for almost everything she does, but in your case I figured it was just to get a dig at your mother. Harmless enough, and it would help you out by giving you a place to stay. Now I’m not so sure.” He sat back. “Okay, it’s my turn to ask you a question.”

“I didn’t know this was a question game. Maybe I would have asked you something different.”

He shrugged. “You asked me a few minutes ago, and I answered.”

Was I up to playing this game? I could tell him as much or as little as I wanted, and he had answered my earlier question.

But how much should I say? My gut told me to trust Colt, but it had steered me wrong before, and besides, I knew he had his own agenda.

Colt’s gazed pinned on me. “What have you learned about your father since you’ve been back?”

“Daddy wasn’t the perfect man I thought he was,” I said, resting my forearm on the arm of the chair. I kept my gaze on the Southern Living magazine on the coffee table. “I think he might have scammed a bunch of people with some kind of land project in north Nashville. It went belly-up, and a lot of people lost their money.”

Colt was quiet and I lifted my gaze to his face. Our eyes locked. I tried to read him and failed.

“It had to hurt like hell to find that out,” he said. “He fell quite a ways off his pedestal.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“No, but I know you idolized the man. I’m surprised you believe it.”

“Why wouldn’t I believe it?” I asked, shifting in my chair. I was starting to get pissed. “I’m looking for the truth, no matter how difficult it is to hear.”

He pushed out a heavy sigh. “No, your goal was to clear his name. It’s not turning out the way you wanted, but you’re still looking anyway.” His eyes locked on mine. “You’re a better person than I am.”

His statement shocked me, not only because he’d acknowledged my pain, but also because he seemed so genuine. So serious. There was no sign of his usual protective coating of humor and charm.

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