Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(65)

I winced and bit the inside of my cheek to keep my temper in check. Apparently, this girl was all about the drama. Walker’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “Bridgette, that’s enough. I know you’re hurting, but this isn’t the way to deal with it.”

Bridgette lifted her chin in the air as if she were better than anyone who might deign to be in her presence. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The woman narrowed her gaze at Walker. “This has nothing to do with me. This has everything to do with you and that trampy whore.”

Uh-oh. That was going too far for Walker. Even if your best friend had recently been murdered, it seemed you did not call me a trampy whore in Walker’s presence. He released his hold on me and took two angry strides towards Bridgette. “Get this through your apparently tiny brain, my relationships are none of your damn business. Now, cut the fucking crap before I find something to arrest you for.”

Bridgette’s jaw fell open. “Y-y-you can’t do that. My daddy will have your job for even threatening something like that.”

Walker snorted. “Your dad might be rich, Bridge, but he has zero pull in this town. No one likes him because he indulges your spoiled ass and thinks his shit doesn’t stink.”

Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish’s. Walker shook his head and exhaled a long breath. “I’m sorry you lost your best friend, but it’s no excuse to attack someone who’s done nothing wrong.”

“She’s done everything wrong!” Bridgette’s gaze shot to me, anger flaring back to life. “You,” she seethed, “you ruined everything. Walker was about to ask Caitlin to move in with him before you strode in and stole him away. You should be ashamed of yourself. Better yet, you should just leave. No one wants you here.”

I held my tongue, even though I wanted to give this chick a piece of my mind. Bridgette was now a shade of red that I was pretty sure meant a stroke was imminent. She cocked her arm back as if she were about to slap me, but a hand caught her around the bicep. “We have got to stop meeting this way, gorgeous,” Tuck said, sending a devilish smile my way.

Walker stiffened. “What did you just call her?”

I rubbed a hand up and down Walker’s back. “All right, all right. Enough with the drama already. If you haven’t noticed, we’ve got ourselves a bit of an audience.” I tipped my head to the side, towards a group of at least twenty people who were gathered at the front of the church, including, I winced, Walker’s entire family, Bryce, and Ashlee. Shit. I waved, attempting to reassure them. Jensen gave me a thumbs up. I fought the urge to laugh.

“God, help me,” Walker begged.

I smiled up at him. “Well, we are about to walk into a church, this seems as likely a place as any for him to hear your call.”

“I think my prayer should be ‘God save me from smartass women.’”

“Sounds like a good prayer,” I agreed.

Tuck let out a bark of laughter. “You two are meant for each other.”

Bridgette whirled on Tuck, smacking him in the chest. “Oh, shut up, you fool.” And then she stormed towards the church, still the color of a tomato.

Tuck turned back to Walker and me. “Well, that was a fun way to start the day.”

Walker took my hand in his but used the other to smack Tuck on the backside of the head. “Hey!” Tuck protested. “What was that for? I just saved your girl from getting bitch-slapped.”

I leaned around Walker so I could meet Tuck’s eyes. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No problem, gorgeous,” he said with a wink.

Walker slapped him again. “That was for being a flirty fucker. Stop hitting on my girl.”

Tuck grinned. “What? You worried she’ll finally see the error of her ways and leave your sorry ass for a real man?”

Walker threw an arm up in the air. “I give up. You’re hopeless.”

“You’re both hopeless,” Sarah said as we reached the church steps. “And you’re embarrassing Taylor, so behave.”

A gentle smile formed on my face. I loved Sarah, she was the best. There were still times when she did things that caused my heart to pang because it reminded me of my mom, but mostly, she was a comfort. A way to experience the same kind of care my mother gave to everyone in her orbit. Sarah dipped to kiss my cheek. “I hope you gave that awful girl a piece of your mind.”

I let out a soft laugh. “I didn’t even need to, your son had that pretty well covered.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Glad to hear it.”

We all filed into the church. Walker, Tuck, and I slipped into the row behind the rest of the Cole clan, Walker refusing to let Tuck sit next to me. I pressed my lips together, staring at my lap, not trusting myself not to smile or laugh.

When I lifted my head, my gaze landed on the dark coffin at the front of the church. Pain sliced through my heart as memories of my mother’s funeral slammed into me. She’d opted to be cremated, so there hadn’t been a coffin, but everything else—the flowers, the sea of black, the sounds of sniffling—was all heart-wrenchingly familiar.

My heart picked up its pace, my breathing growing quicker, more shallow. I wasn’t sure if I could do this. It was too much, too soon. A hand took mine, guiding it to a chest. Walker’s voice sounded over the blood roaring in my ears. “Breathe with me. Just copy how I breathe.”