A warning.
And I’m not backing down.
I text the family thread the second Bruce disappears into the trees.
Family meeting. Urgent.
Please. I know it’s early and everyone has a million things to do, but hopefully it’s early enough that you can all pull it off.
Dad
How soon can everyone get to the house?
Goldie
I’ll be there in fifteen.
Milo
Same here.
Tully
I’ll be there. Thank God I’m in town.
Camden
Juju and I’ll head right over.
Noah
I’ll get the coffee started if the grandmas aren’t already on it.
Juju
I’ll bring some pastries.
Ava
I’ll be there soon too.
I exhale with relief. Whatever happens next, I’m not dealing with it alone.
I gun the car back toward the Airbnb, checking my mirrors every thirty seconds to make sure I’m not being followed. My pulse doesn’t settle, not even when I pull into the little two-car garage attached to the lake house. I jog inside, heart hammering, and there they are—Dahlia and Chloe at the dining table, fresh-faced, eating bagels with cream cheese, sunlight dancing off the lake behind them. Picture-perfect, with no idea that everything just went topsy-turvy.
Dahlia looks up, and her smile dies.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, standing when she sees my expression.
“Your dad paid me a visit.” The words scrape out of my throat. “It didn’t go well.”
She pales and holds on to my arm.
“He threatened me out on the water this morning. I called a family meeting, and…I think you and Chloe should come with me.”
For a second she just stares at me—breathing shallow, eyes wide—then she nods quickly.
“Okay,” she whispers. Then louder, to Chloe, “Baby girl, we need to get ready to go.”
