Small Town Gossip

Chapter 26

    Sky drained his beer bottle. He set it back down on his kitchen counter and slumped against the wall. He needed to drown out the re-run of his father’s campaign team kissing Ethan Clarke’s ass. Sky loosened his tie and threw it somewhere over his shoulder. Someone would pick it up later.

    He reached for the bottle again and realized too late that it was empty. He picked up the cap instead and started to toss it in the air like a coin. Heads and I go drown myself in the jacuzzi. Tails and I ask Rosita to pick me up more beer. Skylar laughed when the beer bottle cap bounced off his palm and skidded underneath the fridge. He shrugged and decided that he could always find other ways to shut down his brain. He strolled into the former parlor where at least his mother left behind the impressive bar and famous bourbon his father hoarded.

    The armchair, the reading lamp, the silver Tiffany picture frames were all gone. The entire house had been ransacked by his mother once she realized that the prenuptial agreement had been violated. Legally, his mother had the rights to whatever was inside of the house, but not the house itself. She got the luxury townhouse in Dallas and had fled there. Georgina Clarke had contacted her children and left them voicemail messages about how they could reach her.

    She tried to lure Danny out there, but he decided that in the midst of all this scandal, then rehab wouldn’t look too bad on him or their father. Danny was right. No one in the press had even mentioned it.

    That was the only good thing to come out of this mess. Danny would be okay. He’d still have to worry about maintaining his sobriety once he got out, but it was a hell of a lot better than pretending that nothing was wrong. Sky wished his father would follow the same route. But Ethan Clarke was too damn stubborn.

    He had gone to the press insisting that he still loved his wife and would try to regain her trust in their marriage. He denied any rumors of an affair with a man, but admitted that fidelity had been an issue in the past. His team leaked pictures of him dining with an unidentified blonde woman, but Sky knew these pictures were taken after the Halbrook Incident.

    “It’s all a game. A fucked-up game,” he sang to himself. His voice echoed in the empty room. Sky cringed when he heard his voice. He was tired of hearing himself talk. Talking was all he did during the day. He talked to the press. He talked to the campaign staff. He talked to worried family members. He talked to friends, colleagues, and other politicians. But, for some reason, he didn’t ever talk to his dad.

    “He’s embarrassed, Sky,” Amber said.

    They had talked on the phone earlier that week when she got back from Barbados. She had called as soon as she saw the coverage from her hotel room, but Sky promised her that there was nothing she could do. Amber didn’t bother listening. She came back from her honeymoon tanned and ready to join the fight.

    Their father had eagerly agreed to have Amber, fresh-faced, former beauty queen Amber, to stand behind him in the press conferences. It would reinforce the image of a caring, heterosexual father.

    Amber besides acting as a poster girl for American family values, also acted as the intermediary between their father, mother, and Sky.

    “If he’s so embarrassed, then why did he hire me on his team? Why didn’t he just let me go?”

    “You’re the best,” she said softly. “His approval ratings went up once you came on. People tend to like you.” Skylar snorted on the other end but Amber pushed on. “This is a difficult time. Good looks and charm are helpful.”

    “I feel like we’re waiting. We haven’t offered the press much, and they’re going to keep digging. They’re going to find that guy, Timothy Hayes, and offer him enough money to get him to talk.”