Page 61 of Hot Shot

Barb can’t stop laughing. Her hand is pressed to her chest now, and she’s going so hard she starts to cough. “You always were whip-crack funny, Cassidy Winfield, just like your daddy.”

The mention of my dad twists my heart painfully, but I keep on smiling.

“What about when you found out about the little girl? Did you kill him a second time?”

The expression fades. “No,” I say softly. “No, all I wanted was to help Cricket. Nothing else mattered. She’s lost so much, and Wilder has everything to offer. How could I be mad at him? We weren’t together. You know, aside from being married the whole time.”

“Well, I think what you’re doing is wonderful,” Barb says, reaching back to pat my hand. “And I’m glad you two ended up together after all. What a love story!”

“What about you and Gerald?”

She rolls her eyes as she stands. “He bought me ice cream at Twisty’s and asked me to prom, which mighta been the end, but the weasel went and got me knocked up. Been forty-two years of wedded bliss and four kids to show for it! Just don’t ask the man to go to the grocery store for you.” Barb shakes her head and waves goodbye, heading back to her friends.

Jessa and I share a look before she turns back to the game. She’s gone all in with the whole baseball thing—her blonde ponytail spills out the back of her red Ramblers baseball cap,and she has on a red Ramblers tee with the wordDuchessacross the back over Remy’s number, three. I realize he’s heading out of the dugout to bat, and as such, she’ll be lost for the next few minutes.

Molly’s small nose squinches, and she pushes her glasses up the bridge. “Did that lady say you didn’t know you were married to…”

“Wilder,” I offer.

“Right. But you didn’t know?”

I sigh, but I’m smiling. “We dated in high school, but there was no way to keep it going afterward, so when we were all in Vegas, Wilder and I got married for a night. Just to see what it was like.”

Jessa pops out of her seat when Remy hits the ball, but it fouls off in the end. She sits again, pouting.

“What was it like?”

Another sigh, this one deep and wistful. “A dream. The next morning, we signed annulment papers, but he never mailed them. So technically, we’ve been married for ten years.”

Everyone sitting nearby falls silent so they can eavesdrop effectively. Fine by me. That’s the whole point anyway. Until Wilder has custody of Cricket, we have a story to sell. And I never do anything halfway.

“That’s crazy,” she says, staring down at the field.

I laugh. “Girl, that’s not even half of it.”

At the crack of the ball, we pause, but it’s another foul. Jessa claps. “That’s all right, you’ve got this.”

“I came back to town a few months ago to get marriedto someone else.” When she gasps, I realize how much I enjoy telling this story. Makes it easier to deal with the facts when everyone agrees it’s bananapants crazy. “Yup. Jessa thought he was going to object to the wedding. Maybe he would have. But instead, someone else did.”

Her eyes are huge. “Who?”

I lean in. “The best man.”

“Oh my God. He was in love with you?”

I shake my head. “Nope.The groom.”

This time when she gasps, it’s with her entire body. “No.”

“Yes.”

Jessa shoots to her feet and screams, “Wear your bloody glasses, ump!”

But I’m still going. “And then they ran off together. They even went on my honeymoon.”

I wonder absently if a human jaw can unhinge like a snake. Molly’s tonsils are on full display.

“Anyway, Wilder didn’t tell me until afterward that we were married.” The lie begins, but it feels half-true in my mouth. “I was angry, obviously, but I’ve always loved Wilder. We started fooling around in secret because…well, I’d just been left at the altar in front of the town. But I think we’ve always known we’d end up together. We’ve always loved each other.” And there it is—the lie that I wonder/worry is actually true.

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