The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(72)

“Fine, but this isn’t over.” On that note, Caitlin pulled out two twenties and slapped them into Heather’s waiting palm.

“You’re kidding me,” Maze said. “My sex life’s worth only forty bucks?”

“Back then, forty bucks was a lot to me,” Heather said. “Still is, actually. I can feed Sammie and me for a week if we’re careful.”

Maze’s heart squeezed on that, thinking about Heather working multiple jobs waitressing and bookkeeping to make ends meet. She pulled forty out of her wallet—her spending money for the week, because she wasn’t much better off than Heather, but at least she had only one mouth to feed—and pushed it across the tabletop. “Seems only fair that I pay up too, seeing as I started the whole thing with Walker to begin with.”

“What do you mean you started the whole thing?” Cat asked.

Heather read Maze’s expression and smiled. “You made the first move.”

“After he dared me to kiss him, yes.” Okay, so she’d made the second move too . . . Not that Walker had been a slouch in that department. She might have started it, but he’d certainly finished it in ways that she still dreamed about at night. And though she’d long ago convinced herself that she remembered it being far better than it was, the other night on the bluffs had proven her wrong. Very wrong. He’d been everything she remembered.

And more.

“Truth or dare?” she said desperately to Heather.

“After what you two just went through? Dare,” Heather said firmly.

“No.” Cat shook her head. “New rule. Dares are out tonight. So truth.” She softened her voice. “Tell us what’s going on with you and your baby daddy.”

Heather stared at her for a beat, then tried Cat’s trick of dropping her forehead to the table and banging it a few times.

“Yeah, so that doesn’t actually help,” Maze said.

Head still down, Heather sighed. “He’s not in my life.”

Cat gasped. “But you said—”

“I lied. We met in a bar. He drove a motorcycle and had a wicked smile. We had a really great night, and in the morning his alarm went off at the butt crack of dawn. He said he had to work and that he’d call me later. Long story short—he didn’t.” She swallowed hard. “When I found out I was pregnant, I texted him, but he ghosted me. Walker came and visited me on a day that I was having a really hard time and was freaked out about doing this all on my own. So he went looking for the guy.” Heather paused, drew a deep breath, and lifted her head, her eyes bright with tears. “He’d been killed on the way home the morning after our night together. He was sideswiped by a Mack truck.”

“Oh my God,” Caitlin said, and climbed out of her side of the booth to scoot in next to Heather before wrapping her arms around her. “You went through this all alone?”

Heather sniffed. “That’s not even the worst part. His parents sued me for custody of Sammie. They didn’t win, again thanks to Walker, but for a long time it made me doubt my ability to do the mom thing. I’m still on shaky ground. I mean, let’s face it, I can barely take care of myself, much less two of us.”

“I think you’re doing amazing,” Caitlin said softly, tearfully. “Sammie’s amazing.”

“And you’re not alone,” Maze said, also leaving her side of the booth to squeeze in with them both. “Not ever again. We need to stick together and keep each other from making stupid mistakes.”

“Hey, at least you’re both doing better than me.” Cat wiped her tears away. “I’m about to marry into a family who thinks I’m not good enough for their son.”

“You’re perfect,” Maze said.

Caitlin shook her head.

“Okay, so you’re perfect just the way you are.”

Caitlin snorted. “You don’t understand. Dillon doesn’t have any siblings, but there are cousins, and they’re very close. And those cousins all married big—one to a stockbroker, another to a doctor. One’s married to a former Olympic skier. They’re people who do it all, babies and careers. I can’t compete with that.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Maze said. “We like you just the way you are. And Dillon must agree. I mean, he put a ring on it.”

They all looked down at Caitlin’s admittedly gorgeous rock. “I know I’m lucky,” she said quietly. “Dillon’s got a great job, makes a solid living, and he’s good to me.”

“Um,” Heather said. “Aren’t you missing something?”

Caitlin blinked and thought about that. “Oh! Of course! He handles all the yard work, and he even puts the seat down.”

“Nice,” Heather said. “It’s hard to get a man to do that. But I was talking about love. You didn’t mention love, not even once.”

“Sure, I did.”

Heather shook her head.

“Huh.” Caitlin raised a hand to gesture to Boomer for another round. “Maybe because I’ve got love right here.” She smiled a little dopily and took Maze’s and Heather’s hands. “I love you guys.”

“Me too,” Heather said. “I love you both so much.”

Maze smiled and sipped her drink, feeling happily snockered before realizing both Caitlin and Heather were staring at her. “What?”