“Why don’t you?”
“Come on, Leo,” Brooke said. “Let’s try to make the best of it. I’d be happy if my dad was here.”
“Yeah. Too bad he can’t be bothered to spend time with you.”
This cracked Brooke’s sunny persona. Her brows slanted downward. “If it wasn’t for your mom and her stupid ankle, he wouldn’t have canceled.”
“Leave her out of it.”
“I don’t think she wanted to come on the trip.”
“For good reason.”
“What?”
“They’re getting a divorce,” Leo said.
Nathan hadn’t heard this news. He glanced at Abby, who appeared as shocked as he was. She sat down on a log in front of the fire pit and cupped a hand over her forehead. Nathan hated the way Lydia had left him, but he didn’t wish another divorce on her. Abby didn’t seem happy about it, either.
“Why?” Brooke asked.
“Ray’s cheating on her with one of his nurses.”
“Wow,” she said, after a long pause. “Karma is a bitch.”
“Brooke,” Abby warned.
“What are you talking about?” Leo asked.
“Your mom cheated with him, too.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“My mom walked in on them in his office,” Brooke said. “He had her bent over the couch with her skirt up.”
Abby’s eyes widened with horror. “How did you know that?”
“I heard you crying to Aunt Ella over the phone. I listened through the door.”
“Oh my God,” Abby groaned.
“My dad moved out the next day,” Brooke said.
Leo looked to Nathan for a confirmation he couldn’t give. He’d never mentioned Lydia’s infidelity to Leo, and he hadn’t been aware of the specific details of the affair. Lydia had told Nathan that she wanted a divorce because she was seeing someone else. When Nathan asked if she was sleeping with him, she’d said yes. It was probably the worst moment of his life, next to the YouTube debacle and his career implosion.
Brooke’s bombshell brought back a rush of bad feelings. The image of Lydia in Ray’s office stung, even after all these years.
“You’re a fucking liar,” Leo said.
“No, Leo. I’m not. And neither is my mom, so you better watch your mouth.”
Abby rose to her feet and grabbed Brooke by the arm. “Apologize to Leo. You had no right to hurt him like that.”
Brooke pulled her arm from Abby’s grasp. She stared at Leo, seeming conflicted.
“She doesn’t have to apologize,” Nathan said. “Leo started it.”
Leo turned to Nathan, his dark eyes gleaming. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nathan wasn’t sure what to say. Lydia hadn’t wanted Leo to know she’d been unfaithful. She’d said he was too young to understand the complexity. After mulling it over, Nathan had agreed with her. They’d settled on a “mutual story,” which was that they just weren’t happy together. It was true, well before Ray came into the picture. Nathan had cursed Lydia to hell and tossed out scathing insults on multiple occasions—in Leo’s earshot—but he’d managed to stay quiet about the cheating.
Since Nathan had moved out, his relationship with Leo had been difficult. They hadn’t talked about Lydia or the divorce. Nathan had been bitter and angry, but not interested in dragging her name through the mud. Lydia, in turn, hadn’t taken him to the cleaners. Leo had probably assumed that she’d gotten fed up with Nathan’s drinking. And that was the bottom line. It was the reason she’d strayed.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shifting his gaze from Brooke to Leo. He was sorry they had to go through this again. “You were only thirteen.”
“I was old enough to hear the truth,” Leo said.
“It was a mutual decision, Leo. We split up because I was drunk all the time. I don’t care what happened between your mother and Ray. I care about what you do. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.”
Leo looked away, his mouth set in an angry line. Instead of talking things out, he picked up the water bag and strode away from camp with Brooke.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THIS WHOLE TRIP was fucking stupid.
Leo walked to the creek in front of Brooke, keeping an eye out for intruders. He was hungry and tired and annoyed with everything. He couldn’t believe his dad hadn’t told him his mom had cheated.
Leo didn’t know what to think. Brooke never lied about anything important, and Abby seemed like the honest type. His mom, on the other hand, had been known to stretch the truth. He doubted she had a sprained ankle, for example.
“Shit,” he said, kicking the dirt. For the past six years, he’d operated under the assumption that his mom had left his dad because he was a surly drunk. Now he found out that she’d only told Leo half the truth. He was furious with both of his parents for deceiving him. The reason they got divorced was important.
Leo resented being kept out of the loop. He resented Ray for taking his car away, and his mom for backing up Ray. Most of all, he resented his dad for trying to interfere in his life after making a mess of his own.
Leo’s recreational drug use was nobody’s damned business. He was nineteen, not twelve. Pot was hardly even illegal. In a few years, it would be sold in every supermarket. Compared to alcohol and other drugs, it was healthy.
Leo wasn’t a heroin addict. He didn’t rob banks. He didn’t drive drunk or disrespect girls or brawl in the streets. He was fine, and he didn’t need his dad or anyone else getting in his face about smoking a little weed.
It made him happy. Why shouldn’t he be happy? Adults wanted everyone to be boring and miserable, like them. He had to climb on the hamster wheel and become a “productive member of society.”
Well, fuck that.
This wasn’t even about him, it was about his dad. Mr. Bigshot Pro Baller had decided that drugs and alcohol were evil because he’d made a fool of himself on YouTube. Leo shouldn’t have to get sober just because his dad couldn’t handle his liquor.
It was stupid of Brooke to hint that she’d gotten high with him, too. Ray already thought Leo was a bad influence. If Ray learned that Leo had crossed the line with his daughter—in more ways than one—he’d go ape-shit. Ray had threatened to make Leo’s life a living hell if he ever dared to touch Brooke. There were worse things than not having a car to drive. Leo could end up getting kicked out of the house or thrown in jail.
Leo knew he’d caused trouble between his mother and Ray. They fought over his bad grades and worse attitude. Was it any wonder that he wanted to escape? There was conflict everywhere he turned.
He glanced over his shoulder at Brooke. She followed him in silence, not chirping about the scenery or wildlife for once. He liked her more than a stepbrother should, but her high energy rankled when he was feeling down.
It was easy for her to be upbeat; she was perfect.
When they reached the creek, he handed her the water bag. “I’m sorry,” he said, his stomach churning.
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He was only an inch or two taller than her, so their bodies lined up in a pleasing way. “It’s okay,” she said, releasing him. “You were upset.”
“Do