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My brows rise and my neck gets hot. "I'm sorry if the end of my relationship had a profound effect on you," I say, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
"River, be serious," my mom growls. Everyone looks at her with shock. But her eyes are narrowed on my face. "You have really screwed up this time. How could you break up with Pearl? She's perfect for you!"
Her words knock the breath out of me. "Mom, I didn't break up with Pearl. She dumped me."
"And why did she do that? Hm? She doesn't seem like she does things just because she has a whim."
"I'll tell you what I reckon," Sam says. He glares at me. "I think River wasn't honest with Pearl about his scheme to buy her family's land and she found out. Am I close?"
My face contorts. He's dead on the money, which irks me. I hate when Sam is right about any damn thing. So I change the subject very slightly.
"Look, Pearl and I want different things from life. It happens to everyone.”
Cole shakes him head, glowering at me. Savannah's shoulders tense up. It was a low blow mentioning Cole's first wife Holly, but I feel like everyone is making a mountain out of a molehill over here.
Am I devastated about Pearl's decision to end things? Yes. Absolutely. But I know when I've been rejected.
I need to lick my wounds and bide my time while I figure out a new way to approach Pearl.
Forty-Two
Pearl
Malik looks at me as I come out of cleaning the bathroom in cabin two. I toss a roll of paper towels at him and he catches them.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asks again. "You haven't been this quiet since that time when you were sixteen and you had mono, but you had to clean the cabins because everyone else came down with really severe cases of the flu."
I lean against the kitchen counter, trying to decide how much to tell my little brother. Malik stares at me.
"What’s wrong? Something worse than your breakup with River?"
I hesitate, not knowing if being pregnant counts. It's not even in the same realm as River's knife in my back.
It's something else entirely.
"There is something, yes. But if it's okay, I'm not ready to tell you just yet." I ball up my mouth. "When I do tell you, you'll understand. I promise."
Malik's brown eyes study me for the barest moment before he shrugs. "I trust you. And I'm cheering for you, too."
I smile at him, but there is an almost palpable air of sadness. Yes, I'm pregnant... but what kind of a life will this baby actually have if I just move back into my trailer? Everything is up in the air right now, especially if the family gets kicked off the land by the IRS. There's always a spot in my mom's condo, of course. But that's not a long-term solution for raising a child.
The decisions I'm going to have to make soon have been making me lose sleep, tossing and turning at night.
Malik waves a hand in front of me.
"Anybody in there?"
My cheeks warm. "Yeah, of course. Just... thinking about what I have to do next."
Malik nods. "Okay. Well, I picked up the mail for the Vintages already. It's on the counter behind you. I'm going to run into town to meet some friends. Can you take the mail to Delta's trailer on your way to drop off the mop and scrub brushes?"
"I can do that." I bite my lip, staring at Malik. On impulse, I give him a quick, hard hug. When I let him go, he looks at me funny.
"You're making me worried that you have a terminal diagnosis or something."
I shake my head. "No such luck. You'll have to put in the work to make me leave if that's what you're hinting at."
He pins me with a searching gaze. "You're real weird today." He sighs and checks his phone. "I'm going to be late to meet my friends if I don't hurry. Are you sure you're good?"
