Page 47 of Made for Mayhem

I hummed, leaning back against the wall as I watched Jace help Junie steal a second cookie when no one was looking. That used to be my job—the fun, carefree aunt—but now I’d have to be the responsible one, wouldn’t I?

“Did you know her?” I asked. “Violet, I mean.”

Emmy shook her head. “Not well. By the time I moved here last fall, your sister didn’t leave the house much. I met her a few times at the hospital.”

At the word hospital, something sharp caught in my chest.

“She never told me,” I whispered, letting loose the one thing I hadn’t admitted yet. “I didn’t even know she was sick until… until it was already over.”

Emmy didn’t answer right away. She just watched the group—Beckett ruffling Jace’s hair, Miles teasing Junie, Ty doing that half-grin at something Delgado said.

“She talked about you,” Emmy said finally. “That she knew you’d come. That you’d know how to make Junie happier than anyone. She also asked me to take good care of you. Said you might need a friend.”

A tear slid down my cheek before I could stop it. I swiped it away fast and tugged the brim of Ty’s hat lower.

Damn you, Violet. Still taking care of me.

Emmy’s shoulder brushed mine. “For what it’s worth,” she said, “I like you. I would have befriended you no matter what.”

The words shouldn’t have made my throat tighten, but they did. “Yeah,” I rasped, still half-hidden under the brim of Ty’s hat. “I think I can handle that.”

When I finally lifted my head, Ty’s gaze was already on me from across the room.

He didn’t come over. Didn’t ask if I was okay. Just stayed where he was, watching me like he’d clocked the moment my shoulders tightened.

For a split second, I wished he was close enough to take my hand like he had earlier today—that steady, grounding touch that asked nothing of me.

But he didn’t move. And somehow, that felt just as intentional.

I wasn’t running from reality. I was getting through today.

The courthouse.

The paperwork.

Junie.

There would be a moment I couldn’t outrun the fact that Violet was gone.

Just… not yet.

And Ty didn’t seem to mind waiting.

By the time the food was demolished, the kitchen quieted down. The teens drifted out one by one—Miles muttering something about an essay he needed to finish for summer school, Delgado promising Beckett he wouldn’t skip work again, and Molly rolling her eyes like she’d heard that lie before.

Junie leaned against the counter, heavy-lidded and yawning, the crash from the long day catching up to her. Jace ruffled her hair before heading upstairs, and she smiled after him, slow and sleepy.

“She’s toast,” Ty said from behind me, and the warmth in his voice slid straight under my skin.

We said quick goodbyes, and then the three of us stepped out into the cool night. Ty opened the passenger door of the truck and helped Junie climb into the back, buckling her into her booster seat with a practiced ease that said he’d done this before.

Her stuffed rabbit waited for her, propped neatly in the corner. Junie sighed when she saw it, and she tucked it into the crook of her arm. Within seconds, she sank against the seat, already half asleep.

As Ty shut the door, I whispered, “You planned that.”

He shrugged. “She’s cranky when she’s tired. I value my life.”

I chuckled, the sound easing some of the tightness in my chest. We climbed into the cab, and as he pulled onto River Street, the lights from the shops reflected across the windshield. Linwood at sunset belonged on a postcard, pinks and oranges sinking over the mountains.