“I know, but I want to get started. Think I can do a trick today?” she asked Hadley.
“We’ll see how it goes.”
The wordtrickhad something heavy dropping in my gut.
As if she could see it happening, Hadley reached out and squeezed my arm. “Don’t worry. We’ll go easy.”
I pulled her into my arms and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Thanks.”
Birdie slid her helmet into place, fastening the clasp. “Enough with the gross mushy stuff, let’s go!”
Hadley turned her face into my chest, laughing. “Sorry, Birdie. I’m ready.”
I released my hold on Hadley even though it was the last thing I wanted to do and watched as she led my daughter over to a cement surface where they could practice.
“Addie, want to go see if there are any new wildflowers?” Sage asked.
Addie looked to me for silent permission. I waved them off. “Have fun.”
They headed for the small creek that ran alongside the park that was blanketed by trees. It was only Shiloh and me now. She opted to lean against a tree set a little bit apart from the blankets, giving her the space she always seemed to prefer. Her gaze remained on Hadley as she helped Birdie balance on her skateboard.
“Is she okay?” Shiloh asked quietly. Her voice wasn’t soft the way Addie’s was, but it was unassuming.
“I think she will be. But Hadley was right, none of this is your fault.”
Shiloh didn’t say another word, simply pushed to her feet and started for the creek.
“What’s wrong?”
I looked over at the sound of Hayes’ voice. “She was asking about Hadley, and I told her that what happened wasn’t her fault.”
Hayes’ jaw tightened as he set down the cooler on the edge of the blanket. “Doesn’t like talking about it.”
“That much is clear.”
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Everly said and started after her.
“You got a good one there.”
Hayes grinned. “I certainly do.” The grin wavered a beat. “I don’t want to wreck this day for you, but I heard from one of my contacts in Salem.”
“About Jackie?”
“The one and only.” He lowered himself to one of the blankets. “Take a load off. We’ll talk it through.”
He wasn’t running off to arrest Jackie, so it couldn’t be that bad. I sat down, leaning against the trunk of the tree. “Spill.”
“On the surface, she was honest about staying out of trouble. No convictions or arrests.”
“But…”
Hayes plucked up a piece of grass and began ripping it to tiny shreds. “She’s been involved with people who are definitely not on the straight and narrow. They just sentenced her last boyfriend to ten years for distribution.”
I muttered a curse under my breath. I should be relieved, my instincts to keep her away from Birdie and Sage were right on the money. “Jackie didn’t go down with him?”
“Nope. Apparently, she played the innocent victim. Had no idea what her boyfriend was up to. Even volunteered for a drug test.”
“And?”