"I'll take your word for it," Jake said, blowing out a breath. Hopefully she'd be right and he wouldn't feel like everyone was staring and whispering about him when he next went out in public. He'd been avoiding it for the most part, going out at night and keeping his trips out during the day to a minimum.

"And don't feel like you have to stick around here to take care of me," he added, shaking his head. "I'm all right. You've got school and boys, I'm sure, so don't feel obligated, okay? I'm cool on my own. Won't even get into any trouble without letting you know first."