“She’s a good kid,” Maisey says as she drops back to her seat. “She really is. The move is just ...”
“I moved six times as a kid,” Kory tells her. “Military brat. It sucks. Sucks worse when you’re a teenager. I get it. Would be really nice if everyone did.”
And now he’s givingmea look.
“Oh no, I don’t need you to bend the rules for us.” Maisey reaches for the mason jar of water or Sprite or maybe straight vodka in front of her and fiddles with it, misinterpreting Kory’s look. The one that meantTell her you get it, too, so you don’t look like such an asshole. “That wouldn’t be fair to anyone who got cut. I understand. This is my problem to deal with, and we’ll make sure she’s signed up for tryouts in the spring.”
“Can’t bend the rulesat all, Flint?” Kory says.
My cheek is twitching again.
I’d say I should’ve stayed home, but that would’ve just delayed this conversation until tomorrow. Maybe next week. “Team’s set. League has roster limits. And the number one thing I need is team players.”
“Junie’s a team player.”
I work overtime to keep my face from questioning that sentence.
June probably is a team player, despite her insistence that she’s a star. I shouldn’t judge a kid based on a bad first day in her new home.
“Why’d you move here?” I ask Maisey. I know what we assume.
But I don’t actuallyknow.
Kory coughs again as he reaches for his coffee cup. Dude drinks it like it’s water. “Nothing like small talk, is there?”
“No, no, it’s okay.” Maisey’s smile gets brittle as she keeps talking. “Like you said, people don’t move here often. And I know I wasn’t here much when my uncle was—was alive, so it’s an understandable question. Why? Why now? Why not sooner?”
“That’s none of our business,” Kory says.
Of course he does. Doesn’t really impact him beyond deciding how much he’ll offer her for the land when she decides to sell.
She tries to beam at Kory, as if there’s no tension at all at this table, but her smile is more brittle than glass. “If we’re going to be friends, then of course it’s your business. Why would you invest your time and energy in me if you thought Junie and I would bail at the first snowflake in December?”
“October,” I correct.
She smiles even brighter at me, andfuck. Doesn’t matter how hard or fake it is, I can’t deny that she has the exact same smile as Tony did.
Genes must be strong in that family.
And I miss that old bastard.
“October! That’s exciting. I love snow.”
I grunt.
Kory chuckles. “You are truly adorable. Let’s talk again in November.”
Swear to God, she’s gonna break her face if she smiles any bigger than what she’s currently beaming at Kory. And I’m starting to think she’s faking it in the hopes of actually feeling it.
There’s something desperate about her.
What thefuckdoes she have to be desperate about?
Tabloids say she got a nice alimony settlement. She has the ranch. Her kid’s pissed at her, but that’ll pass if she’s a decent mother.
If not, June’s in a good place.
She hasthatgoing for her, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
