It was taking a great deal of self-control to not let his somber mood take over. He didn’t want there to be any dark spots on their trip this weekend.

But sometimes things were way out of a person’s control.

He’d just been on the phone with the airline for ten minutes confirming their flights, and when he walked back into the bedroom it was to find it in exactly the same state it had been when he walked out.

The bed was covered in Harper’s clothes, her suitcase sitting in the middle and still just as empty. She was standing in the middle of the room staring down at her phone. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she was chewing on her bottom lip. She was so focused on the device in her hands that she hadn’t even heard him come in.

“What’s wrong?”

His voice made her jump, her phone flying into the air before she caught it again. Her head came up, her worried eyes focusing on him. “Sorry. You scared me.”

“I see that. What’s wrong?” he repeated as he set his phone on the nightstand and crossed the room to her.

She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and started chewing on it again. She was waging the debate of whether or not to tell him, deciding if it was important or not. But anything that was upsetting her this much was clearly important.

“The truth, honey. Remember our agreement, no barriers good, bad, or ugly.” He reached up, pulling her bottom lip from her teeth.

“Oh, it’s ugly all right.”

Great. He’d had to share his own bit of ugly news with her last week with the whole Kiki debacle in Louisiana. But he wasn’t keeping anything like that from Harper. That was how things got out of hand.

“Have I ever told you about Bethelda Grimshaw?”

“She a villain from a kid’s book?”

A small laugh escaped Harper’s mouth, but it did nothing to counteract the look in her eyes. “Half of that is correct. She’s a villain all right, but she isn’t fictional. No matter how much I wish that were the case. She’s from Mirabelle and she writes this blog.”

“What kind of blog?”

“Where she drags other people from town through the mud.”

“What do you mean?”

She didn’t say anything, just handed over her phone. And as Liam read, his ears started ringing.

THE GRIM TRUTH BREAKING UP ISN’T SO HARD TO DO AND NEITHER IS MOVING ON

It’s only been a handful of months since Voluptuous V.’s fiancé (Human Ken Doll) ran out of town and left her high and dry. As we all know, he had absolutely no desire to walk down the aisle and commit to the woman for the rest of his life.

Completely understandable if you ask me especially as it didn’t take VV any time at all to find another man to fill her bed. And who is this mystery man you ask? Well, as to that I’m still unsure because Scruff McGruff is most definitely not from around here.

I know, I know I’ve been a tad bit outspoken when it comes to others invading our quaint little town. Really, what can I say? I’m a traditionalist. And I know that I’m not the only one who feels this way, either.

But I digress. That is a different rant for a different day. Back to the real topic at hand: who is this man?

I’ve spotted McGruff a handful of times over the last couple of weeks, but not consistently. He blows in and out of town with the wind. But maybe that’s what it takes for VV to keep a man. If he isn’t around her for long periods of time he can handle her/the relationship.

If we can even classify it as a relationship.

This little affair will probably be over soon enough as it is. Once McGruff is finished fooling around, he will blow out of town like the last man in VV’s life.

And he won’t be looking back, either, because the view is starting to look a little rough around the edges. VV is starting to pack on the pounds again and it isn’t a pretty sight.

But to each their own, maybe McGruff is into that sort of thing…which just makes me question him all the more. And this is why it would be good to know who he is while he’s still around.

So if any of my loyal readers have any ideas, you let me know. I’d be more than happy to spread the word as to who VV is currently spreading it for.

“Voluptuous V? What the hell is this?” He looked up at Harper, rage boiling in his veins. “Is this a joke?”

“I wish it was. She started doing it years ago. Her way of…” She trailed off and shrugged, unsure. “I don’t even know what. Maybe it’s her way of getting back at the world for someone who slighted her. Last week she came in for a massage and I just knew I was going to be popping up in her headlines again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. She had fodder for weeks after Brad left. And I’ve been on there a number of times over the years. This isn’t the first time she’s called me fat or implied that I’m a whore.”

This was the biggest bunch of bullshit he’d ever read in his life, and he’d been in the tabloids before, so he knew bullshit. “How does she get away with it?”

“She says it’s all fiction. Though everyone knows exactly who she’s talking about. Which is surprising as no one claims to read it, yet they always know what’s going on.”

“You read it regularly?”

“No, I don’t.” She shook her head. “One of my coworkers texted it to me. She thought I might want to know about Bethelda’s call to arms to figure out who you are. I’m actually surprised she didn’t know the answer to that yet. But as my friends and family won’t be talking to her, it’s going to take someone else recognizing you. Which, you know, is really just a matter of time at this point.”

The worry in her eyes was more than he could take. “Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest as he pressed his nose to her hair. It managed to have a calming effect on his entire body.

And really, when it came down to it? All of this outside nonsense was insignificant. What was important was the woman in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she kissed his neck.

He moved back just far enough to look down into her face. “Why in the world are you apologizing to me?”

“Liam, once she figures out who you are, it’s going to go much further than just some local blog. And when she gets her hands on the fact that I’m pregnant? I don’t even want to know.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “I flat out refuse to let whoever the hell this woman is mess with our relationship. I refuse to let anybody mess with it. People can write whatever they want to write. At the end of the day, we both know the truth.”

“We do.” She nodded.

“And what’s the truth?” He cradled her jaw in his hand, tracing her cheek with his thumb.

“Are you testing me?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Just making sure you remember. What’s the truth, Harper?”

“That I love you and you love me.”

“Exactly. Everything else isn’t important. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and turned, leading her to the bathroom. “We aren’t letting anyone put a dark smudge on this trip. We’re ending on a high note.”

“A high note?”

“Yup, you screaming my name when you come in the shower.”

*  *  *

Bethelda’s little call to arms in figuring out the identity of Liam/Scruff McGruff took seventeen days to finally yield the answer she’d been looking for, and with it a few more facts. It came out the day before Liam was flying back to Mirabelle from Australia.

THE GRIM TRUTH ROCK A BYE, BYE BABY

It’s all fun and games until someone gets knocked up. Yup, that’s right folks, she’s not fat. She’s just pregnant. VV is procreating, Lord help us all. And the knocker-upper? Well, I’m guessing it’s a certain mystery man who has been hanging around our area for the last few weeks. But he isn’t that much of a mystery anymore.

The man in question is actually a country musician (name rhymes with Shmiam Shames) if you feel so inclined to classify him as that. The man doesn’t have all that much talent to speak of, but at least he’s pretty. Though I will say his taste in women is rather questionable.