Page 16 of Wright Together

Nora sidled up next to me. I could see that she had questions in her eyes. Nora, after all, was the person who had first tried to get me and Whitt together. I’d admitted my attraction to him, and she’d laid the groundwork for us. She’d never understood when I told her it hadn’t worked out. I bet I was going to get an earful once we were alone.

Thankfully, she didn’t dive in at that moment because the crowd roared its approval as Jensen Wright strode out onto the stage. I winked at her and faced forward. Whitt’s attention was still on me though. I might have been able to fool Nora if he wasn’t still intently staring at my face. Watching me as if I had a secret that he was trying to decipher.

West hit him on the shoulder, and he broke my gaze to look at his brother. Then cleared his throat and faced Jensen as he began his announcement speech.

I didn’t give two shits about politics. The politicians and policies certainly hadn’t been designed for people like me. But it was hard not to get swept up into Jensen’s enthusiasm. He had a charisma onstage that couldn’t be faked. Either you had it or you didn’t. And Jensen had it in spades. No wonder he’d been an incredible CEO for the company. With the Wright good looks, a sharp wit, and an even wider smile, he won the crowd over instantly. By the end of the speech, the audience was in a fit, screaming his name.

“That was so good,” Nora said. “Especially considering what happened.”

“What happened?”

Nora sighed. “His son was arrested.”

My eyes widened. AWrighthad been arrested. “Here in town?”

“No,” Whitt said. “He has an older son from his first marriage. He’s in high school in New York.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve seen him around before.” But still, I was shocked that a Wright would do anything to get arrested. “What did he do?”

“We don’t know,” Whitt said.

“And it’s none of our business,” Nora added. She nudged me.

“I bet the news is going to report on it once they find out since Jensen is running for office,” Whitt said.

“Why do you have to be a Debbie Downer?” Nora joked. “West, make him be nice. This is just going to blow over.”

West chuckled. “Have you met my brother? He’s probably formulating a new five-year plan for Jensen to take this stain off of his immaculate reputation.”

“I’m doing no such thing.”

“He’s a Wright. He’ll be fine,” I said immediately.

“Can we go to the carnival and forget about this?” Nora asked.

I’d promised another client that I’d see them in a few hours when they got off work. Which meant I had a few hours to kill…

“All right. I have clients later though.”

“Boo!” Nora said. “Get out of it! Think about it—you, me, Ferris wheel!”

“Funnel cakes,” Whitt added.

My eyes snapped back to his. So, he really had been listening. “I suppose I can’t resist a funnel cake.”

“That’s the word on the street,” he teased.

I licked my lips and averted my gaze. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see that my sister was calling.

“I have to take this. Y’all go ahead, and I’ll catch up.”

“I can wait,” Whitt offered.

I stepped aside, my stomach sinking. There were few reasons why Bailey would be calling me. And every single one of them was a bomb waiting to go off. I didn’t want to take this call. But I couldn’tnottake this call.

“Bailey?”

She immediately launched into conversation about what was the newest problem in Midland. My heart sank as I listened and watched the crowd of people migrate from the auditorium toward the carnival grounds. It was like watching from outside of my body. So easy for everyone else to live in the moment. To forget the world around them and head to the carnival, where they could spend money without worrying about where every dollar had come from and laugh without wondering if someone was going to tear them apart for just existing.