“Psh. I just don’t believe you.” Mom humphs. She’s long given up trying to get Knox to call her Muriel. She even told him he could call her mom if that helped, but he’s never once called her anything other than Mrs. Basil.
“They’re probably not even livin’ there,” he tells her. “It wouldn’t be safe, let alone comfortable.”
“Holty, you should try to find out who’s out there and see if they could use some help fixing up the place,” Mom suggests.
“I’ll do some digging, but I’ll refer them to a contractor. I don’t need that kind of liability on my head.”
She scoffs. “You’re always thinking like a lawyer.”
“Iama lawyer.”
Mom just rolls her eyes, waving that away as if it doesn’t matter. “Has Lee Lee had any more issues with that kid?”
“Not so far. She does her best to keep her distance, and most of the other teachers are keeping their eyes on him.”
Knox adds, “I told Finn to watch out for Leah too. He told me they’ve been playing together and haven’t been bothered.”
“You’ve done such a good job with him,” Mom says.
Knox’s full beard hides his flush, but not well enough for me to miss it. “Thanks, Mrs. Basil. He makes it easy.”
He glances at me, and I quickly change the subject. “I haven’t heard from Kathy since we had our talk last month.”
Mom squeezes my forearm. “I hate that it’s come to this. Have you said anything to her?”
I shake my head. “I texted her after she accosted Gia on the sidewalk. I told her this isn’t how Hannah would have wanted our relationship to end, and that when she’s ready to talk, we’ll be here. Gia’s the one who encouraged me to send the olive branch.”
“I love that girl,” Mom says.
“Have you thought about getting married again?” Cam asks.
I shrug. “Gia and I have talked about it. Neither of us is opposed to the idea, but we’re also not in any hurry to have a wedding.”
“And you don’t have to be married to have a solid partnership,” Mom says.
“That’s how we feel about it too.”
Reese taps the counter. “We should get back to work.”
We start to pick up our dishes when Mom waves us out of the kitchen. None of us argues, heading in our respective directions to finish our tasks. A few hours go by in a flash, and my regular alarm to pick the girls up from school chimes. I turn it off and keep working. Gia’s getting them and Finn today and is going to bring them out here to give us a little extra time to help.
My phone rings a bit later, a picture of Gia and the girls flashing on the screen. “Hey, Rainbow. You on your way?”
“Holt.” The strain in Gia’s voice makes me stiffen. “Did you pick the girls up?”
“No, are you at the school?”
“Fuck. They’re not here, Holt.”
CHAPTER 40
Gia
Iglance over at Gwen. Her expression matches mine while we stare out the windshield of my car. I’m tempted to text Holt and ask him to come here immediately, but I know he’s busy renovating his parents’ new bedroom right now.
“Should we be concerned?” I ask.
“Let’s see what she has to say first?” Gwen suggests.
