Page 9 of Deadly Little Scandals

Lily Taft Easterling was a properly bred young lady, a Southern miss to her toes. But right now, her hair was windblown and free, and Walker’s chest was wet, and I could not have been more of a third wheel if I’d tried.

“Don’t mind me,” I said loudly. “Certainly don’t refrain from PDA on my part. I’ll just be over here minding my own business.”

“Very considerate of you, little sis.”

Walker’s new nickname for me hit me hard. When we’d first met, he’d been in the tail end of a downward spiral and seemed to appreciate that I was immune to his charms. I insulted him, and he enjoyed it. That was our dynamic.

This was the first time he’d referred to me as his sister.

I have to tell him.I did everything in my power not to look from Walker to Lily.I have to tell both of them the truth, even if Lily hates me for it.

But I couldn’t make myself do it.

“Don’t call me that,” I said, and then, realizing that my reaction would probably make him refer to me that way more often, I changed the subject, hard and fast. “I hear the family business is under attack.”

“What are you talking about?” Lily said, before turning back to Walker, her arms still wrapped around his neck. “What is she talking about, Walker?”

“It’s nothing,” Walker told her. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“Just like your mama is fine?” Lily asked.

I was starting to regret bringing it up, but I could only compartmentalize so much.

“I don’t want to talk about the family business.” Walker bent his head forward, allowing his cheek to brush against Lily’s, before casting another sidelong glance at me. “That’s more Cam’s thing these days than mine.”

He’d just given me a reason—and an excuse—to get out of here before I said something else I would regret.

“Now that you mention it, Campbell and I are overdue for a little chat.” I paddled over to Walker’s Jet Ski. The lanyard with the key was still attached to the life vest he’d left on the handlebars. I unclipped the lanyard, attached it to my own vest, and threw his to him.

“Is it me,” Walker asked Lily, “or is your delightful cousin stealing my ride?”

“I’m not stealing it,” I corrected. “I’m taking it home. Not our lake house—yours. Two coves down, on the point across from King’s Island, right?”

Walker shook his head. “You are a strange girl, Sawyer Taft.”

“I prefer to think of myself as altruistic,” I countered. “This way, you and Lily get some privacy for the latest episode ofBeautiful People in Semi-Functional Relationships, and I can have a word with your sister.”

hen I made it to the Ames family’s cove, I found Campbell lying out on the front of their dock, her skin glistening with some combination of sunscreen and sweat. She didn’t so much as raise her head or flip onto her side as I docked the Jet Ski.

“Not bad,” Campbell called out lazily. “For a rookie.”

I slid off the Jet Ski and hit a nearby button, which I assumed would either raise the watercraft out of the water or cause everything around us to self-destruct.

“If you’re going to stand there dripping wet, could you at least try to drip a little more quietly?” Campbell opened one green eye. “You’re spoiling the ambiance.”

That was more or less the Campbell Ames version ofhello.

My version was: “Commit any felonies lately?”

Campbell rolled from her stomach to her back and popped one knee, her right hand taking up position behind her head. “You know what I love about you, Sawyer? You’re the only person in this whole state—maybe the entire country—who can say the wordfelonyto me and be thinking of what I’m capable of and not that unfortunate mess with dear old Daddy.”

That “unfortunate mess” was something she’d masterminded and I’d helped with. Her father was in jail, having pled guilty to several crimes hehadcommitted, because we’d framed him for several that hehadn’t.Campbell’s capabilities were, in a word, impressive.

I plopped down beside her, allowing my feet to dangle off the dock. “How are you holding up?”

Campbell had always intended for her father to go down, but I didn’t think she’d fully considered the collateral damage, the press coverage, the scandal.

“How am I holding up?” Campbell snorted. “My family has been exiled to the lake since the story broke. Mama’s decided that day-drunk is the new tipsy, Walker blames me because he’s trying not to blame Lily, and I am starved for civilization. And you?”