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My eyes widen.
“What?”
That’s news to me. News that should’ve been everywhere if it’s true. I’ve never known Marci to be a liar though.
“Yeah. With Sheriff Davis.” The words come out broken. “They didn’t investigate it because it was the sheriff, but I heard from a few people at the time that—” She shuts her eyes. “He was drunk. Dad was not. Dad was driving home after dropping me off at June’s place, and they?—”
Marci bursts into tears, and I can’t stand it.
I gather her into my arms and hold her to my chest.
“Not your fault,” I say. “Not your fault. This is not your fault.”
I repeat the mantra to her over and over again. She’s carrying so much on her shoulders that shouldn’t be there.
She cries hard, clutching me, her tears wetting my chest, and I do nothing but stroke her hair. There’s not a damn fucking thing I can say to comfort her. After Mom, I was inconsolable. It’s been years, and it still hurts, but at least we had time.
Marci’s father was snatched away from her. Both are bad, seeing a person suffer versus them being taken away, but to carry that weight so young?
And I’m the asshole that made her life more difficult. No wonder she hates me.
I fetch her a tissue and give it to her. Marci wipes her tears and accepts a glass of water.
“Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You said he was drunk? Sheriff Davis?”
“There were rumors,” she says. “There was never an investigation. Never an arrest. And after that, the relationship I had with Nate dissolved fast. It wasn’t because of that. There were other reasons. For a long time, I’ve associated that sheriff’s department with what happened to Dad.”
Fuck.
This has to be painful for her. Helping me run for office after that? She’s the strongest person in this town.
I sit down on the coffee table again and place both hands on her knees.
“If there’s anything I can do to help?—”
“You can win,” she whispers fiercely. “Win and become the sheriff. Because no amount of poking around or asking has led to anything. I don’t have any proof.”
For the longest time, being sheriff has been my goal, but watching her fall apart has me twisted into knots.
“I’ll do everything in my power,” I say. “To win, and to help you with your problems. We’ll figure it out together.”
We get up, and I take over making the pancakes while the sun crests the horizon over the sea.
Thirty
MARCI
“Seriously,”Hannah says, perched on a puffy red stool in the Heartstopper, “you are glowing.”
She pushes a pair of black cat eye glasses up her nose, and they slide right down again. Hannah is the cutest without even trying. She sips her chocolate milkshake.
“It seems like my brother is treating you well.”
“Must be that newlywed glow.” Riley places her tray on the counter and leans on it with her forearms. “Be still my beating heart.”
She’s finally opening up after weeks of working here, and I already love her. Riley might not be native to Heatstroke, but she’s got that same small town, sweetheart attitude with a bit of spice thrown in. And she’s mature for a twenty-something-year-old.
