“With the married man you had an affair with?” Charles’s question was no doubt a challenge.

Oh, dear, was that what he’d used? She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She was not defending herself against this ridiculous accusation. She didn’t have to. “Sure. Bring that out and see what happens. You need to do your homework, Charles. Rene, if you’re going to beat him up, do it quick.”

All Rene had to do was take a single step toward his cousin and Charles turned and took off running.

There was a grim look on her husband’s face as he got in the car. “I was tempted to go after him. He promised he wouldn’t ever repeat that lie.”

“How do you know it’s a lie?” She did have a sterling reputation, but hearing Rene’s support warmed her heart. “Maybe I have some scandal in my past.”

He seemed to relax as he put the car in reverse and started the short drive into town. “I wouldn’t care if you did, but rumors could potentially hurt your election chances.”

“Then I can go back to running campaigns.” She actually enjoyed being mayor. She could see herself staying for a while. There was a lot she could do here to help her city. But if they didn’t want her help, she wouldn’t stop or go into hiding. She had a thick skin and a good sense of self-esteem. It was required to do her job. “I assure you no one in DC will pay any mind to that rumor. In fact, if Charles wants to put it out there, he’ll find out that the congressman’s affair was with another woman on the campaign who was a colleague of mine. The original oppo research listed me because the man who did the investigation couldn’t tell the difference between two black women. Charles has bad intel, and it will hurt him, not me. But I love that you had faith in me. Rene, it’s going to be all right. No matter what Charles does. No matter what happens to the company. We’re going to make it through together. We have to rely on each other from here on out.”

“I’ll get a job. You’ll see.” He turned toward the road that led to her house. “We don’t have to worry about a place to live, and I’ve got money in savings, but I would like to save that for a rainy day. We need to be able to take care of Lady.”

She loved that he thought of the dog. Had she worried about him becoming a father? He was going to be a great one.

He really needed to talk to his mom. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, and I sincerely doubt you need to go take Zep’s old job at Guidry’s. Your mother said things she regrets, too. We’ll sit down with her tomorrow and hash this all out as a family. I know you think you need to be perfect to have people love you, but it’s not true. You can make mistakes and we’ll still adore you.”