Nick’s hand tightens into a fist next to Halsey’s shoulder before he forcibly relaxes it. Gracie leans even further over me, telling Halsey fiercely, “We are not responsible for the actions of others, including family.”
Halsey nods, but her expression is full of guilt. “It just feels like I should have known.”
The conversation fizzles out when Randi appears at the table with two pizzas, setting them down in the middle of the table. Once she leaves, the subject turns to a more neutral subject, with Halsey, Gracie, and Bridget swapping stories about the different people who come into their stores—starting with Mrs. Chamberlain.
When the pizza is gone and our drinks are finished, Nick announces, “I’ll get another round.”
“I’ll come with you.” I stand and follow him inside,leaning against the bar as he signals the bartender. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
I give him a firm look. “Don’t play stupid, Nick. It doesn’t suit you. Why the hell would you bring the sister of the guy who attacked Gracie here? You know she’s been struggling since the attack.”
Nick goes still, his eyes flaring before they shift to the window, where we can see the girls at the table. “I didn’t think?—”
“No shit,” I grit out. “Tell me you aren’t doing what I think you’re doing.”
He stills. “Depends on what you think I’m doing.”
I step closer, getting right in his face. “Tell me you aren’t playing that girl, Nick.”
His mouth flattens into a thin line. “I’m not playing anyone, asshole.”
I shake my head, catching the bartender heading toward us out of the corner of my eye. “This isn’t going to end well,” I warn him. “For you or Halsey.”
Nick scoffs, shoving me away from him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He gives me one last look. “Leave it alone, Braxton. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
CHAPTER 37
Gracie
Braxton’s been a constant presence in my life since the accident—since I reopened that door to him. I can’t turn around without tripping over him, but as each day passes, I find I’m minding that fact less and less.
The day he met with Allison’s parents, it felt like something shifted between us. It felt like he was finally accepting the inevitability of what happened that day, even if he will always carry the weight of it.
I’m still riddled with doubt, never sure if I’m doing the right thing from one minute to the next. Braxton hurt me so badly, and I’m not forgetting that, but I can’t deny his proving each day that he is someone I can rely on.
The smell of roast beef fills the warm kitchen as Raewyn checks the meat before closing the oven with her hip. She slips the floral oven mitts off her hands. “Not long now. But it would be so much easier if my air fryer hadn’t mysteriously disappeared.”
My lips twitch. “How does an appliance that big just disappear?”
“The same way a vacuum cleaner does,” she replies dryly as she moves around the kitchen, getting everythingelse ready for dinner. Braxton and Stephen are currently out in the shed—with the missing air fryer—and have been since we arrived an hour ago.
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”
Raewyn shakes her head with a smile. “You just keep doing what you’re doing, sweet girl.”
I look around pointedly. “I’m not doing anything.”
She gives me an arch look. “You’re keeping the chef company, and that’s more important than anything else.”
I grin at her. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Good idea,” she says smartly. “And a lesson my husband and son are still yet to learn.”
“What about Analise?”
“My girl’s the smartest of the bunch. She learned to mind her mother before she learned how to walk.”
