Later that day, Cooper clicked off the television and tossed the remote onto the motel-room coffee table, disgusted at yet another speculative, inaccurate report on the newly reopened case. A part of him wondered if it was even possible to get a fair hearing, given the jury poisoning that was going on at the hands of the local media.
On the advice of Lionel, he’d come straight here from Logan Airport two days ago, since reporters were apparently camped out at his apartment. And for two days, he’d paced this ten-by-twelve room, wondering what the hell was happening to his life.
Again.
His new phone rang, and he immediately picked it up, since only Lionel and Phoebe knew the number. He smiled tightly when he saw that it was his sister.
“Hey, Wonder Woman. What’s up?”
“The usual. What’s up with you?”
Ha. The usual, he almost said. “Oh, just hanging in a motel room, waiting for the paparazzi to get bored so I can go home. Any ideas for how I can distract them for long enough to go get some clean underwear?”
“Cooper, seriously. Could we not talk about your underwear?”
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“Your case.”
He sat down. “What do you mean?”
“First, can I just put it out there that I know I’m only fourteen? And could I also ask you not to comment on that fact?”
“Um, sure.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Why?”
“Promise you won’t kill me?”
He stood up. Oh, hell. “Why, Phoebs? What have you done?”
“Nothing bad.”
“Then why are you afraid I’ll want to kill you?”
She paused, and he could practically hear her wheels turning. “Because I may possibly have done something you wouldn’t approve of. Maybe. But for very, very good reasons.”
“If you put yourself in danger, young lady—”
“I didn’t.”
“Out with it, squirt. What did you do?”
“I went to visit Raymond.”
“You what?” Cooper paced toward the window, then back to the door, then back to the window. What the hell had gotten into her? “Why?” Then he paused. “How?”
“Doesn’t matter how. I have—ways. As for the why…because.” He could picture her forcing her chin upward, even though it was quivering. “Some things needed saying, and nobody else was saying them.”
“Oh, Lord.” He closed his eyes, forced his voice to quiet. “Things like what, Phoebs?”
“Things like everything, Cooper. This was a bullshit case the first time around, and it’s an even more bullshit case this time. And don’t even say anything about my swearing, because omigod, I’ll hurt you.”
She paused, and when he didn’t say anything, she hurtled onward. “Dad knows it is, and he’s not doing anything, and when Mom’s not staring out the window, she’s trying to pretend she’s not crying. Somebody had to do something, Coop.”
“And you thought that somebody should be you?”
“I was a little short on options.”
Cooper forced himself to inhale slowly, his innards churning with a mixture of fear for his little sister, and pride that she’d had enough spine to take matters into her own—admittedly naïve—hands.
“Are you going to ask me how the visit went?”
“I’m still trying to figure out whether to string you up for even going.”
“I think he knows, Cooper.”
“Knows what?”
“I think he knows you didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Cooper sat on the edge of the bed. Of course he did. “What makes you think that?”
“The fact that he agreed to see me, for one thing.”
“You probably shocked the hell out of him, showing up like that.”
“I didn’t stay long. He didn’t have a lot to say. I’m sure that’s shocking.”
“Well, he sure had a lot to say on the stand. Maybe he used up his vocabulary in court.” Cooper pulled a frustrated hand through his hair. This was his fault. His little sister had walked into that grimy correctional center, had sat in one of those plastic chairs across from—Raymond. And she’d done it for him.
“Why, Phoebs? Why would you go there? What did you think could possibly happen?”
“I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think I could possibly make things worse, so…I went.”
“Phoebs—”
“Listen.” She rolled her eyes—he just knew it—and sighed. “This stupid case ripped our family apart, and I couldn’t figure out how in the world it had ever happened. And since Mom’s not talking, and Dad’s definitely not talking, I decided it was up to me.”
He smiled. He couldn’t help it. She was just so damn earnest and old already.
Then the smile fell. This case had made her too earnest and too old.
“This is a bad idea.” Lexi pulled jeans out of Shelby’s suitcase and put them into her drawer.
Shelby grabbed them and tossed them back into the open bag on her bed. “I know it is, but I have to do it.”
“Where is the woman who—a mere two days ago—was going to sit tight for six months and then see where things were at?”
“I have absolutely no freaking idea, and I’m good with that.” Shelby smiled, feeling lighter than she had in ages.
“Who are you, and what have you done with Shelby?”
Shelby laughed. “Maybe I’ve been drinking too much of the water out here. I don’t know.”
“So you drank the water, fell madly in love, wrote ten songs in two days, and now you’re off to chase your true love across the country?”
“It sounds a little less insane in my words, thanks very much.”
“Well, you might want to add a coating of my words to them, honey. And some reality. Running off half-cocked to Boston is a no-good-very-bad-terrible idea.”
“Says the girl who spent two hours last night telling me how romantic it was of Gunnar to fly across the country and chase you down so he could bring you back here to live permanently?”
“An ill-timed story, okay?” Lexi sighed, flopping on the bed. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Well, I was.”
