The opening credits started to roll. Tanner let out a huge mouthful of air. Okay, so nobody was actually watching the screen, but right now he’d take it. And maybe turn the volume up a little more to drown out the gossip. From the corner of his eye he could see Nora and Johnny Fairfax striding to their car, Nora wrenching it open, her face full of thunder.
He wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall of their house tonight. Johnny would be lucky to come out with his balls in tact.
With a final glance at the guests who had been drinking champagne and were completely oblivious to Van’s real beginnings only moments ago, he walked out of the projector room and toward the refreshment stand, and office that was above it.
When he climbed up the outdoor stairs and opened the office door, he saw Van inside, tidying up the papers that had been strewn across the desk.
“Hey.” He swallowed hard. “I made the Fairfaxes leave. And Logan is taking your mom home.” He gave her a half smile. “And not that either of us give a damn, but the movie is rolling, so there’s that.”
She looked up. Her eyes were rimmed red. And they wouldn’t meet his. It was as though she was staring through him.
A shiver snaked down his spine.
He’d seen that expression once before. Years ago. He froze on the spot, as though some invisible hand was stopping him from stepping forward.
“I’m sorry,” she croaked, wrapping her arms around her chest as though she was cold. “For ruining your opening.”
“None of this is your fault.” Finally, he stepped forward, around the desk that felt like a barrier between them. He reached for her and she shrank away, and it felt like a foot slamming into his gut. “Van??
?
“Of course it’s my fault,” she whispered, a sob catching her words. “All of this is. I don’t know why I thought it would be different. Why she would be different. I was a fool to think it would work out this time. That the Butlers wouldn’t come in and ruin everything the way they always do.”
“To be fair, you could blame the Fairfaxes, too,” Tanner said, but the joke fell flat. Van inhaled a ragged breath and turned her head to the side, but he could still see the tears running down her cheeks.
“I can’t believe it.” She shook her head. “Johnny Fairfax? Why him, of all people…” Her eyes closed. “Though it makes some kind of horrible sense.” She looked up at Tanner. “Do you think he knew all along?”
“He’d been having an affair with your mom when you were conceived. I’m guessing he thought there was a fair chance he was the father.”
“And Nora. She must have known something was wrong.” Realization washed over Van’s face. “That’s why she’s always hated us.”
“Either that, or she’s just a bitch.”
Van’s eyes opened wide. “What about Chrissie?” She put her hand over her mouth. “Oh god, that makes us sisters. Or half ones. Did she know?”
“I’ve no idea…”
Van shook her head. “She couldn’t have. She would have used it to hurt me. She couldn’t have hidden a secret like that from me. At very least she would’ve hinted at it.” Her brows pulled together as she followed the thought through. “I guess she just learned how to be a bitch from her mom.”
Tanner’s lips twitched. “Do you want me to take you home?”
Van shook her head. “I don’t know. I have no idea what to do next.” Her lips trembled. “What do you do when you find out your dad’s the creepy guy you always avoided?”
“I don’t know.”
He stepped forward again, his arms wrapping around her. But she was still holding herself, her elbows jabbing into his chest as he tried to hug her. It was like embracing stone. Hard, unyielding. She didn’t melt into him, didn’t sob against his chest. She just stood there, stiff as a bone, as though she was enduring it for his sake.
“Van…”
She pulled her head up, her cheeks shining with tears. “I should never have come back home.”
Her words pierced him like a knife. “What do you mean?”
“I was okay in Richmond. I’d built a life. I had a good job. I was respected.” Her whole body was trembling. “But here, it’s like I’m that kid again and nobody will let me grow up. I’ll always be paying for the sins of my mother.”
Tanner blinked, trying to find the right words. But he felt like a kid, too. The one she’d rejected. The one who ran away when his mom died. Like his skin was slowly being peeled off, leaving him raw and vulnerable. “That’s not true,” he finally said. “Look at tonight. All these people are here for you.”
“They’re here for you, not me. Your friends, your family. Even the good townfolk came because the Hartsons are someone around here. And they support their own.” She let out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Imagine the talk at Chairs next week. They always said my mom was a floozy, and she just proved them right. They’re going to talk about this for months. And about me.” Another sob caught in her throat. “And Zoe, too.”