* * *
“Who kicked your puppy?” Kye asked me the next morning as we walked the short distance to Nix’s place.
Harleigh had an appointment in Albany with her therapist but much to his annoyance, Jessa had offered to take her.
“Don’t ask,” I murmured, kicking a stone with my boot.
“But I am asking.”
“I took my grams to that support group yesterday.”
“Oh yeah. How did it go?”
I hesitated, the words teetering on the top of my tongue. But I’d barely digested Grams’ confession about the insurance. I’d spent half the night lying awake, trying to come up with a plan for raising the money that didn’t end up with me in jail or worse.
“Celeste was there,” I said.
“At a support group for MS? What was she doing there?”
“Volunteering apparently. Star student clearly isn’t enough for her, so she needs to be Little Miss Goody Two-shoes as well.”
Kye’s brows furrowed. “Did something happen?”
“Nope. We ignored each other.”
“Very mature of you.”
“I have nothing to say to her.”
“Say to who?” Nix appeared in the doorway.
“Celeste is volunteering at Grams’ new support group.”
“She is?”
“Harleigh didn’t mention it?” I asked.
“No. She hasn’t said much about Celeste, Max, or her dad.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Kye said as we piled into Nix’s car.
“I think she’s finding it hard being Harleigh from The RowandMichael Rowe’s daughter.”
“Yeah, the two don’t exactly go hand-in-hand.”
“Hopefully her therapist can help her work through some stuff, because I feel like every time I try to talk to her, she clams up.” Nix gripped the wheel with both hands before jamming the key in the ignition.
“Going back to Celeste… did you talk to her?”
“No, why the fuck would I do that?”
He shrugged. “After last night—”
“Give it a rest, Wilder. I had enough of Grams quizzing me all night on her new friend.”
“No shit, she met Celeste?” Kye’s eyes glittered with amusement.
“Why are the two of you so obsessed about Celeste all of a sudden? Didn’t think so,” I added when neither of them answered.