Page 120 of Bourbon Bliss
“It matters because people still care about her,” June said. “And whatever happened to her, people deserve the truth, not some impostor who’s trying to profit from her tragedy.”
“Why are you here?” Abbie asked. “Do you want to threaten me? Blackmail me?”
“I told you already, I want to know why. I want to know why you would go to so much trouble to pretend to be someone you’re not. Other than the distinct possibility that you have a serious mental illness.”
“Because I did disappear and no one cared,” Abbie said, her voice sharp. Her eyes widened with shock, as if she were surprised she’d said that. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. “I left my family the day I turned eighteen, and no one did a thing. No one reported me missing or tried to find me. So fine, they didn’t give a shit. I thought I was over it. And then, last year, Callie Kendall was all over the news. The mystery of the girl who went missing from some stupid town in West Virginia. Those people kept her posters up for over twelve years. All those years, and people still wanted to find her. That girl who looked just like me.”
“So you decided to become her?”
“Why not? I created the happy ending everyone wanted for Callie. The Kendalls have a daughter again. That town can move on, knowing the mystery is solved.”
“Except it’s a lie.”
“A lie that doesn’t hurt anyone.”
“I beg to differ,” June said. “It hurts everyone.”
A flicker of fear crossed Abbie’s face. “What are you going to do?”
“Tell the truth.” June stood, her chair scraping across the floor.
I stood and grabbed June’s arm, intent on getting us the hell out of here. Abbie didn’t move, just sat in her chair, staring at June, open-mouthed. But I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Let’s go.”
I didn’t release my grip on June’s arm until we got to my car. She got in the passenger’s side and I cast a quick glance around, half expecting to see Abbie. My heart raced. It wasn’t that I was afraid of her—not physically at least. But who knew what someone like that was capable of doing, especially when backed into a corner. I wasn’t taking a single chance with my woman. She’d heard Abbie’s explanation. Now we were getting as far away from her as possible.
The scenery went by in a blur as I drove. June was quiet. I could tell she needed a little time to process what she’d heard. I clasped her hand in mine, gently stroking her skin with my thumb.
When we left the city behind, I finally started to relax. We still had a long drive ahead of us, but my heightened sense of danger abated.
“You were concerned she’d hurt me, weren’t you?” she asked.
“You just never know. She went to a lot of trouble to convince people that she’s Callie. She has the Kendalls fooled. Got a book deal that’s worth a lot of money. That woman had everything on the line and we cornered her. Anyone could be dangerous in that situation.”
June silently nodded.
“Did you get what you needed?” I asked.
“Yes. The strange thing is, I feel sympathy for her. Or perhaps it’s pity. A whole and happy person would never do something like this. I suspect she’s very broken.”
“No doubt.”
“This is going to hurt a lot of people. There was so much relief at Callie being found, and this will take it all away.”
“That’s true. And I think it means a lot that you recognize it. But I still think people deserve the truth, even if it isn’t what they want to hear.”
“I agree.”
I squeezed her hand. She was right. This was going to hurt a lot of people. The Kendalls. They’d lost their daughter once, and now they were going to have to face that they’d been fooled. The Bodines. Suspicion was going to fall on their late father again, especially because now there was no longer an innocent explanation for the presence of Callie’s fingerprints in their mother’s car. The entire town of Bootleg. They’d celebrated the happy ending to Callie’s story, and now they’d be right back where they started. No closer to finding answers.
But at least now someone would be looking.
38
June
“Ouch.” I reached up to smooth down the little hairs alongside my ear.
