Page 8 of Tusk's Fury

“I’m not gloating. Not at all. I’m actually pretty pissed,” she says. “I overheard them talking about giving it another go—for the kids. His ex-wife asked if he’d been with other women since they separated, and he said, ‘Just club whores.’”

She shakes her head. “I thought Tusk was better than that. I really believed he saw us as people—not just a handy hole to stick his junk in.”

I feel sicker than ever. My first impulse is that Silver is lying. She lies all the time, so why should I believe a word she has to say?

“Silver, just leave me the hell alone. I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

“I can see you’re having trouble believing that your favorite brother would say something like that about us club girls,” she taunts. “I’m not the only one who heard him say it. Call Brenda over here and ask her yourself.”

“Shut up and go away. I’m serious.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll fetch her.” Silver pulls out her damn silver phone and starts texting.

Feeling like I’m about to throw up, I take a calming sip of my tea and pop a saltine into my mouth.

Something about sipping tea and eating crackers makes the craziest thought spring into my head. Could I be pregnant? When was the last time I had my implant replaced?

That idea stuns me. I freeze in place, turning it over in my head, before shoving it aside.

Suddenly, Brenda is standing beside Silver, telling me the same thing Silver did—but with an enormous twist.

“I heard Tusk tell his ex that she was the only person he ever truly loved, but that he’s had a hard time forgiving her for cheating on him.”

So what? I think to myself. Everybody knows that.

Brenda keeps going, clearly enjoying herself.

“She told him that she’s apologized a hundred times, and if he came back home, she’d make sure he never had to beg for sex again. And he agreed—embarrassingly fast.”

And there it is—the one piece of information no one else knew but me.

My heart cracks in two right then and there.

They are reporting things they couldn’t possibly know unless they overheard it themselves.

Finally, Clara raises her voice. “Alright, that’s enough. You’ve made your point.”

Silver huffs and looks at Brenda. “Why are you getting rude with us? We were only trying to help.”

“The hell you were. Both of you are way too thrilled to be delivering bad news today,” Clara snaps. “If you don’t get the hell away from us, I’m going to report you to Rigs. I hear he’s still not your biggest fan.”

“Fine. See if we try to help you again,” Silver says before flouncing off in a huff.

Clara lowers her voice again. “I swear, some of the women around here are like teenagers with all their backbiting and gossiping.”

When I don’t immediately respond, she studies me. “What’s going on? Your hand is trembling. Do you need me to take you to the doctor?”

I reach out and grab her hand, leaning in closer. “If I tell you something in confidence, will you promise not to tell a living soul?”

She hesitates. “I don’t like to keep things from Tex,” she stammers.

“Trust me, this is not anything he’d be interested in. I need someone to confide in—a friend I can trust.”

She sits up a little straighter. “Alright, no matter what happens, I won’t tell anyone.”

Letting go of her hand, I glance around to make sure no one is close before whispering, “I think I might be pregnant.”

Her eyes go wide. “Okay,” she says cautiously. “How are we feeling about this? Considering that Tusk is getting back together with his wife, is being pregnant a good thing or a bad thing?”

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