Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Magnolia
I sat on the balcony off our hotel room on the seventeenth floor overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, my eyes closed, enveloped by the sound of the waves, the wind blowing my hair around my face. It was October and the sun had gone down, so it was cold. I shivered, but I didn’t want to go inside. Something about being out here grounded me.
“Are you hungry?” Belinda asked as I felt a blanket drape over me.
I opened my eyes and smiled as she handed me a mug.
“It’s hot tea with honey.”
“I’m fine, Belinda. You can stop babying me. I just want to sit out here and enjoy the fresh air.”
She went back inside as I stewed in my guilt over snapping at her. She’d been nothing but kind to me and I kept being horrible. But she came back out moments later with her own blanket and mug. Settling in the chair next to mine, she draped the blanket over herself and took a sip from her mug. “Colt’s trending on Twitter.”
“What?” I turned to face her, my tea sloshing in my cup. “Did Mo and Molly post their audio clip of his confrontation with Mo?”
“What? No.” She set her cup on the table between us and tugged her phone out of her pocket, then pulled a video up on her screen. “His performance tonight.”
I took the phone from her and pressed play.
Colt was on stage with his guitar, singing one of the songs he’d been rehearsing, an original, not a cover. He’d written it for me before our lives had hit a brick wall. It was a beautiful song and he hadn’t sung it in public yet. He said he was waiting for me so we could sing it together. Why had he changed his mind? Was it because he was giving up on us? On me?
My eyes burned with tears.
“He’s so good, Magnolia,” Belinda said. “There are so many videos of him singing that song posted on Twitter. They’re even on YouTube.”
“That’s amazing,” I said. How was it possible to be so proud of him while my heart hurt so much?
“Call him,” she said. “Tell him you saw him on Twitter. Tell him how proud you are of him.”
“How do you know I’m proud of him?”
“Girl, your eyes lit up and you smiled for the first time in hours. And besides—look at him! Anyone with ears can hear how good he is!”
“I know, Belinda. I’ve known how good he is since I first heard him sing.” I handed back her phone and leaned my head back on the seat.
We were quiet for several seconds before she asked, “Do you think what happened to your mother in Sweet Briar matters? Does it change anything for you?”
While we still didn’t have all the information, Summer had updated us with what they’d discovered so far—namely that my aunt had been murdered, the case as yet unsolved.
“I don’t know,” I said. “It all happened so long ago. I suppose it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, and part of me is still tempted to drop the whole thing.”
Belinda was quiet for a moment, then said, “If you drop it, would you mind if I have Summer and Dixie keep looking?”
My brow lifted.
Her smile wavered. “I admit it’s partially for me. You know that your mother and I grew close. I’d like to know what happened, but I suspect Tilly would too. I think she deserves it. So if you want to let it drop, I understand, but please don’t tell Summer to stop.”
I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “I won’t. I promise.”
My phone rang in my pocket with my video call tone and I pulled it out, my heart leaping when I saw Colt’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” I said as I answered, pulling my knees up to my chin. The sight of him on my phone made my heart leap with joy. “How was your performance tonight?”
“Amazing, Maggie,” he said, his eyes wide with excitement. He looked like he was in a parking lot, with muffled country music streaming out from the building behind him. “There was an agent in the audience. Shep Wheatfield.”
“Colt!” I exclaimed. “He’s your dream agent.”
“I know, Mags.” He paused, staring at me in amazement. “He wants to represent me.”
My heart burst with pride. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!”
His face fell. “But there’s something… I…”
“I know you sang my song,” I said quietly.
He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes downcast. “Mags…”
“It’s okay,” I said, my voice full of reassurance. “I saw it on Twitter. You were amazing.”
“I told you I wouldn’t sing it without you,” he said, his eyes full of guilt. “But when I heard Shep was in the audience…”
“It was the right call, Colt. It’s a beautiful song. It needs to be heard.”
“I miss you, Maggie Mae.”
I smiled as tears stung my eyes. “I miss you too.”
His brow wrinkled. “What’s that sound I hear in the background?”
“It’s the ocean.”
Belinda gave me a smile, then got up and went inside, closing the sliding door behind her.
“Belinda and I came down to Pensacola.”
“You decided not to go to Sweet Briar?” he asked in surprise.
“We did, and we interviewed a couple of private investigators. Belinda set up the appointments because she thought it would be faster. We hired one and there was no reason to stick around, so we left.”
He studied me for a moment and turned up a sad smile. “Why do I think there’s a whole lot more to this than you’re telling me?”
“Because you’re a smart man.” I took a breath. “We saw the farm where Momma was raised. Momma had a sister, Colt. Did you know that?”
His eyes bugged out. “What? Does she live down there in Sweet Briar?”
“No,” I said, resting my chin on my knees as I held the phone out in my hand. “My aunt Bethany died the year Momma was a senior in high school. She was sixteen years old and she was murdered.”
“ What? ”
“Blunt force trauma. Someone hit her in the head out by their stock pond. But they never found out who killed her. My grandparents died in a car accident a year later.”
He looked shell-shocked. “So Lila left town.”
“She left town before they died. And I don’t think she ever came back. Summer and her cousin are going to try to figure out what happened, but they’re going to try to be discreet.”
“Wait.” He narrowed his eyes. “Summer… Summer Butler? From that Gotcha! show?”
“Yeah, she’s a PI now. Has her own reality show with it.”
His eyes flashed with panic. “Do you think that’s really a good idea?”
“I’m not going to be on her show. And the other guy was a creep. Belinda really wanted to go with Summer and Dixie, and she was the one who set up the interview. Besides, they both signed NDAs before we even asked them to. Summer’s used to being hounded by paparazzi and she hates it. She says it will be a circus if they find out she’s taken my case.” I made a face. “ Our case. Belinda’s paying for it. I suggested just letting it go, but Belinda wants to know what happened. She says Tilly deserves to know too.”
He rubbed his chin, seeming to mull things over. “Yeah, that makes sense. How are you doin’ with all of this?”
“Honestly? I’m a mess.”
“Then just come home.”
How could I not smile at that? “I love you so much. But I need a couple of days away from Franklin. And you could use a couple of days without me moping around.”
“You’re not mopin’ around, Mags,” he murmured. “And I miss you. Period.”
“I miss you too,” I said, my voice husky. “When I come home, we’ll have a huge celebration. We’ll go out to dinner.”
He looked at me with worried eyes. “I don’t know, Mags. People will recognize you.”
“Why am I hiding away like I did something wrong?” I snapped. “Why do I have to hide? I’m the victim here, yet I’m acting like I’m the criminal. To hell with the rest of the world.”
He grinned. “That’s my girl.”
“I’ve gotten a little lost, Colt,” I said, deflating, and the tears rose up once again.
“I know,” he said with so much love in his eyes, it stole my breath. “But I never doubted you’d find your way back to me.”
I blinked, setting loose a tear. “I’m so proud of you.”
“For gettin’ an agent?” he asked with a teasing grin. “Shoot. That’s nothin’. But you faced monsters and screamed in their faces. Sure, you got sucked down into the mud, but you’re climbing your way out of it. Just remember I’m here to give you a hand anytime you need it.”
I bit my lower lip, trying not to break down. “Thank you for sticking with me through this.”
He released a soft laugh. “Hell, Mags. You say it like it was hard. Are you shittin’ me? The moment you told me you love me, you made me the luckiest man alive.” He leaned closer. “Love means bein’ there through the good times and bad. We’ve had plenty of bad, so we’re due for a truckload of good. I promise you, Maggie Mae. It will get better.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I believe that.”
For the first time in a long time, I really did.