She watches me for a second. Then sighs. “Let me figure out the best angle. We’ll hit back smarter than this tabloid trash. But yeah, she’s gotta go. She’s poison, Knox. This is getting out of hand. No more time tothink, okay? It’s time for action.”
I nod, but I already knew that.
I just didn’t realize how badly she’d tainted everything until Josie was gone.
The back door swings open again.
This time, it’s not the produce guy.
It’s Gracie.
She walks in like a shadow, quiet, head down, a reusable shopping tote looped over one arm, her other hand gripping a paper coffee cup so tight the lid crinkles. Her ponytail’s crooked. No makeup. She looks like she hasn’t slept either.
I push off the barstool.
“Gracie,” I say, my voice cracking slightly from disuse. “Where’s Josie?”
She doesn’t stop. Heads straight for the fridge like I’m not even there.
“Please,” I add, moving toward her. “Is she okay? Can you just tell me where she is?”
She pauses. Doesn’t turn around. Just stiffens, like she’s bracing for something. Then she exhales ever so slowly.
“She’s not coming back.”
The words hit me harder than I’m ready for. “What?”
“She’s not coming back to work here, Knox,” Gracie repeats, voice clipped and cold. “That’s all I know.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “That’s not… I mean, is she okay? Is she in Silver Peak? Can I talk to her?”
Gracie finally turns, and her expression is ice.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
That shouldn’t surprise me. It still does.
“I just want to explain?—”
Gracie cuts me off. “Don’t.”
I swallow hard. “Is she leaving town?”
She lifts a brow. “If she is, she hasn’t told me.”
“But you’re her friend,” I press. “You’d know if she was planning something.”
She stares at me for a long beat. “Knox, whatever you’re trying to dig out of me, it’s not gonna happen. I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
I run a hand through my hair, frustration simmering just under the surface. “I just need a chance to fix it.”
“Then maybe you should’ve thought about that before you let her walk out of here crying.”
That shuts me up.
Fuck.
I have todosomething.
