Page 139

Tom freezes, realizing he’s fucked up.

“You haven’t even bothered to come see her once,” Laurel snaps. “Your parents had Lucy all day Saturday and you didn’t even show up to see her.”

Parents nearby are openly staring now.

Tom notices. Panic flashes quick behind his eyes. Then anger rushes in to cover it. “I was looking for Maggie. I need to find her, and I don’t know what else I can do but look.”

“Where did you look?”

“I don’t need to explain every damn thing I do to you!”

“Well, you’re acing that because you’ve told me absolutely nothing.”

Except lies.

Lucy appears behind the school gates. The second she sees Tom, she stops dead.

Tom sees it too. His face crumples. “Lucy, sweetheart, come here.”

She doesn’t move.

Laurel starts toward her immediately, but Tom grabs her arm.

The second Tom grabs Laurel’s arm, every thought in my head narrows to that contact. All I can hear is blood rushing in my ears.

“Laurel,” he snaps. “You don’t get to shut me out of my own kid’s life because you’re screwing half of Redwood Run.”

The entire pickup lane goes dead quiet.

Laurel stares at him as if he slapped her.

Maybe he did.

Just with words instead of his hand.

I move before thinking about it.

My hand closes around Tom’s wrist hard enough that his grip breaks instantly. “Take your hand off her.”

Very calm.

Which is usually when people should worry most.

Tom jerks against my hold. “Get the fuck off me.”

“No.”

Lucy looks terrified now.

Laurel sees it immediately, rushing to the gates.

“Lucy,” she says softly, bending down, arms open. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Lucy runs straight to her. Laurel folds her into her arms.

Tom watches it happen, and whatever fragile control he had left disappears.

“This is bullshit!” he shouts, yanking his arm to break loose from my grasp. I put on a little more pressure, holding tight as he strains toward them. “You’re turning my daughter against me⁠—”