Page 107 of Riverbend Gap (Riverbend 1)

“I’m doing this, Avery. You can show up or not.”

She released a hard sigh. “I’ll be there. But we have a million things to do before the polls open tomorrow.”

“None of it is more important than this.” He glanced at the time. “Seven o’clock at Mom and Jeff’s. I’ll call the rest of the family.”

“See you then.”

43

“What’s this all about?” His mother’s dimple was nowhere to be seen tonight.

Cooper couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t feeling very cheerful himself.

“Is this about the election?” Jeff asked.

Gavin shifted in the dining room chair. “This better be good. Barbara Jean’s off sick so the campground office is closed.”

“This won’t take long.” Cooper met Avery’s gaze across the table. The smell of his mother’s pot roast hung in the air, but she and Jeff had eaten before Cooper and his siblings’ arrival. “The reason I asked you here has nothing to do with the election. But I do have news to share in regards to that. It’s about Megan Taylor—I finally managed to track her down today.”

He shared what he’d learned from Megan. His family’s reaction went from outrage toward Wayne Curtis to reluctant sympathy for Megan as Cooper explained her situation and the woman’s intentions to set things right.

“I’m glad you got to the bottom of it,” Jeff said. “But it’s the eve of the election, Cooper.”

“It might be too late to turn it around,” Gavin added.

“I know that. Whatever will be, will be. I want to be sheriff of Madison County. That hasn’t changed. But I’ve also learned some things are more important than my career ambitions.”

“I take it we’re here because of one of those things,” his mom said.

He met her gaze—she was key to this problem. Mom was the one who’d forged a close relationship with Katelyn. If his mother wouldn’t accept Kate, then this was over before it even began. And there was a decent chance of that—Mom was fiercely loyal to her family. And it was her loyalty to Gavin that held her back.

Cooper stared at his brother for a long beat. “It’s about Katelyn.”

Gavin’s lips flattened and his brows drew tight. “Here we go. I knew this was coming.”

“It’s not what you think,” Avery said.

“Oh, really?” He speared Cooper with a look. “You don’t want Katie for yourself?”

Mom set her hand on Gavin’s arm. “Let’s hear him out.”

This wasn’t starting off the way he’d hoped. “I’m not with Kate and I never will be. I may have made an impulsive mistake, but I would never ask that of you.”

Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “What, then? What’s so important you called us here on the eve of election?”

“Kate resigned at the clinic,” Cooper said. “She’s planning to move back to Asheville soon.”

Mom’s lips parted. “She’s moving?”

Gavin’s gaze fell to the table.

“I don’t intend to be cruel,” Jeff said, “but maybe that would be for the best.”

Cooper’s heart attempted to escape the prison of his ribs. “You don’t understand. Kate’s not like us. She doesn’t have anyone.”

“Doesn’t her foster family live in Asheville?” Mom asked. “I assume that’s why she’s going back there.”

“Sure, they do. And they have a houseful of foster kids and about forty who’ve come and gone through their house over the years.” He shook his head. “I don’t mean to dismiss what they do, what they’ve done. They sound like great people. But Kate’s always been lost in the shuffle. It was bearable when she had her brother to cling to, but now he’s gone and... she’s all alone in the world.”