“Was anyone talking about it?” I asked. I was suddenly nervous.
"Well, they're talking about it now," June said.
"June," Cade's voice sounded like a warning.
"No," I said. "I want to hear it, whatever it is."
"It's all just talk," June said. "Stupid stuff."
"They saw Elias," I said.
"There's video of you with him at a hotel in Vegas," June said. "Driving off in his car."
My heart sank. I had basically pushed a giant pause button on my life, running out here, and I wasn’t ready for it to start up again. I didn’t want reality intruding on this.
Not yet, anyway.
I wasn't even sure exactly why. But I knew there was something about being here in this place that made me want to just stay like this for a while. Even if I knew that was unrealistic.
"So you're going to have some people show up here," Cade said. "Probably soon."
"When was the video posted?" I asked.
"It looked like it was this morning," June said.
"Okay," I said. "I knew it was coming."
"A bunch of tabloid reporters and bullshit," Cade said. "Anyone shows up, we can keep them away from the house."
I sighed. "Thanks for the offer," I said. "But they can be really obnoxious. And you've got a kid."
Cade cleared his throat. "When I said we could keep them away, it wasn't a suggestion. That's what the hell is going to happen. This here's not public property."
June shrugged her shoulders. "He's real stubborn like that, River."
I nodded. "Okay, then."
"There is one more thing..." June's voice trailed off.
Cade rolled his eyes. "Junebug," he said. "She doesn't need to see that shit."
"I'd want to see it," June said. "If I were her. Just so I had all the information in case I was making any decisions."
"I'm going on the record as saying this isn't a good idea," Cade said.
"Just grab the laptop for me," June said. After he went inside, she turned to me. "There is something you should see. When I searched today, it was all over the place."
Cade returned, laptop open in his hands, and gave it to June. He shook his head. "I'll let you be the one to decide before I throw in my two cents," he said.
June fiddled with something on the screen, then turned the screen to me. "Here," she said.
I watched as Viper appeared on screen, sitting on a sofa in our house. My ex-house. He had a new guitar in his lap. I'd smashed his old one. "This song is dedicated to my fiancé, River. I know you're out there listening, and I just want to say..." I stared, numb, as I listened to him launch into song. "Baby, I'm so lost without you here..."
When his musical apology was finished, I shut the computer and handed it back to June before I sat down. "Huh," I said.
June and Cade shared a look, then seemed to each be studying the floor of the porch.
"Well, that was something." I barely got the words out before I was overcome by a fit of giggles.
Cade and June didn't say anything, just stared at me, and I paused long enough to say, "I can't believe I was going to marry that f**king douchebag."
Cade grinned. "See, Junebug?" he asked. "I knew she wasn't going to fall for that bullshit. That was a stupid ass song, too. Shit, the part about the hole in his heart?" He screwed up his face in disgust. "I don't even have words for it."
"She still needed to see it," June said, smiling. "It was really bad, though. The part where he said he could see into your soul and he knew your soul wanted to be with his?"
I howled with laughter. "That's embarrassing."
"For him," June said.
"For me, too. What was I thinking?" I asked, more to myself than to them. "I was going to actually marry that guy."
Cade grimaced. "Screwing your sister aside," he said, shaking his head. "Any guy who writes a song that lame should just be taken out and shot."
"He's a huge star," I said, my voice soft. I felt numb, detached from everything. I shook my head. "I don't know why I didn't see what a douche he was before. Nothing's really changed. He's always been like this."
"Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of your nose," Cade said. He reached over and grabbed June's hand, and she patted it, smiling as she looked at him.
The sound of a car engine and the crunch of gravel cut through the evening air, and I saw a car pull into the driveway of the bed and breakfast. It might have been early evening, but I could still see whose car it was, plain as day. And who was stepping out of the car.
I heard June's voice, soft, like it was meant only for Cade. "Speaking of seeing what's under your nose..."
I walked over to the bed and breakfast. Elias had stood there for a minute on the front porch, probably thinking I was still pissed off at him and just not answering, before he noticed me coming across the lawn.