“Downstairs.I want you to meet Junie.Properly.”
Cassie’s eyes snapped up.“Uh, no.No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Nash looked at her like she’d lost her mind.“Why the hell not?”
“Because.I mean, look at what happened this morning.She probably thinks…” Her hands lifted helplessly.She didn’t even know what a kid Junie’s age would make of any of it.
“Christ, Cassie, she thinks you’re Con’s sister.”
“And what else does she think?”she asked pointedly.
“Hell,” Nash muttered, eyes rolling toward the ceiling.“She asked if you were my girlfriend—seein’ as how she found us in the kitchen.”He paused, watching her.“…I told her you used to be.”
“And what did she say to that?”
“Her exact words?Somethin’ like, ‘Is there anyone in Clifton who ain’t been your girlfriend?’”
Cassie barked out a laugh before she could stop it.
“Yeah,” Nash said, shaking his head.“The two of you—you’ll be best fuckin’ friends—I’ll put money on it.C'mon, Cas—come meet my goddamn kid.”
Cassie let out a resigned sigh and slid off the bed.At the mirror, she smoothed her hair, tugged her mock neck higher, and made damn sure the marks stayed hidden.Dragging in a breath that wasn’t quite steady, she turned back to Nash.
“And what if she hates me?”
“You lettin’ ten-year-olds scare you now?”he said, opening the door and moving into the hall.“That don’t sound like the Cassie Berry I know.
“Cassie Berry I know used to get so damn mad at me, she’d jump outta my truck while it was still rollin’.”
“Oh my god,” Cassie muttered, swiping the Polaroid off the bed and hurrying into the hall after him.
“Cassie Berry I know swindled half a dozen Reapers on their own damn turf and left me and Con to clean it up.”
Cassie shoved past him, shooting him a look as she started down the stairs.“You can stop anytime now.”
“Cassie Berry I know,” Nash called after her, “pulled the fire alarm on her sixteenth birthday just to get outta school.”
“Did you really do that?”Junie asked.
Cassie stopped short at the bottom of the stairs.Margie and Junie had paused midway to the living room, fresh glasses of sweet tea in hand.Margie eyed Cassie over the rim, fighting a grin.
“Yeah, Cas.Did you really do that?”Nash stopped beside her, nudging her with his elbow.
“Yes, I did,” Cassie replied, side-eyeing Nash.“But in my defense, Junie, it was your daddy’s idea.”
Junie shot Nash a sharp glance.“Is that true?’Cause you’re always tellin’ me to stay outta trouble at school.”
“What do I always say, Junebug—do as I say, not as I do.”
“So you’re just a hypocrite,” Junie replied with a shrug.“Got it.”
Margie barked a laugh into her tea, and Nash sighed like he was already tired.“No.I’m a goddamn parent.It’s different.”
Junie had already moved on—she was eyeing Cassie, arms crossed, one brow raised—looking for all the world like a miniature of her father.
“Do you still do stuff like that?”
Cassie opened her mouth—then shut it.“I’m gonna plead the fifth on that one.”
