darling.”
Smith chuckled. “Funny, that’s the feeling I got, based on how he was talking about them. I guess it’s a good thing Rilla’s having a boy, huh? Evens up the numbers in their family.”
“Yup. They’re adorable together. Rilla was this quiet, shy little thing up until last year. She was raised by a very protective father, and he pretty much disowned her when she moved in with Mason to help him with Piper and his mom. But after they got married, Rilla really started to come into her own. She has her own business, and she helps with advertising and promotion for the bar. She’s fairly amazing.”
“I didn’t realize she was Millie’s niece until Mason said something today.” Smith came further into the room and dropped onto the end of my bed.
“Rilla didn’t know it until last year. Her mom is Boomer’s sister, but she left town when Rilla was just a baby, and then her dad refused to let any of the mother’s family see Rilla. But they’ve been making up for lost time. Rilla’s close to both Boomer and to her aunt Tammie. And Millie just loves spoiling her and Piper.”
“That reminds me. Mason asked Millie how everything was going at her house, and Millie said they were taking everything one day at a time. Is something wrong? She’s not sick, is she?”
I sighed. “No. Millie’s fine. It’s just . . . well, it’s a kind of a messy situation.”
Smith shrugged. “You don’t have to tell me if it’ll break a confidence.”
“No, everyone in town knows. You should hear it from me, because you’ll get the whole story.” I sat down on the bed next to him. “There was a guy in Ali and Flynn’s class. His name’s Trent, and he comes from a kind of bad background. His mom was in and out of trouble, and I think she was even in jail for a while. Trent was in foster homes now and then, when he wasn’t living with her. Anyway, he grew up rough. I don’t know why I’m telling you that, only that maybe it explains a little about him.”
“Okay. I understand. Kid came up fighting, right?”
“Pretty much. Well, after graduation, Trent drifted a little. He worked out at a farm as a hired hand for a little while, and he had a job in town at the hardware store. But what he was mostly known for was drinking and womanizing. He was the original man-whore. Hit on anything in a skirt. We all knew about him, and honestly, he was sort of a joke in town. You know—lonely on a Saturday? You should go to the Road Block and let Trent Wagoner keep you company.”
“Did you ever . . .?” Smith wagged his eyebrows at me, and I swatted his shoulder.
“Eww. No. First of all, he’s younger than me, and second, I’m smarter and better than that.”
Was it my imagination, or did he look a little relieved? “Good to know. Okay, go on.”
“Early this year, Boomer and Millie’s youngest daughter Jenna turned twenty-one. Her friends all took her out to the Road Block, and of course, they all drank. One thing led to another, and Jenna ended up going home with Trent.”
“Oh, my God.” Smith looked sick. “Did he . . . was it rape?”
“Noooo.” I shook my head. “I mean, technically? Jenna wasn’t that drunk. She says it was a decision she made. She was ready to cash in her V-card, and I guess she’d kind of been crushing on Trent for a while. She’d gotten to know him when they both worked at the hardware store, so she thought they were friends. And maybe they were. She said the sex was consensual and that she was fully aware of what she was doing.”
“But?”
“But afterward, Trent was—well, he was Trent. He pushed her out the door in the morning, and yeah, he didn’t call her. Jenna’d gotten it in her head that she could change him. So she went back to the Road Block, tried to act like a girlfriend, tried to lure him into a second night together. From what I hear, Trent wasn’t too bad at first, but when Jenna wouldn’t take no, he was . . . brutal. He told her
Smith chuckled. “Funny, that’s the feeling I got, based on how he was talking about them. I guess it’s a good thing Rilla’s having a boy, huh? Evens up the numbers in their family.”
“Yup. They’re adorable together. Rilla was this quiet, shy little thing up until last year. She was raised by a very protective father, and he pretty much disowned her when she moved in with Mason to help him with Piper and his mom. But after they got married, Rilla really started to come into her own. She has her own business, and she helps with advertising and promotion for the bar. She’s fairly amazing.”
“I didn’t realize she was Millie’s niece until Mason said something today.” Smith came further into the room and dropped onto the end of my bed.
“Rilla didn’t know it until last year. Her mom is Boomer’s sister, but she left town when Rilla was just a baby, and then her dad refused to let any of the mother’s family see Rilla. But they’ve been making up for lost time. Rilla’s close to both Boomer and to her aunt Tammie. And Millie just loves spoiling her and Piper.”
“That reminds me. Mason asked Millie how everything was going at her house, and Millie said they were taking everything one day at a time. Is something wrong? She’s not sick, is she?”
I sighed. “No. Millie’s fine. It’s just . . . well, it’s a kind of a messy situation.”
Smith shrugged. “You don’t have to tell me if it’ll break a confidence.”
“No, everyone in town knows. You should hear it from me, because you’ll get the whole story.” I sat down on the bed next to him. “There was a guy in Ali and Flynn’s class. His name’s Trent, and he comes from a kind of bad background. His mom was in and out of trouble, and I think she was even in jail for a while. Trent was in foster homes now and then, when he wasn’t living with her. Anyway, he grew up rough. I don’t know why I’m telling you that, only that maybe it explains a little about him.”
“Okay. I understand. Kid came up fighting, right?”
“Pretty much. Well, after graduation, Trent drifted a little. He worked out at a farm as a hired hand for a little while, and he had a job in town at the hardware store. But what he was mostly known for was drinking and womanizing. He was the original man-whore. Hit on anything in a skirt. We all knew about him, and honestly, he was sort of a joke in town. You know—lonely on a Saturday? You should go to the Road Block and let Trent Wagoner keep you company.”
“Did you ever . . .?” Smith wagged his eyebrows at me, and I swatted his shoulder.
“Eww. No. First of all, he’s younger than me, and second, I’m smarter and better than that.”
Was it my imagination, or did he look a little relieved? “Good to know. Okay, go on.”
“Early this year, Boomer and Millie’s youngest daughter Jenna turned twenty-one. Her friends all took her out to the Road Block, and of course, they all drank. One thing led to another, and Jenna ended up going home with Trent.”
“Oh, my God.” Smith looked sick. “Did he . . . was it rape?”
“Noooo.” I shook my head. “I mean, technically? Jenna wasn’t that drunk. She says it was a decision she made. She was ready to cash in her V-card, and I guess she’d kind of been crushing on Trent for a while. She’d gotten to know him when they both worked at the hardware store, so she thought they were friends. And maybe they were. She said the sex was consensual and that she was fully aware of what she was doing.”
“But?”
“But afterward, Trent was—well, he was Trent. He pushed her out the door in the morning, and yeah, he didn’t call her. Jenna’d gotten it in her head that she could change him. So she went back to the Road Block, tried to act like a girlfriend, tried to lure him into a second night together. From what I hear, Trent wasn’t too bad at first, but when Jenna wouldn’t take no, he was . . . brutal. He told her
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