"I might have said something to Brooklyn," James admitted. "Kelsey is missing, and I want to help find her. So, answer Willow's question. Did Kelsey change her mind about marrying Gage because of you?"
"I—I don't know." Carter sat back in his chair, his anger fading as his shoulders slumped. "She didn't give me any sign that she didn't want to go through with the wedding. But when she disappeared, I wondered."
"You were arguing with Kelsey on the ferry yesterday," I said to Carter. "She told me it was about Gage missing the boat, but that wasn't what you were discussing, was it?"
"She was angry about that," Carter returned.
"Were you also arguing about the wedding? Did you want her to call it off?"
"I don't know where she is, Willow."
"I didn't ask you that. Did you want her to call off the wedding?" I repeated.
"Yes, but she said she was committed to marrying Gage."
"What is between you two? Are you in love with her?" When he didn't answer, I pressed harder. "Is she in love with you? Dammit, Carter, tell me the truth."
"When I was in Paris, we got close," Carter said.
"But she was dating Gage when you were in Paris. And she got engaged a few weeks after she came home."
"I know when everything happened," he said bitterly.
"Why didn't she break it off with Gage?"
"She said…" Carter drew in a breath. "Gage was the one she wanted. I told her I would treat her so much better than he would. But she wouldn't hear me."
"Did you talk to her last night after Gage brought her home?"
"No. After I got James settled at the hotel, I went home."
My gaze returned to James, who stiffened when he realized my attention was back on him. It felt a little strange to have the power to make these two men uncomfortable. When we were younger, they'd had all the power. They'd been handsome, popular, in demand, and I had not been any of those things. They'd barely seen me back then, but they were seeing me now.
"What about you, James?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. James had been in no condition to do anything with Kelsey. "Did you see Kelsey after eleven last night?"
"I don't even remember leaving the bonfire," he said.
"Do you remember talking to me?"
"Were you by the bathroom?"
"Yes. You thought that you and I made out in your car and my bedroom when we were teenagers. But that never happened."
"I was obviously wasted, Willow."
"Obviously. But I want to know who you were remembering. You said the girl was too young for you, so it wasn't Brooklyn. That got me wondering. Was it Melanie? Did you and Melanie get together ten years ago?"
"No."
"I don't know if I believe you."
"Well, you should, because I'm telling the truth."
"Knowing that you lied once before, it's difficult to believe you."
"I had nothing to do with Melanie's disappearance," he reiterated.
I ignored him, turning back to Carter. "And you—you were sleeping with Kelsey while she was sleeping with your brother. Does Gage know?"
"Of course not. And you will not tell him," Carter said sharply. "It would kill him. It would destroy everyone in my family, and it doesn’t matter. It's over now."
His words had a finality to them that scared me even more.
Was it over because Kelsey was gone? Had Carter hurt my sister?
"You need to leave this alone, Willow," Carter said. "This information will only splinter everyone apart when we need to pull together to find Kelsey."
"I won't protect you."
"Then protect your sister," Carter snapped. "I wasn't in the bed alone. Do you think Kelsey wants everyone in our families to know what happened between us? Do you think she wants her future in-laws to know what she did?"
As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point.
"I love Kelsey," Carter added. "I love her more than I ever imagined and more than I should. I would never hurt her. I would never want her to be hurt. I just want her to come home, and if that means marrying Gage, then I'll make peace with it."
He was very convincing, and I wanted to believe him. But how could I? Every time I turned around a new secret came out.
"How can you be so sure that Gage doesn't know?" I asked. "James obviously had some idea, which probably means Rachel knows." I didn't bother to mention Jenny because I didn't need to bring her into it.
"If Gage knew, he would have beaten the crap out of me," Carter said.
I stared at him. "Would he have gone after you or gone after Kelsey?"
Carter's face turned to stone, his eyes burning with anger. "No way. My brother did not hurt Kelsey."
"He's right," James agreed. "Gage wouldn't hurt Kelsey. I still think she just took off. This whole situation got too complicated, and Kelsey doesn't like complicated."
That was true. Kelsey preferred to keep things simple, and if she didn't want to be bothered by something or someone, she just cut them out of her life. But while I could see her cutting both Gage and Carter out of her life, she wouldn't have done it like this.
"Gage and I have been looking for Kelsey all day. We've walked miles around this island," Carter continued. "We're doing everything we can to find her."
"I appreciate that, but if you really want to help, go to Ben and tell him everything."
"None of this will help him find Kelsey. And I won't destroy Kelsey's life for no reason," Carter said.
"Her life is the reason," I said in frustration.
"My relationship with Kelsey has nothing to do with why she's gone."
"You don't know that, Carter."
"I do know it. Let it be for tonight, Willow. If Kelsey doesn't come home in the morning, then I'll talk to Ben and whoever else I need to speak to. Let's just give her a chance to come home."
I knew they expected me to agree because I'd always run from conflict in the past, but I didn't want to run now. I glanced at my watch. It was after ten. There wasn't much I could do tonight anyway. "All right. I'll leave it alone until the morning, and then everyone needs to start talking. That includes you, James."
"If I come clean about my lie, I'll be throwing Brooklyn into the fire, Willow. Are you willing to destroy your sister for a lie that won't make one bit of difference now?"
"So, you both want me to stay quiet to protect my sisters?"
"Why hurt them if you don't have to?" James asked.
"Drake was right," I said. "Everyone I know has more to hide than I ever imagined."
"Drake was not right," Carter said harshly. "None of us hurt Melanie."
"And none of us have hurt Kelsey," James added. "You need to drop it, Willow. Go back in the shadows where you belong."
"That won't happen," I said, fired up again by his snide tone.
As I got to my feet, Carter gave me an apologetic look. "Willow, we're on the same side."