“I’m fine just the way I am, thank you.” My fists clenched under the table.

It was decided. Karl fell in the asshole category.

They had ordered before I came, and I watched him chew his eggs nosily, wiping his mouth on a napkin as he finished. “Well, if you ever need anything—like a new car or a loan, I can take care of ya. Any girl as pretty as you who’s related to the love of my life, well, I wanna do good by. Maybe adopt you after I marry your mama.” He nodded emphatically as if I had no other option but to agree.

My eyes flared. “You’re getting married?”

She shrugged, her thin shoulders making me wince.

I looked only at her. “You think that’s a good idea?”

Karl stiffened. “Of course it is. That’s what you do when you fall in love.”

The waitress finally set down a coffee for me, and I busied myself drinking it.

How long did I have to stay here?

I powered on. “So how did you guys meet?”

Mom leaned in over the table, eyes glowing. “It was fate, Elizabeth. I was at Club Raven, you know the one out on Highway 89 where all the locals go?”

I nodded. It was her favorite honky-tonk.

“So in walks this big hunk of a man here and from out of nowhere, someone played Journey’s ‘Faithfully’ on the jukebox and bam! His eyes met mine and when he came over to ask me to dance, I nearly fell off the barstool. He bought me a slew of drinks and we laughed and played pool all night.” She sighed, hooking her arm through his as she gazed into his eyes. “It was love at first sight.”

“What an epic romance. Sounds like a movie … maybe even a country song.”

I didn’t say a good movie, but I really did try to keep the sarcasm out of my tone.

Karl took a sip of coffee. “So, your mama and I have been talking about how to get some real cash, you know, to start our marriage off right, maybe buy us a big house and later expand my car dealership.”

“Yeah?” I didn’t see how this related to me.

He cleared his throat. “So we thought you might help us.”

“Me?” I was dirt poor.

“Yeah, she told me about you and Senator Scott’s son back in high school. How he took advantage of your good nature and all. And well, one thing led to another and we came up with a plan.”

The entire room spun and I wanted to vomit. I heaved in deep breaths and clutched the table, fighting the panic. Why had she told him?

She shushed him by flapping her hands at his shoulders. “I told you to let me bring that up. She’s sensitive.”

I wanted to crawl under the table. “What gives you the right to discuss my personal life?” My voice was sharp, my wrists itching.

She pouted. “Baby, it’s water under the bridge now, right? In the past. You’re over him. Why look at you. You’re a big time college girl now. You’ve left all that behind.”

Left it behind?

He’d ripped my heart out and sent it through a wood chipper.

I’d never be over that night.

“You can’t let him get away with it,” Mom insisted. “Something should be done about what happened to you.”

What?

I shook my head. Emphatically. My nails dug into the seat, trying to hold it together in a public place when what I really wanted to do was run away screaming. I didn’t want to think, talk, look at, or dwell on Colby Scott ever again.

“What does this all have to do with me?”

Mom lowered her voice. “In case you didn’t know, it’s an election year for Senator Scott.”

Karl leaned in. “So, if we play this right, we can all come out ahead.” A glint grew in his eyes. “We just tell your story to dear old dad and claim we have evidence against his son. He’ll give us money to shut up about it, and we’ll all be richer.”

They wanted to blackmail the Scotts.

They wanted to dredge up the past and air it all out for everyone to see.

They wanted everyone to be reminded of what a slut I was.

Never.

“You deserve retribution. Don’t you want to make him pay?” Mom said.

Make him pay? A strangled laugh came out.

Revenge is hard when the person I blamed the most was myself.

Revenge is even harder when the person you despise is at the top of the food chain and you’re a bottom feeder.

“No, I don’t,” I snapped louder than I’d intended, causing a nearby table to glance our way.

I didn’t care.

I slapped my hand on the table. “The Scott family has run Petal and this state for generations. They control the police, judges, everyone. You can’t do this. It’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard, and I refuse to help you.”

A few beats of silence went by.

Karl held his hands up. “It was just an idea. That’s all. If you say no, then I guess we don’t have a leg to stand on. We can’t exactly say we know what happened when you aren’t willing to tell your side of the story.”

“Never in a million years. Don’t ever bring it up to me again. Got it?” I felt the muscles in my jaw clenching.

Mom let out a brittle laugh. “Let’s have some pie. Okay? That will make it better.”

Karl just stared at me. I stared back.

I jerked up from the table and looked at Mom. “I’m done. I came here hoping, I don’t know, that we could be a real mother and daughter for once—but I guess not.” I opened my purse, pulled out a ten, and dropped it on the table. “This is for mine. I trust you can get your own?”