“So this is my fault then, for getting us into an accident?”
“No, that’s not what I meant, but once the police filed a report and the news media got ahold of it, well, it became impossible to contain. That’s why I told you I had to go home sooner than expected. I have to go back to Beverly Hills and deal with all of this, and I didn’t want you to have to be any part of that. Grant, I didn’t want to lie to you. I hated it, and I swear I was going to tell you everything just as soon as you came back with the coffee.”
“Sure you were. Forgive me if I have a little trouble believing that since you have been lying to me, every single day from the first second we met.”
“That’s not true.”
But it was. She had been lying all that time. Maybe Boyd had started her off on this hit-and-run journey, but she’d taken things further than she’d ever intended. The body count was piling up.
“Not true? That’s a great phrase coming from you. You’re the queen of not true, aren’t you? Tell me, did you get any of this on camera for your show?” he rasped. “I hope so. I hope you got that part from last night when I said I was in love with you. You’d better save that footage, Delaney, because you’ll sure never hear me say that again.”
Her heart turned to ash. She could practically taste it in her mouth. She stepped toward him but he moved back fast, as if her touch was toxic. He was out of reach, just like the truth had been since the very start. The fight left her. The guilt swooped in to pick away what was left.
“I’m so sorry, Grant. I never meant for any of this to happen,” she whispered.
“Yeah, me neither. So let’s go get your money, and then we can both pretend it never did.”
Chapter 22
THE TAXI RIDE TO GRANT’S aunt Tina’s house was silent, but inside Delaney’s head were a dozen different voices yelling and screaming. She was desperate for her wallet and phone and cash. She’d relied on Grant for everything over the last few days, and now that he was not there to support her, she was determined to prop herself back up. Once she had her belongings, she’d have some options. Then she could figure out what to do and how to make this right. Because she had to make this right.
That’s what one voice was yelling about, but another voice was mostly just moaning and wailing. How could she have ever anticipated things would get to this? How could she have known that her money would go off on a joyride and she’d have to chase it, and that she’d fall in love with Grant in the process? And she had fallen in love. Of this whole insane mess, that was the only thing she was certain of.
So many of the circumstances since she’d left home had been beyond her control, and her reasoning had seemed justifiable, but as she peeked over at Grant’s rigid profile, she knew she’d taken a lousy situation and made it exponentially worse. Whatever came next, she was done avoiding the blame for her choices. No matter who did what to whom, the only thing that mattered now was what she did about it here and now.
The driver dropped them off in front of a one-story redbrick ranch that had definitely seen better days. The mailbox dangled from the post, and the bushes in front were scraggly and sad. A fitting ambiance to match the mood between them. Delaney got out on her side, slamming the door behind her. Grant got out on his side, said something to the driver, and then handed him some money.
Cab fare. She’d add that to the list of what she owed Grant Connelly. She could pay him back for the food he’d bought for her, the gas that had filled the tank of that yellow Volkswagen, and even the Elvis pajamas. But what was his time worth? How did she pay him back for that? And his heart? What was his heart worth?
Tina met them at the door wearing faded jeans and a yellow University of Tennessee sweatshirt. She was a brown-haired version of Donna, petite and blue eyed. Delaney recognized her from Tyler’s wedding, only she appeared to be significantly more reserved today than she’d been after ten rum and Cokes at the reception.
Tina reached out and clasped Grant’s forearm as they entered the house. “Grant, how are you? I’m so sorry about all this. I honestly had no idea what your mother was up to, but we’ve had a long, serious talk. She’s overwrought.” She let him in and turned to Delaney. “Oh, my dear girl. What a fiasco for you. Please, come on in.”
She led them into a paneled family room, not much different from the one Grant’s mother lived in back in Bell Harbor. Everything was a little messy, a little frayed around the edges, kind of like how Delaney felt. Broken down. Used up. Irreparable.
“Please sit down. Can I get anyone some coffee?”
“Where’s my mom, Aunt Tina? Delaney doesn’t have much time to waste.”
Delaney looked at him and wondered where that had come from. Sure, she wanted this over with, but at this point, what was the rush?