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I held Bear when he fell off his scooter and got a pebble lodged in his knee. He screamed and cried until Hudson rode in from the field and scooped him up. His blood and snot stained my white sundress. Istillthink about his painful cries when I put that dress on.
I stroked my hand through Bear’s hair when he was an infant in a bassinet the day Hudson andshe who we do not mentionbrought him home.
Me.
Not Tiffani.
I’ve been a collector of Hudson’s details for the last five years.
Not Tiffani.
“Ev, I just came by to offer to stay with Bear while you run into town to get things from the market.” I swipe my hand through his hair. “If you help me and my sisters set up the canopies, I’ll skip stones with you at the creek for two hours on Sunday.” I hold out my pinkie, offering him a promise.
Bear bounces. “Please. Can I stay with Dolly? Pretty please?”
I smile at Tiffani. “You can spend the morning with Everly getting ready for the farmers market. Hudson will be so grateful.” Hudson won’t give a shit that Tiffani rode shotgun while Everly did the work, collecting invoices, taking payments, gathering supplies, picking up ice and food. More than that? I want her away from me.
And I don’t trust her setting up the farmers market. I don’t want her lying, grubby hands on the canopies, on thetables– I don’t even want her breathing the air on this property if I’m being honest. But I can’t control where she goes and breathes, unfortunately, so the next best option is shoving her off on Everly.
I love Ev, but she made a mistake bringing this woman around. And today she will have to take her punishment with her as she runs errands.
Fair is fair.
Bear slips his hand in mine. “Wanna go now?”
I shoot him a wink. “Soon. I thought I’d grab a cup of coffee while I’m here.” Typically, I’d be sneaking into this house ten minutes from now, licking my way through his dirty dishes in the sink on my way to the bathroom. But because he hasn’t been here today and his toothbrush is with him, I’m here now.
I only drink coffee if it’s been in his mouth, otherwise it’s disgusting, but I’ll take one for the team.
“Oh, I’ll brew you a cup. I got that single-serve machine for Hudson last Christmas, remember?” Ev asks, shoving a stack of envelopes in her purse. The Feed ‘n’ Seed passes through my mind. “Oh,” I snap my fingers, pretending a memory has returned, “I’m supposed to pass a message to Jade, from Hud. He said to tell her, I got the note and the answer is never.”
Ev wrinkles her nose. “Never?”
I smile. “GMO feed. It’s cheaper, apparently, and she was looking to unload some.” I shrug.
“Got the note, never,” Everly nods, repeating. “Okay, I’ll tell her.”
She slides a coffee pod into the machine and places amug beneath. I turn to Tiffani, who is tapping away on her phone screen.Rude.You’re with people, put your phone down.
“So you and Everly met in college?” I say, mentally cracking my knuckles. But I need Everly to hear Tiffani’s response. She’ll lie, no doubt, but it’showshe lies that Ev will catch on to. Everly is sharp, and she was the first person to notice something going on with Hudson’s ex years back.
I sip my coffee when she passes it to me, quickly make sure the mug isn’t a keepsake, and drop it, watching glass and coffee go everywhere.
“Oh my gosh!” I cry, leaping up. I hold my palms out, stopping Ev who is already armed with a roll of paper towels. “No, let me.”
“You’re okay? You didn’t get burned?” she asks, bending to collect the glass. Unsurprisingly, Tiffani stays seated. Ev grabs a big bag, and together we pick up glass. She doesn’t even seem annoyed.
I can’t wait until she’s officially my sister.
“So while we clean, Tiffani, tell me about college and meeting Everly,” I say as I drop the broken handle into the bag.
Tiffani places her phone on the counter, her smile neatly in place.For now, bitch, for now.“Well, I transferred as a freshman after the first semester. We lived in the same apartment complex, that’s how I met her.”
I already knew that but I say, “Oh yeah? Did you two live together?”
“No,” she laughs, “I always had to live alone. Ilovehaving my space.”
My mind goes to the small house in Reno and the mass of cars parked there. “I get that.” I drop a handful ofcollected shards into the bag, then get to work on the spilled coffee. Everly hands me the paper towels as she moves for the Lysol. From the other room, Bear shouts he’s ready to go to the creek. Me too, buddy.
