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I went still against him. Tyson caught the shift immediately, turning to follow my gaze.

“I’m so done with this,” I muttered.

Sophie’s sneer appeared the moment she got close enough to see Tyson behind me. “Don’t you get tired of jumping from one man to the next?”

I sighed, rolling my eyes at her childish approach. “I don’t know. Did you?”

Her face flushed with anger. “You think leaving makes you brave? You ran. I’m the one who stayed and dealt with the fallout of your little stunt at the reception.”

“My stunt?”

“Joel left me because of it. I’m raising a baby alone. Mom’s getting worse. And you’re here playing house while I handle everything.”

And there it was. The truth laid bare. She wasn’t sorry about the affair. She was furious she got caught and mad that there were consequences. Pissed that I’d exposed her instead of quietly accepting the humiliation.

“Sophie,” I said slowly, “you need to leave Cedarbrook.”

“Make me.”

I smiled, and watched her confidence falter. “I already destroyed your reputation and your marriage with one recording. Don’t test what I’ll do with a whole town.”

She shrieked with rage, turned around and left.

The next morning, I found a note slipped under my door. Sophie’s handwriting, still perfect even in rage:

“Mom’s dying, and you’ve upset her even more than usual. If anything happens to her, it’s your fault. You’ll come home eventually. And when you do, I’ll be there. The one who stayed.”

My hands shook as I read it. Not because Sophie scared me, but because she was right about one thing.

Mom was dying.

And I would have to go back eventually.

21

— • —

Sam

Saturday night had me changing outfits three times before settling on jeans and a sweater that Noa immediately declared “perfect for meeting Grandma.” The five-year-old had appointed herself my personal Calloway family guide for the drive over.

“Grandma hugs too long but in a good way,” Noa explained from the backseat, ticking points off on her fingers. “Grandpa pretends he doesn’t like anyone but he actually loves everyone. Uncle Patrick is a cop and he asks lots of questions. Uncle Finn is the baby and he says inappropriate things. And Auntie Rose already knows everything about you because I told her.”

“Everything?” I glanced at Tyson, who was trying not to laugh.

“I may have mentioned you a few times at school,” he admitted. “Noa too.”

“A few times,” Noa scoffed. “Daddy talks about you all the time. Auntie Rose says he’s in-suffer-able.”

“Noa!”

“That’s what she said!”

The Calloway house was a sprawling two-story that had clearly been added onto over the years. Warm light spilled from every window, and I could hear laughter before we even reached the door. Noa was already halfway out of her car seat before Tyson killed the engine, bouncing with the specific energy of a child about to unleash herself on grandparents who spoiled her rotten.

“Remember,” she told me seriously, taking my hand as we walked up the path, “Grandpa pretends he doesn’t like anyone. It’s not true.”

“Noted.”