Page 128 of Cougar

“Jayla,” I start, and she looks up at me. “Let’s go in the back room and talk.”

“I don’t want to talk. I just want to get home to my boyfriend before he freaks out.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I promise.

Emerson

The flight back to Heritage Bay was tense. The moment we pulled into the driveway, Jay was out of the car and running toward her Range Rover.

“Jay, where are you going?” I call out.

“To see Zach,” she shouts over her shoulder as she climbs behind the wheel and takes off.

“I’m gonna head home, but I’ll call you in a little bit.” Cam drops a kiss to my head. “Levi, can you give me a ride?”

Levi nods.

“Hey, Levi,” I add. “After you drop Cam off, go after her. Her name is out there now, and I don’t know what to expect from these kids.”

“Got it.”

I spend the next hour going through my emails and texts and making phone calls to find out why this blogger, Kelly Cunninger, is targeting Jayla with lies.

The door leading into the house from the garage slams shut, and a moment later Jay storms into the kitchen, red-faced and teary-eyed.

“What’s wrong?” I reach for her but she shakes her head, warning me off before she heads for the stairs. “Jayla, please tell me what happened.”

She stops at the base of the stairs, one hand on the railing, and twists, turning her teary gaze to me. “Zach and Cole just humiliated me in front of all our friends.”

“What did they say?”

“They said a lot of things. A lot of hurtful things. I’ve had my heart broken today by people who are supposed to love me,” she chokes out through a sob.

A sharp pain shoots across my chest. I’m one of those people.

I swallow past the knot at the base of my throat. “Jay—”

“I’m not ready to talk about it.” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry for being disrespectful. I’m not mad at you. I just… I need some time to process all of this. I’m hurting, and right now I just want to be alone.”

She jogs up the stairs and slams her door shut.

Dropping my face to my hands, I burst into tears. I’ve never been much of a crier unless it was out of anger, but lately it feels like all I ever do is cry.

“Oh, honey,” Grace coos as she wraps her arms around me. “Give her some time to cool off. Come on, I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”

I shake my head. “No. My stomach is too upset.”

“How about some chamomile tea instead? I’m gonna take some upstairs to Miss Jayla, too, with some warm banana bread.”

“Thank you, Grace.”

Levi, Bass, and Troy enter the kitchen.

“Any idea what happened?” I ask.

Levi shakes his head with an apologetic expression on his face. “I got the tail end of it. She was arguing with Cole. I offered to drive her home, but she insisted she could drive herself. Zach came running from the back of the house and confronted her at her car. They had an argument, and then he got into the passenger seat. She drove him and Logan home, then came here.”

“I want to know what happened.” My gaze flicks to Bass. “She won’t talk to me.”

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