Free Silver Sparks by Starr Ambrose

dragged you into it, too.”
    “They haven’t. At least, nothing more than reciting some old news to prove you come from a degenerate family. They can’t hurt me with what this town already knows and has discussed to death. I’ve been squeaky clean for years, which translates to boring. But the way they’re ripping into you . . . I saw the stories. Brutal is the right word. It’s like they want to hurt you.”
    “They do. From what Rafe implied, his family can control some of the stories. He threatened to make my life miserable.” She led Zoe to the living room and dropped onto the couch, glad to finally be off her feet. “A couple friends said they tried to tell reporters that I wasn’t anything like what those articles said, but they weren’t interested in printing it.” She gave her sister a grateful look. “It’s nice to know I have some support. But you shouldn’t have bought those horrid papers. I resent every dime they’ll make from shredding my private life to ribbons.”
    “I didn’t buy a paper,” Zoe said, sitting beside her. “I read it online.”
    A weak feeling hit her stomach. “I’m on the Internet?”
    Zoe looked apologetic. “Just the entertainment sites.” She winced as she added, “With links.”
    “Great. The gossip section, which is probably what pops up as soon as you turn your computer on.”
    “Well, no, you were after the president’s trip to Europe and that airplane accident. . . .” Her voice trailed off at her sister’s annoyed look.
    Maggie sighed. There was no point in being the only one who hadn’t read it. “What did they say? Was I vilified for being a bar bimbo, or was it about my supposed criminal past? Or maybe they speculated about the mystery man in my love triangle with Rafe?”
    “Uh, no, actually the one I read was about your loose morals and how you go through men like candy. They got a few quotes from some guys you dated, or so they claimed.” She frowned. “I didn’t recognize the names.”
    Maggie’s muscles coiled inward as if she’d taken a punch in the stomach. “You’re kidding. Someone I dated told the press I had loose morals?” Not that she’d always been as discriminating as she should have been in choosing her dates, but it still felt like a betrayal to know that one of them had talked to the tabloids about her. Grabbing her laptop off the coffee table, she shoved it toward Zoe and demanded, “Show me. Find the article. I want to see who said that.”
    Zoe obediently tapped keys and pulled up the article, then turned the computer toward Maggie. Large headlines read, “Rafe’s Accuser Has Questionable Past.”
    “Accuser,” Maggie muttered. “I’d love to give that witless wonder some real accusations to deal with.” Then she began reading.
    It was worse than Zoe had said. “Will Brenton? I never even went out with Will Brenton! And he has the nerve to say I’m an easy lay!” She burned Zoe with a blazing stare. “Did you read this whole thing? This is outrageous! Mitch Rutkowski says I probably slept with half the senior class—what a crock!” Even as promiscuous as she’d been then, the claim was outrageous. “How can they get away with saying this crap? Maybe I should sue them.”
    “I don’t think you have a case if that’s what people told them, and you know it probably is. People in this town will believe anything bad about the Larkin girls.”
    “You’re right,” Maggie grumbled. “And besides, the tabloids are just following where the De Luca family points. Rafe said his family would go after me, and this is what he meant.”
    Zoe’s jaw tightened. “Big deal, we’ve taken hits before. So we fight back. Go after Rafe.”
    Rather than fire her up, the words pricked Maggie like pins, leaving her deflated. “I can’t.”
    “What?” Anger mixed with incredulity as Zoe’s mouth dropped open. “Why not? You know I’ll support you. I’ll do whatever I can.”
    “I appreciate it, but that’s not