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CHAPTER THIRTY

Emory

“All right, Emory, you’re good to go,” Deputy Harvey called, pulling out keys to the door of my holding cell. My father stood behind him, brow furrowed.

My internal clock told me it was early morning, but not much beyond that. The sheriff had tossed me and Bailey in one cell and Gray and Axel in the other and told us to “sleep it off.” As if the altercation with Dallas was just another drunken brawl.

The upside was that there didn’t seem to be any charges. We had Deputy Harvey to thank for that. I overheard him telling the sheriff that Dallas started the fight by hitting Gray with that barstool.

Dallas hadn’t ended up in a jail cell with the rest of us, though. Once again, the sheriff’s son got a pass.

“You all right?” Dad asked as Deputy Harvey slid open the heavy jail cell door.

I smoothed down my sweaty hair, grimacing at the locker room smell of the cell. There’d been no air-conditioning for us, and I was dying for a shower. “Fine. Just ready to get out of here.”

“Come on, then,” Harvey said, waving me forward.

I hesitated. “What about the other guys?”

“Let them worry about themselves,” Dad said. “Let’s get you home.”

I stepped out of the cell, but I shook my head as Harvey slammed the door shut behind me. “There’s no reason to keep holding them. Let them out too.”

“There’s three of them to process,” Harvey said. “It takes time.”

“So we’ll wait,” I insisted. “I’m not leaving without?—”

“What’s gotten into you?” Dad snapped. “You don’t argue with the law. Do you want to get tossed back into jail with these guys?”

“I just want to make sure they’re okay.”

“They’ll be fine. They’re grown men who make their own bad choices.”

“You don’t even know what happened,” I protested.

“I know this isn’t like you, getting thrown into jail.” He cast a stern look at the brothers in the holding cells. “After everything we did to help you out, this is the thanks we get? You go and drag my son into trouble?”

“That’s not what happened,” I insisted.

“Then what did?” Dad said. “Because I don’t even recognize you right now.”

I opened my mouth to explain, but?—

Shit. How could I explain without telling him everything? I cast a look at Gray, heart torn between disappointing my father and letting down the guy who meant so damn much to me.

Gray stepped up to the bars. “It’s okay, Emory. Holden’s on his way. We’ll be fine.”

“But…”

“Go on home. We’ll talk later. I’m just sorry you got arrested. It wasn’t right.” He pinned Deputy Harvey with a hard stare before shifting his gaze to my dad. “Emory didn’t do anything wrong, sir. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

My dad glared at Gray. “On that, we can agree. Come on, Emory. Enough stalling. Let’s go. Your mother is worried sick.”

I reluctantly followed, accepting a plastic bag containing my wallet and phone at the front counter before stepping outside into bright sunlight with my dad. I squinted, eyes adjusting after a night spent enclosed by gray cinder block walls and weak lighting.

We got to my Dad’s Lexus in relative peace, but that’s as long as it lasted. As soon as I buckled up, Dad exploded. “What the hell were you thinking, Emory?”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “It wasn’t my fault.”

He scoffed. “You should have never been at that trashy pool hall in the first place. Since when do you hang out with that crowd?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, jaw clenching. “What? You think I’m slumming it? Don’t be so judgmental. You don’t even know those people. You don’t know?—”

“The Forresters? I know them well enough to lend them money, thanks to you. What have they gotten you involved in, Emory? Be honest.”

“Nothing! We were just having a drink, Dad. Dallas started some shit. End of story.”

“Dallas?” Dad’s tone turned incredulous. “They picked a fight with the sheriff’s son ? They must be fucking idiots.”

“No,” I snapped. “Dallas picked a fight with us. We just didn’t let him get away with it like everyone else does.”

“And look where that got you.”

Dad started the engine and reversed out of the parking space. I bit my tongue, silently fuming. If I could tell him the whole story, maybe he’d understand this wasn’t our fault.

But if I told him everything, I’d be telling him that I wasn’t the son he thought he knew. That I’d never be the son he wanted, ever again.

I loved Gray, but how could I hurt my family like that?

Dad lapsed into silence as he drove. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Holden. I had his number stored in my contacts from when we’d worked on the home equity loan together.

Emory:

Did you pick up your brothers yet?

Holden:

Walking into the building now.

Emory:

Okay, good. I didn’t want to leave them. My dad showed up, and he wouldn’t wait.

Holden:

Maybe it’ll do them some good to cool their jets. I was half-tempted to let them walk home.

Emory:

It wasn’t their fault.

Holden:

Fault or not, there’s always consequences. But it’s not your problem. Take care, Emory.

I frowned down at my phone. What sort of consequences did he mean? Maybe Holden wasn’t aware no charges had been filed.

The car came to a stop, and I glanced out the window, then did a double take. Dad had driven us to his house instead of mine.

“Why are we here?”

“Because your mother wants to lay eyes on you after you spent the night in jail, Emory.”

“But I need to shower and change before the Movers & Shakers Brunch,” I said. “My car?—”

My car was out at Forrester Auto. Shit.

