“Are you the anonymous donor?” he asked.
“I am.”
“Mystery solved.” He took the chair across from her desk, just like old times. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Did this visit mean—please, Lord—that Ben was willing to get the ball of their friendship rolling again? She leaned back in her chair and focused solely on him. “How are you?”
“My third period class is causing me migraines.”
“Sometimes there’s not enough patience or Excedrin in the world for this job.”
“How are things with you?” he asked.
“Very well.”Not true.“I’ve been doing a bit of research into my family history.”
“That’s cool.”
“I think you mentioned to me last year that Genevieve did some research into her family history, too. Is that right?”
“Yeah. I know that she and Sam drove to Clayton at one point to look at records. If you need tips, you should reach out to her.”
“Will do.” Genevieve had given Leah her number the day Leah had toured Sebastian’s house....
Sebastian. For the past three days, every thought of him had affected her like a pin skewering a pincushion. The most painful memories were the tender ones. The way he’d looked at her during their weekend together. The irresistible things he’d said.
This is an opportune time to bring your flirtation with Sebastian to a close!
The sound of footsteps reached her, and she turned to see Claire enter her room for tutoring.
Ben tapped twice on Leah’s desk and rose. “I’ll see you later.”
“Thanks for coming by,” she said, meaning it.
“Sure.”
Ben greeted the girl, gave Leah a salute, and departed.
Leah waved Claire into the chair he’d vacated.
A few stains smudged the girl’s sweater. Her eyes were puffy. She’d bitten her nails to the quick and picked off most of her white polish.
“Everything okay?” Leah asked.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“That didn’t sound very convincing.”
“Everything’s mostly okay.”
“What’s the latest with your mom and dad?”
“My mom, um, moved out last weekend. Which is probably the very best thing.” The girl injected a note of levity into the sentence that fell completely flat.
Leah knew what it felt like to be abandoned by your mom, and it didn’t feel like the very best thing. “Did you and Becca and Mason and Annie stay at home with your dad?”
“Uh-huh.”
Had Claire’s mom’s departure made things worse for Claire and her siblings? Would they now have to bear the brunt of their dad’s anger? “Where has your mom gone?”
