“I—what?”
I open my mouth, then close it. There is no point. Evelyn Storm did not get to be Evelyn Storm by missing anything.
“It was nothing.”
“Well,” she says gently, “I hope that’s not true. And I was just relieved to know you were safe and sound.”
I stare at the floor, my cheeks burning. “I was.”
She smiles, small and knowing. “Good.”
That’s it. No lecture. No disapproval. Just that.
It almost makes me cry.
I grab a to-go mug from the cabinet and pour myself coffee with shaking hands. “I’m going to meet the girls at Ryse & Shine. You wanna come?”
“No, you go ahead. I’m gonna make your grandfather and Albert some lunch.”
I kiss her cheek, trying to act like my entire world hasn’t tilted on its axis.
Because what happened last night wasn’t nothing.
And deep down, I know it.
Ipush open the door of Ryse & Shine and get hit with the warm, sugary smell of syrup, espresso, and fried dough. Normally, it would make me smile.
Today, it just makes my stomach lurch.
My eyes sweep the café and land immediately on the far corner, where the biggest table sits off to itself. All three of my sisters are already seated.
Every single pair of Storm-girl eyes locks on to me the second I walk in.
So do Imma Jean’s.
She’s behind the counter, hands braced on her hips, her grin as wide as Wyoming itself. There is no hiding from that woman. There never has been.
“Oh hell,” I mutter under my breath.
“I need a mimosa!” I call out as I head toward the table. “A big one.”
Imma Jean laughs, loud and delighted. “Mornin’ to you too, Shelby!”
The girls don’t say a word. They just stare at me as I walk up. For three loaded beats.
Then they all start talking at once.
“Where did you go?”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Do you have any idea how worried we were?”
“We thought you were dead in a ditch!”
“We drove the roads, looking for you, Shell.”
I stop at the end of the table and hold my hands up like I’m surrendering to a firing squad. “Okay, okay, okay. Just … everybody shut up for one second so I can answer—”