“Clearly.” She sat back up. “Shelby, seriously, what’s your plan?”
Shelby smiled. “I absolutely do not have one, and I’m finding that sort of refreshing.”
“No-good-very-bad—”
“It’ll be fine. It has to be. It will be.”
“Does he know you’re coming?”
“No.” Shelby shook her head vehemently. “He’d be furious.”
“And yet—”
“I know.” She tossed a pile of shirts on top of the jeans. “But the more I think about this, the more I realize how much of a martyr he’s trying to be. And the more I realize he’s being a martyr—trying to save my reputation and career and yadda yadda—the more I love him.”
Shelby swallowed, not having actually thought the words internally that she’d just spewed so easily at Lexi.
“Love him?” Lexi’s eyebrows were sky high.
“I know. But how well did you know Gunnar before he came flying out on his white horse to save you from yourself?”
“It was brown.” Lexi shook her head like she needed to clear it. “But that’s not the point. Are you heading east in some attempt to save Cooper from himself?”
“Possibly? Maybe? Yes? I hope?”
“And you don’t think that’s even a teeny bit—I don’t know—insane?”
“It’s the sanest I’ve felt in a month, Lex. Truly. I made a decision by myself, I booked the ticket myself, and I am packing my own flipping underwear by myself.”
“Um, congratulations?”
Shelby sat down beside Lexi. “Seriously. For the past twelve years, my entire life has been about nodding and smiling and following someone else’s plan. Half the time, I didn’t even know what the damn plan was. But right now? I have a plan. Admittedly, it’s half-baked, and yes, it’s probably nutty as hell. But it feels right. It feels…good…even while it’s completely terrifying me.”
Lexi nodded, biting her thumbnail. “I’m so screwed.”
“Sorry?”
“You know I was sent in here to talk you out of this, right? After Kyla saw you hauling your suitcase onto the porch?”
“I suspected.”
“And you know that we realize we barely know you, but that our concern comes from our hearts, right?”
“If I say yes, will your next line be something about you guys barricading me in this cabin so I can’t head to the airport and make an utter and complete fool of myself in the name of love?”
Lexi took a deep breath. “That option was discussed. I’m not gonna lie.”
Shelby laughed and reached out to hug Lexi. She couldn’t help it. “Y’know, Cooper might not be the only thing I’ve fallen in love with out here.”
“Oh, great. If you get all huggy and emotional now, they’re going to insist on locking you up.” Lexi put up a finger. “I’m warning you.”
“Gotcha. We’ll pretend I didn’t just do that.”
Lexi watched Shelby tuck in a sweater and two pairs of shoes, then said, “So, really? You’re going to do this?”
“Really. I am.” Shelby zipped up the suitcase and pulled it down off the bed. “I have to, Lex. I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t.”
“Ugh.”
Shelby tipped her head. “Seriously? That’s your response to my uber-romantic decision here?”
“No.” Lexi reached behind the nightstand, grabbed something, and held out her hand, closing her eyes. “Ugh because I’m supposed to hide your phone if you insist on going, because then you’ll have to look for it and you’ll miss your plane and all that. But I don’t have the heart.”
“I don’t think any of you has a heart.” Shelby rolled her eyes as she reached for the phone.
“We just don’t want you to get hurt, Shelby.” Lexi’s voice was soft. “A lot could go badly here, and as much as we’re all about the love and the romance and the Whisper Creek happily-ever-after, we also realize Cooper’s right. All holy hell could break loose if you go to him, and once you do, it’ll all be out of your control.”
“I know.”
“Do you, really? I mean, have you really thought this through? Shelby, this could be the end of Tara Gibson, the end of Shelby Quinn, the end of the Quinn name as you know it. Seriously. You’re willing to risk that, not even knowing for sure that Cooper returns your feelings?”
Shelby’s stomach quivered at Lexi’s words, and she felt her hand go across her middle before she could stop it. Of course Cooper returned her feelings. He’d said he’d never forget her, hadn’t he? If he hadn’t been so concerned about her reputation, he’d have let her come with him, right?
Dammit, Lexi was planting doubts in places she couldn’t afford to have them.
“It’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine. I have the best spin machine on the planet at my disposal. And for once, I’ll be happy about it.”
“Unless they drop you.”
Shelby froze, Lexi’s quiet words hitting like tiny bolts of lightning. Her plan had been to call Nicola on the way to the airport, get her working on a good story, and give her some hours before Shelby’s plane landed to have their talking points ready to roll, just in case Shelby wasn’t able to stay under the media’s radar.
But the entire time, she’d known the incredible risk she was taking here. Nicola didn’t work for her. Nicola worked for LolliPop. And if the record company finally did decide Shelby wasn’t worth the continued risk, then Nic would be out the door as soon as the courier delivered the contract termination papers.
Her phone vibrated in her hand, startling her, and she pressed the disconnect button before she even looked to see who it was.
But then she did look, and her eyes widened when she realized Nic had been calling every five minutes for the past hour.
Oh, no.
Something was wrong.
Something was very, very wrong.