Page 100 of The Write Track
Preston was suddenly front and center again with the arrival of Heather. She was a beautiful woman and he went out of his way to shower her with attention. She had smiles at the ready for him and glares in reserve for Nathan. She tracked his movements around the campground like a shark that sensed blood in the water. It was creepy.
Nathan was bothered by the constant stares, but he did his best to pretend otherwise. He really didn’t remember her. I didn’t doubt that. What did it say about him that he couldn’t conjure a single memory?
Worse, I was bothered most by the fact Preston seemed to know there was strife between the two of them. He was playing it up.
The whole thing was weird.
“What are you doing?” Bree plopped down next to me on the picnic table bench I’d settled at in the shade to watch the Preston Show. I almost came out of my skin because I wasn’t expecting her.
“Hmm?” I dragged my eyes to her. “Did you say something?”
“Well, you’re distracted.” Bree tapped her fingers on top of the table. “You should probably not stare at Preston so much. You’re giving Nathan a complex.”
A complex? “What are you talking about?”
She gestured toward the hammock area, to where Nathan and Brody were lounging. From all outward appearances, they seemed relaxed. Nathan’s gaze was on me, however. When he caught me looking, he smiled and waved, but there was a tenseness to his actions.
My heart gave a lurch.
In that moment, I figured things out. “He didn’t sleep with Heather.” I wasn’t saying it because I was delusional. “Preston convinced her to say it because… well, he’s Preston.”
Bree opened her mouth then closed it. She cocked her head and looked over at Preston, took in the way he was interacting with Heather, then did the one thing I wasn’t expecting. She nodded. “You’re right.”
“I am?” I didn’t mean to sound so dubious, but I’d expected more pushback from her.
“Of course you’re right.” She was calm as she regarded me but there was a fire in her eyes. “She came out of nowhere and joined the author events late in the game. It would be one thing if she was only going to the restaurant ones. She’s here, though, and a cabin opened up for her out of nowhere, even though we were told they were all booked.”
Good point.“What do we know about her?”
“Nothing off the top of my head, but we’re going to find out.” Bree stood and glanced around. “Let’s go to your cabin. I need to make a call.” She hesitated. “Let’s not tell Brody and Nathan about this. Not yet. I want to be sure.”
I understood where she was coming from. If we were wrong, we would get Nathan’s hopes up. If we were right, then it was time to take Preston out of the game. I was sick of his crap.
Bree waved at Brody and smiled. “We’re going to do some female bonding,” she called out.
Nathan frowned. “Female bonding?”
Bree nodded. “You know, we’re going to braid each other’s hair and shave our legs.”
Now Nathan looked genuinely baffled. “Um… do you need help?”
Obviously having overheard, Heather snorted disdainfully from her table.
“We’re good,” Bree replied. “We’ll let you know if we need you in a little bit.” With that, she motioned for Hayley to join us, and we headed toward the cabin.
Somehow, I managed to keep a smile on my face, but it took effort. Preston Martin Charles III was going to pay for this if I was right. We weren’t going to play the game by his rules. Not for one second longer.
BREE CALLED EVERY AUTHOR SHE KNEWonce we were in the cabin, not stopping until she found someone who knew Heather. I wanted to listen in on the conversation, but I didn’t push. I waited for Bree to gather all of the information.
When she hung up, she was grim.
“You were definitely right,” she said. “She has a terrible reputation.”
“Well, we’re going to need more than that,” Hayley prodded.
“I know. I think we should get the boys in here so I only have to tell the story once.”
I nodded and moved to the door. “I’ll get them.” I felt as if I were walking through sludge I was so angry.
