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It’s not a question.

“You did nothing wrong,” he insists in a quiet voice. “Trusting people is not a mistake. He was your man. Hell, Taya, I trusted him, too. Thought he was one of the good guys.”

Nausea runs through me at his words—his comfort and the thought that rings true and clear is that I don’t deserve his compassion.

“Go home, Taya.”

Amos steps into the lobby. His eyes find mine—concern, recognition—and he nods, like Mac has already said enough.

They don’t know yet. Not all of it.

I’ll tell Mac. I’ll have to tell Clara.

I’ll have to admit I was a fool who fell in love with a man who only ever meant to use her.

“Drive carefully,” I tell Amos and give Mac a stiff nod.

I walk slowly to the parking lot and get in the Wrangler.

I drive south, then west, then north, muscle memory taking me home.

I feel absolutely nothing.

Which means I’m about to feel everything.

CHAPTER 30

taya

The Rusty Spur on a Tuesday isn’t The Rusty Spur on a Friday.

The band doesn’t play on Tuesdays.

It’s quieter—booths half full.

Moxy behind the bar has more patience than usual—she doesn’t snap at you if you take too long to decide what you want, because taking too long means you’re not a regular, and if you were, she’d already know your poison.

I suggested we come, which is not in character for me.

But I can’t be at home with the hook by the door where he hung his jacket and the coffee machine that still knows his preference.

My cottage, which has been my refuge since I moved to Wildflower Canyon, now feels occupied by a ghost I made myself.

Joy comes. Aria comes. They don’t ask questions about my sudden need for greasy food and half-decent beer.

We settle at one of the high tables near the bar. We order. The drinks arrive, and I pick up my pint. I stare at the surface of the table for a moment, and then at two women who have known me for less than a year—less than the length of time I was with Griffin, less than most of the things I’d call formative—and I sense, with a completeness that surprises me, that they know me.

“Heard about the case.” It’s Aria who throws the opening salvo.

“You want to talk about it?” Joy asks.

“Yeah.”

So I tell them.

All of it.

The Mason of it!