I should probably point out that Harper was caught kissing her Alaskan hot potato in a bar last night. (The video is posted below.) I’m all kinds of aflutter over it, let me tell you. While the words, “She cheated first,” are being bandied about, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt.
After all, this is my girl’s first hint of infidelity, but it’s certainly not Brett’s first rodeo.
Dish,
Ferris Biltmore
* * *
What are all those reporters doing here? Did they follow Brett? I push my kids through the front door of the cabin before hurrying around to make sure the blackout curtains are pulled tight on all the windows.
“Mommy,” Lily calls from the living room. “I’m scared.”
“There’s nothing to be scared about, Lil,” Liam tells her. “Those are some of the same worms that were at our house in California. They can’t hurt us.”
“That’s right, no one can hurt us,” I call out while hurrying into the room to join them. I open their iPad and pull upLilo and Stitch. “You two hang out here for a few minutes. Mommy has to call Auntie Prisha.”
Closing the door behind me, I hit the speed dial for Prisha’s number.
“Oh, my God, I slept like a baby! And not a colicky, pain-in-the-butt teether, either. I closed my eyes last night and boom! I was out. I’m still in bed …”
Before she can keep rambling on and on about her amazing night’s sleep, I tell her, “My cabin was swarming with reporters this morning. They saw Digger leave the house with me and the kids.”
“He spent the night?! I’m not judging, but honey, this isn’t the time to get involved with a new man. At least not publicly.” I hear her scurrying around. “Digger is a fine specimen, and I would heartily condone a hook-up there, but you’ve got to wait until the storm clears, or the press will eat you alive.”
Panic causes my throat to constrict. “It’s too late, Prish. I stopped to see Digger last night at The Steel Trap after dropping you off. Brett showed up and he saw us kissing on the dance floor.”
“Shiva, Vishnu, and Ganesha …” That’s Prisha’s Hindu version of the Catholic Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. She must move the phone from her mouth because my eardrums don’t actually break when she screams, “Ethan, get your ass up! Red alert! The mongoose is out of the barn!”
I’m not quite sure what a mongoose has to do with this, but it’s clear she’s as freaked as I am. “Prish, what do I do?”
“You do nothing until Ethan and I get there. Keep the door locked and hide under the covers. Help is on the way!”
I put my phone down and, when I walk back into the bedroom, I force a smile for the sake of the kids. “We’d better call up to the lodge and see if they can bring us breakfast, huh?”
“I want waffles and sausage and eggs and a muffin and cereal …” Lily starts naming every breakfast food she knows.
Liam on the other hand says, “I’d better have a poached egg on toast.” My little old man. It certainly hasn’t been a carefree childhood. No kid should have to dodge skeezy reporters and photographers.
I call the lodge, hoping and praying that Digger doesn’t answer. I have no idea what to say to him. I’m absolutely mortified that he’s gotten caught in the middle of this nightmare. “Whistler Lake Lodge.” Oh, thank God, it’s Digger’s grandpa, Jack.
“Jack, this is Harper Kennedy.”
“How you doin’ this morning, hun?”
“I’ve been better,” I tell him. “I don’t know if Digger said anything but …”
“He didn’t have to say a word. The crowd we had up here was like nothin’ we’ve ever seen before. I had to get out my shotgun.”
Holy crap. “You didn’t shoot anyone, did you?”
“Well, my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, but my aim is still good.”
“Meaning?”
“Unless one of them was directly above me, I didn’t kill anyone.” He starts to chuckle so hard, he wheezes. “They all scattered pretty fast when the gun went off.”
“Jack, I’m really sorry to get your family caught up in all of this.”