Just Let Me Love You (Judge Me Not #3)(26)

Yeah, right. No wonder Chase was suspicious. He suspected his brother deceived him, and he was right. Will lied. That is why he gave up the gun so easily. Giving up the collector gun appeased Chase, who, despite his continued reservations, always hopes for the best from his brother.

But the biggest concern is that Will has a gun in his possession…still.

Damn. I knew things were sailing along far too smoothly. I knew this much goodness couldn’t last. All week Chase has been spending time with his brother, building bonds that were long ago broken.

Has it all been a lie? Was Will just appeasing Chase in order to keep him from the truth? If so, that will kill poor Chase.

“We need to go,” I suddenly announce, my fork clattering to the plate.

“What?” Abby is clearly perplexed by my urgent tone, her green eyes questioning. “Why?” she says. “Do we have somewhere we need to be?”

“Yes.” I push back my chair and signal the waiter for the check.

Chase and Will are out in the desert today, just as they’ve been every other day this week. Chase has been taking Will to the same desolate roads his father once took him to. He’s trying to teach Will how to safely and properly operate a motorcycle. Every morning, I watch them ride away on the same bike Jack Gartner long ago taught his eldest to ride years before.

But is the bond between Chase and Will as strong as Chase believes?

I don’t know. Because much like Jack Gartner during his last days on Earth, it appears his youngest son has inherited the same gene that leans toward deception.

The waiter brings the bill, and I hastily throw enough money on the table to cover my and Abby’s portion of the check, plus a big tip.

“Wait, I’ll get that,” Abby says, trying to stop me.

“No.” I stand. “Let’s just go.”

When Abby stands up she’s a little shaky from the wine, making me glad I drove today. I sure wouldn’t want to get into a heated debate with Abby over the wisdom of operating an automobile, not after all the wine she’s consumed.

On our way to the car, I take out my cell and text Chase: I really need to talk with you ASAP. It’s urgent.

I receive no response, not that I expect one. Chase and Will are out in an area with limited cell coverage, a mostly untouched region of the desert.

I, however, am quickly reminded that I am in a very “touched” region of the desert when I head home and end up in snarled freeway traffic.

“Oh, great,” I mutter.

I feel Abby’s eyes on me. She’s sobering up. “Kay,” she says slowly and deliberately. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? If it’s about Will, I deserve to know. I am his mother, after all.”

“I know,” I quietly respond.

And, yes, she is his mother, but I fear her reaction when I tell her what’s really going on.

So, for now, I choose to say nothing. The silence in the car becomes deafening, though, particularly since the traffic is barely moving.

“At this rate,” I murmur in an attempt to make conversation, “it will take us an hour to get to the house.”

“Hmm,” Abby says, clearly unhappy I’m not giving her the deets on what’s up with Will.

Can I stave her off for an hour? I wonder.

Unlikely, I determine.

So, under the hot Nevada sun—the same sun that is shining somewhere on Chase and Will—I inform Abby of all that has been happening.

I begin with the events that occurred in Ohio. I tell her how Will made friends with a local kid named Jared. I detail his subsequent slip-ups with drugs, especially when Cassie’s stepdad started harassing her again.

Finally, with a sigh, I get to the part about Will buying a gun.

While I’m finishing my tale, Abby stares down at her hands, folded so neatly in her lap.

“Chase should have told me all this,” she whispers when I’m done.

Despite her surprisingly calm demeanor, I don’t have the heart to tell her Chase didn’t think she could handle this information.

But she knows. She knows despite my holding back. She’s well-aware of what Chase thinks of her parenting skills.

Abby shakes her head once, twice. Then she wrings her hands. Finally, she proves Chase was right not to tell her about Will when she says, “Oh, Kay, in times like these I just wish Jack were still alive. He’d know what to say to Will, what to do to help him. This is just too much for me to handle.”

“Don’t worry; Chase is handling it,” I reply dryly.

“He shouldn’t have to,” she mumbles under her breath.

Whoa, I’m shocked.

“I don’t disagree,” I whisper.

That remark earns me a surprised glance from Abby, as well as a harrumph.

I’m quick to add, “Chase is probably the only one who can really handle Will.”

Abby nods. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

She turns away and peers out the side window. Clearly, she knows her limitations.

After inching through the last of the backed-up traffic, the road finally opens up. It is smooth sailing from that point on, and we make it back to the house in good time.

As we turn into the gated community, a quick glance at the clock in the dash informs me that it’s almost four o’clock.

Abby says what I’m thinking at that moment: “Wonder if Chase and Will are home yet.”