Page 47 of Unburdening His Heart

I toss the blanket back and turn to place my feet on the floor. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“Reporters are at the café. They’ve figured out Andrea works there.”

I sigh. That’s no surprise in a town this small. They could ask literally anyone in town, and they’ll know Andrea. “Fuck. Alright, I’m getting dressed.”

He closes the door, and I hurry around the room grabbing clothes and pulling them on. After slipping my shoes on, I swing the door open and nearly run into SJ. He doesn’t look like he slept at all.

“Are there still reporters here, too?” I ask, trying to tame my hair with my fingers.

“Yes. It looks like they’re divided up now.”

SJ walks up the hallway toward the living room while I follow. Andrea stands in the living room, holding a cup of coffee. I can tell by her expression she’s worried.

“What happened?” I ask.

Jack comes in with two cups of coffee, handing one to me and the other to SJ. He lifts his from the coffee table and takes a sip. The TV is on, showing an early morning news report.

Andrea’s nostrils flare with irritation. “Irene called. She went into the café early to work on paperwork before Charlie and I come in. Reporters were in the front and back of the café. They fucking swarmed her.”

My mind is racing. “Is Irene okay? Is Charlie there? Is she okay?” Something tugs in my chest at the possibility of Charlie not being okay. I push that feeling aside. I don’t know where it came from, but I don’t have time to deal with that right now.

Jack is the one to answer. “Irene’s okay. One reporter got too close, but some well-chosen angry words backed him up a few feet. Charlie wasn’t there yet. Irene called her and Joe when she got inside. Charlie fishtailed her mustang into the back parking lot, arriving before Joe. She jumped out of the car with her wild red hair and called them all blood thirsty leeches. That part made the news, of course.” He cranks the volume up on the TV as the clip of Charlie replays.

I laugh. “Yeah, that’s our Charlie for sure. Is Joe there now?” I ask the question quickly because I don’t want to draw too much attention to my Charlie comment. That’s too much to unpack right now. Thankfully, everyone seems to be too focused on the chaos going on to catch what I said.

Jack turns the TV volume down. “Joe’s there, and I’ve called some local patrols to push everyone back. This is out of control. Something has to give.”

Everyone looks at me now.

“Yeah, and it needs to give now. I have to go to work. This is our mess, and we won’t leave Irene, Charlie, and Joe up there to clean it up.”

Andrea’s words hit me like a truck. She’s right, this is our mess.

“I’ll call Colton again today. If he hasn’t already gotten to Morales, he needs to step it up. This is bullshit. Andrea shouldn’t have to fight off reporters when she’s the victim here.” I don’t see Jack genuinely angry often, but he certainly is right now.

No one reacts to Jack’s statement. It’s a touchy subject, and I think we all avoid it intentionally. Calling Colton was hard to begin with, so I won’t put any pressure on Jack to call him again. However, if he chooses to on his own, I won’t argue against it.

“Prepare a statement, and I’ll address the reporters. It won’t be my first time doing it. Maybe if we give them something, it’ll be enough to shut them down. If there’s no information to be found, there’s no reason to stick around,” SJ explains.

He might be right, but it also may backfire and make them hang around for more statements.

“And say what exactly?” Andrea’s voice is raised now. “Christopher put that slimy fucking liar on the stand, one who was probably paid off to lie for him. I’ve never seen that man before in my life. He doesn’t know anything about me or my relationship with Christopher. It’s all lies.”

Jack walks over to Andrea, takes her cup of coffee, and sets it beside his on the coffee table. He pulls her into his arms, and I can hear the murmur of his voice, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. Whatever it is instantly eases the tension in Andrea’s body. She leans into his embrace.

SJ’s expression appears sympathetic, but he continues. “All we can say is there’s no legitimacy to any statement made by Morales. We can explain that you’ve never met him, and you’ve never heard his name mentioned before the day he took the stand. I would also add that the Shaw family is currently seeking to prove Morales has no ties to Christopher before the day he testified.”

Everyone is silent for several moments. It’s possible that making a statement and including we’re digging into Morales’s past will turn up the heat enough for him to recant. We might not even need Colton. Although I think that’s already set in motion and something we can’t just undo.

“Make the statement or don’t. Right now, I need to get to work. I’m already late.” Andrea makes her way to the front door.

Jack and SJ scramble to either side of her as she opens the door. The camera flashes and clicks are fast and unrelenting.

“Right behind you,” I call out. I don’t want them to leave without me.

I hurry back to the guest bedroom to grab my computer bag, phone, and wallet. I switch off the lights throughout the house on my way back to the front door.

SJ and Andrea are waiting in SJ’s SUV while Jack waits for me at the front door. I slip past him outside and wait for him to lock the front door. The clicks and flashes start again. A big part of me wants to tell them to fuck off, but I have to remain professional.

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