Under the Lights by Abbi Glines Page B

horrified when I shot my gaze back to meet hers. There was also no pity in them. I hadn’t wanted pity.
    â€œThat makes sense. You’re not a coldhearted bastard.” The casual way she said that made a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. I’d just told this girl my darkest secret, and she was making me smile.
    â€œHow did you find out?” she asked as if she had already known.
    â€œI overheard my parents fighting when I was twelve. Shortly after you left. My dad hasn’t been able to get an erection since Rhett was a baby. He had prostate cancer, and although surgery cleared him of it, his prostate was no more.”
    She let that sink in before responding. It gave me a moment to accept the fact my secret was out there. No longer guarded under Lawton lock and key. I’d shared it. I had just made my future vulnerable.
    And I couldn’t seem to give a fuck. I was relieved.
    â€œDo you know who your father is?” she asked me. The curiosity in her gaze was almost funny. She liked the idea that I wasn’t a Lawton. But then she’d never liked my dad.
    I shook my head. “No. They don’t know I know. I’ve never told anyone until now. Makes sense as to why they love Rhett more. He’s the true heir to this shit, and he isn’t a constant reminder that my mother had an affair and got caught.”
    Willa scrunched her nose. “You were the more likable son. I never understood their fascination with Rhett. Still don’t. Even if he is a Lawton. They’ve not done much to make that a name to be proud of.”
    I agreed with her. Willa had been brutally honest as a child, too. She said what she was thinking, and you never had to wonder otherwise. Although sometimes you wanted her to keep her thoughts to herself.
    â€œI’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving last night. I got in an argument with Brady about something stupid, and then I didn’t want to go back into that crowd of people alone. I should have waited and told you though.”
    With all the truth being shared in this tree house, I’d forgotten about why I’d come looking for her today. She hadn’t though. She knew why I was here.
    â€œWhat did he do?” I asked, aggravated at the idea he hadfought with her. Asshole. Even more reason he shouldn’t have let her run off.
    She shrugged. “It’s silly really. We just disagreed about the way he treats Ivy. He told me to mind my own business, and he was right. I should have.”
    The way she didn’t meet my eyes told me she wasn’t telling me everything. She could tell me that her best friend had killed herself, but she couldn’t tell me what my best friend had done to send her running. I wouldn’t push though. I’d just figure it out on my own. We’d done a fair share of opening up already.
    â€œIt’s okay,” I assured her. I wanted to warn her to stay away from Riley Young, but then she’d have questions about that. I didn’t feel like talking about Riley right now. I needed to be alone for some time and sort through my thoughts.

It Was Better than Good
CHAPTER 22
    BRADY
    I didn’t make it past the front of my truck before Willa opened the back door to her house. The cottage she lived in was small. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a tiny kitchen area with a table in it, and a living room. When someone drove up out here, you heard it no matter what part of the house you lived in.
    Willa loved her nonna’s though. Or at least she had as a child. I didn’t know her well enough now to know if that was still true. Maybe she had lived in a big house in Arkansas with privacy and missed that life.
    â€œNonna will be back soon. She won’t like you being here. I’m a bad influence, and you’re a good boy.”
    Not far off from the greeting I had expected. I didn’t figure she was going to be happy about seeing me. Not after last night.
    â€œI