Page 26 of Bray
And stayed.
Lainey stared back, and for once was very, very quiet. And blushing.
Giving me an eye roll, Kitten took my hat off–not only because there was a no hats rule at the table–but because it was too big for her head. I took it from her and set it back in its spot over the back of my chair.
“Perfect timing,” Ma told them. “There’s always plenty of room and food for friends.”
The table was big, but it was starting to get tight. With Ellie, Molly, and now Kitten added to the family, we might have to add another leaf. There’d be a highchair soon, too.
Trig pointed Beau in the direction of the open seat for him, directly across from Lainey.
Just as we were starting to pass the platters of food around, Colt came in. He removed his hat as he looked to Kitten, who was beside me, then to me. He didn’t look happy.
“What?” I asked. “Did you catch him?”
The meal was temporarily forgotten and everyone was quiet waiting to get Colt’s update.
He went around and kissed Ma on the cheek. Then glanced down the table at our guest.
“Beau Rivers,” Beau said as introduction.
Colt nodded, then glanced at Ma.
“It’s all right,” she told him, reaching up andpatting his hand that rested on her shoulder. “Share what you have.”
The unsaid rule was that Colt didn’t share any of his cases with us at mealtime. We were a snoopy, nosey bunch and he–and Ma–had gotten tired of telling us all to fuck off.
I set my hand on Kitten’s thigh under the table.
“The man from The Roadside and his buddies were in town for a few days for the fair. The guy’s uncle is Conrad Trout and they stayed at his place.”
Kitten went still, her muscles tightening beneath my palm. I looked her way. Her face paled. She knew Trout, too?
I could have sworn I heard Trig growl from down the table.
“I know the younger son at school,” Zeb said. “Chase. We were in the same dorm freshman year. He’s a real d– piece of work. Not surprised his cousin’s also a fun guy.”
“You think, what?” Lainey asked. “He sent his nephew to The Roadside to mess with Katie?”
“Everyone knows or is related to everyone else in Devil’s Ditch, so it’s not that big of a coincidence they’re related,” Colt prompted, flicking his gaze toward Kitten for a moment. “Hell, there are nine of us kids and someone’s always running into one of us.”
Colt had a point.
“He hates Trig, obviously, but why Katie?” Kitten sat beside me, quiet as usual, at Colt’s question.
We all knew the fucker because Trout had conspired to marry Ellie in exchange for paying off her father’s bad debts. Not liking the idea, she’d run off into a snowstorm where Trig and Beau found her. Trig knew after one look Ellie was his and had happily married her two days later to protect her from Trout. Ellie’s father had died right around then, too, from a stroke, so Trout hadn’t gotten Ellie or his money back.
“I’m not a Wilder,” Kitten reminded us. “He has no reason to go after me if he’s mad at your family.”
I wanted to tell her shewaspart of the family now, that her last name would soon be Wilder, too, but she was right. It didn’t make sense.
It was clear by how tense she was that she’d had a run-in with Trout. Fuck, did he try to force himself on Kitten, too?
If so, I wanted to finish the fucker.
“You know Chase Trout, Katie?” Colt obviously noticed her earlier reaction, too.
The platters of food went around the table. While everyone filled their plates, their eyes were on Kitten.
