Page 54

She stared at the screen, the words blurring together. She saw a receipt for the cheerleader uniform. Blevins knew. He had been the one to send it. That made total sense. The “How much?” card was something he would do. Why hadn’t she figured that out before now? She was supposed to be smart.

Just what was he planning to do with this information? Was the whole reason he sent the cheerleading outfit and the “How much?” card because he was serious about hiring her as an escort? Or did he plan to somehow blackmail her with the information?

Who else aside from Debbi and Blevins had seen this? Did Shelby know?

Panic clawed at her insides, threatening to consume her. She deleted the file. And then emptied the trash. It was gone from the computer, but not from existence, not from the minds of whoever had already read it.

She had to get out of here. Hurrying out of Debbi’s office, she kept her head down as she went back to her own. After gathering up her things, she ran out of the building. She wanted nothing more than to go home and throw herself down on her bed and scream into her pillow.

Unfortunately, when she got home Loretta was painting in her apartment. She looked up when Dolly burst through the door.

“I thought you’d be in the Winnebago,” Dolly said, realizing that she hadn’t bothered to hide the emotion on her face.

Loretta put her paintbrush down. “The light’s better here. What’s the matter?”

Dolly forced a bright smile. “Nothing.”

“Cut the crap.”

And because Dolly didn’t have anything close to her usual defenses left to fall back on, she did. She told Loretta everything, from the moment she got canned from the cheerleading squad all the way up to seeing Jefferson Laker and finding the catalog on Jackson Blevins’s computer.

Loretta handed her a glass of sweet tea and a tuna salad sandwich with a plate of chips. Dolly blinked at it.

“I’m not hungry,” she said.

“Have you eaten anything today?”

No. Dolly grudgingly ate a potato chip and then scarfed the sandwich down while Loretta watched.

“Do you hate me?” Dolly asked when she finished.

“Don’t be an ass. Did you hate me when I screwed up my marriage?”

“No, but that wasn’t your fault and neither was your affair with your art professor.” Dolly leaned back on the couch. “I, on the other hand, knew what I was doing.”

“You fucked up. Guess what? You’re human.”

Dolly gave her a painful smile. “Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”

“It’s not on my list of conversations to have with them, no.” Loretta sat across from her and put her stockinged feet up on the coffee table. Dolly resisted the urge to bat them down—after all her older sister did make her lunch.

“But you need to tell Nash, just so he hears it from you.”

“I know. I’m planning on it tonight. Do you think he’ll think differently about me?”

“If he does, he’s not worth your heart. Because it’s leading that way, isn’t it?”

Dolly gave a slow nod. “I really like him. He’s funny.”

“He’s a grump.”

“He’s honest and a decent man.”

“That’s not a high bar,” Loretta said. “I should know. Look at the losers I’ve been with.”

“What about Taylor?”

“Taylor’s different.” She gave a self-conscious smile. “I really like him too.”