I caught Mom’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
She shook her head. “It’s yours to tell, Alexandra.”
After a deep breath, I told Natasha about everything that had happened since last Sunday.
As I went on, Natasha’s eyes went wider and wider.
When I finished, she said, “All that happened in aweek?”
I glanced out the window. “Yeah. I guess so. Seems like it’s been longer than that.”
Natasha pointed her finger at me. “Girlie, we’re gonna get this handled.”
“What are you talking about? You can’t—”
“Nate works as a police officer now.”
Mom glanced at Natasha. “You should hold off on that. At least let me tell Cal what you want to do.”
Natasha aimed a skeptical look at Mom. “Those brothers of his gonna handle it? Don’t seem like it’s very well-handled so far.”
“I’m just saying, Nate may be assigned to something else,” Mom said.
“That might be true but he can put in a word or something.”
I leaned forward. “I appreciate that, but Beast, Tundra, and Rafferty have it handled.”
That got me a full dose of side-eye. “You keep saying that, but you got a good head on your shoulders. The idea your roommate was pulling an illegal side hustle and you completely missed it? No, I do not see you missing those signs.”
I sighed, looked out the car window, and watched the trees going by as Mom drove along US 90. “To be fair, I swore Ines was set up, but from everything the brothers tell me, I really did miss the signs.”
Mom made a tsk sound. “From what your father says, Ines was good at leavingnosigns, so don’t beat yourself up.”
“Easier said than done.”
Natasha shook her head. “But to find money in your bedposts? That’s crazy. I bet it was that boy Brantley. If you were still with Porter, I’d have suspected him from the jump.”
“I didn’t know you didn’t like him,” I said.
Natasha looked over her shoulder at me. “I didn’ttrusthim. Whether I like him is irrelevant because whether you like him matters most. Him being suspicious is a different story.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Mom asked.
Natasha chuckled. “You’d have told her. Or worse, you’d have triednotto tell her, which would make it seem likeyoudidn’t like him.”
In the rearview mirror, I saw Mom bite her lower lip. “I love and hate it when you make round-about sense like that.”
“It’s a gift. Are we there yet or are we headed to Baldwin?” Natasha asked.
Mom turned on her blinker. “The turn off is right here.”
Five tables had been pulled together to make one big seating area for all fourteen of us. At the farthest end of the table were Punc and his woman; Yak and his woman Nora; Rage, and Lisa. Seated in the middle of the table were Mickayla, Ryan, and Killian. I sat at the corner next to Dad, Mom sat on his other side. Across from me was Auntie Natasha and Derek.
To start everyone off while we looked at the menu, Lark brought out baskets loaded with biscuits, sweet cornbread, and bacon-jalepeno-cheddar cornbread. I was a sucker for cornbread, and had one of each, but then Mom said Ihadto try the biscuits because they were divine. She wasn’t wrong, but I had every intention of stealing Lark’s recipe for the jalepeño cornbread. And I normally didn’t like jalapeños.
I couldn’t decide between the glazed French toast and the BEG bowl, a bowl of grits topped with bacon and eggs, but Lark decided for me.
“You’re having a bowl because it comes with avocado bread on the side.”