Dad shook his head. “As much as I appreciate you finally showing some interest, it’s a little too late. I called Shayla and told her to go in your place.”

Great. On top of everything else, I’d disappointed him as my boss, as well as my father. I was just winning all over the place.

He got out of the car, and with no alternative, I did the same. I followed him into the house, and my mother grabbed me in a tight hug.

“What on earth happened?” she exclaimed. “You were in a fight?”

She grabbed my face, turning it to examine it.

I pulled away, grimacing. “I’m fine. This whole arrest was a big misunderstanding. There won’t be any charges.”

“Well, thank goodness for that!”

Grandpa spoke up from his recliner. He’d moved in with my folks after his wife died three years ago. “They arrested you for no reason?” He levered himself up. “That’s not right!”

“There was a reason,” Dad said. “He was at a bar brawl, thanks to those Forrester boys on the edge of town. You remember how their father was. The apples haven’t fallen far from the tree.”

“That’s not true,” I protested. “It wasn’t their fault. They’re good men. You can’t judge them by their foster dad’s actions.”

Mom watched us, hand pressed to her mouth, eyes sad. I hated that look. It reminded me too much of her expression in the days after Adam died.

“I can sure as hell judge them for their actions last night, though,” Dad said. “They got you into trouble. And after we went on a limb to help them with that debt. We should have foreclosed and been done with it. I never should have let you talk me into playing musical loans.”

“They deserved a break,” I argued. “And you said it was my call. I didn’t talk you into anything.”

“Well, I guess it was a mistake to trust you, wasn’t it?”

I flinched at his words.

“Jim,” Mom scolded. “Don’t say things you’ll regret.”

“There’s no point in blaming Emory,” Grandpa added. “Whatever happened, he’s a good man. A good son to you too. Perfect, practically, which isn’t really healthy, but?—”

“But this isn’t like him,” Dad insisted. “The Emory I know wouldn’t be spending time with sketchy characters. They better never step foot into the bank again, I’ll tell you that. If they so much as miss one payment on that loan?—”

“Stop it!” I burst out. “They’re not sketchy characters, and they don’t deserve to take the blame here. Gray was standing up for me.”

Dad blinked. “What now?”

My chest ached. “You’re so quick to judge them, but I’m the one you should be angry with.”

Grandpa patted my back. We were all standing in the middle of the living room, two feet from the door. Dad hadn’t let us sit down before laying into me all over again. But worse than his disappointment in me was his disappointment in Gray and his brothers.

I thought it’d break me to let my parents down, but standing here while he dragged Gray’s name through the mud was worse. I couldn’t do it. It was too cowardly, even for me. It was too unfair to Gray and everything he meant to me.

“Why would I be angry with you?” Dad asked. “Other than the poor company you keep, that is.”

I drew a breath. “I did keep poor company, but it’s never been them. It was Dallas.”

“The sheriff’s son?” Grandpa asked.

“I made the mistake of going for a drive with him one night, and we got into it. Now he won’t leave me alone. He’s resentful and jealous. So I…I punched him. Gray and his brothers were the ones in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I don’t understand,” Dad said. “You hit him?”

“Why would Dallas be jealous?” Mom asked, sounding confused.

“Because…” There was no way to tell them without telling them. My gut churned, but I forced the words out, knowing they wouldn’t understand unless they knew everything. “That night when we went for that drive, it wasn’t just a drive. He…expected a hookup. I told him no, and he didn’t like that. He got pushy, and things got ugly.”

“Oh my god, Emory,” Mom said, eyes filling with tears. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, because Gray showed up and stopped him. He sent him packing, but Dallas doesn’t want to take no for an answer. And last night, he was even angrier because I was there with Gray.”

“With Gray, like…” Mom’s eyes widened as the truth sank in. Dad looked grim, lips tight, eyes downcast. Could he not even look at me?

Grandpa was the one to put words to it. “You’re dating this boy, Gray? You’re gay?”

“Bisexual,” I said, my voice hoarse as my emotions tightened my throat.

“But what about Allison?” Mom asked tentatively.

“I’ve told you Allison and I are just friends!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. “Why won’t you ever listen?”

“Don’t yell at your mother!” my dad snarled. “You’re the one who’s been lying and sneaking around. I’m so disappointed in you right now, Emory. This isn’t how we raised you.”

“No, because you raised me to be like him, right? Adam was the son you deserved, and instead, you got stuck with me.”

“What?” Dad flinched. “That’s not?—”

“I’m sorry, okay? I wish I’d died instead too. I tried. I tried to be everything he would have been to you. But I failed. I failed you both.”

I whirled and grabbed Mom’s car keys off the hook by the door. “I have to go.”

“Emory, damn it, just wait a minute,” Dad called.

But I couldn’t. My insides were churning, my whole body flashing hot and cold at what I’d done, at the truths I’d finally put down. I couldn’t breathe with their accusing gazes on me, with the weight of all their expectations finally crashing down.

I rushed outside and headed for Mom’s maroon Toyota Camry, hitting the Unlock button and hopping in. I started the car and backed out of the drive.

My whole family stood on the porch, watching me go, and all I could think as I drove away was, What now?