She squats down to talk with him. It’s too loud to hear what she’s saying, but her smile is a mile wide. It only makes her brown eyes brighter, and I hate that it makes her prettier.I’m surprised she’s in jeans and a T-shirt today. Was she out at the house? We closed today, so I’d imagine she’d want to get inside it as soon as she can.
She better have gotten a tetanus shot recently. She’s going to end up hurting herself. It’s just fucking reckless of her to have bought such a run-down place. Why would she have thought this was a good idea?
Her gaze suddenly clashes with mine. That pretty smile is gone in an instant, and her face pinches at the sight of me.
Yeah, well, the feeling is mutual.
I move around the room to say hello to Gray and Emmett.
“Any news?” Grayson asks.
“Nothing yet.”
Emmett runs his hand through his hair. “What a nightmare. I can’t even imagine.”
“I was thinking how grateful I was that London isn’t in school yet. Does that make me a shitty friend?” Grayson grimaces.
Emmett taps him on the shoulder. “Nah, we’re all thinking some form of the same thing. Doesn’t mean we can’t be here for Holt and Gia.”
Looking across the room, Farrah has all the kids giggling through a game of Simon Says. I scoff at them. “Not really time for fun and games.”
Grayson gives me a look. “You’d rather Finn be worrying about his best friends? I’d prefer if London didn’t realize that something bad is happening right now.”
I grunt. He might have a point.
“Yeah, I might have to buy her a bottle of wine or something because Eli and Emma were freaking out on the way over here,” Emmett says.
“You’re going to need to solve this problem you have with Farrah,” Gray says seriously. “She’s never done anything wrongto you, so figure out why she’s triggering your anger and fix it.”
I whip my head toward Gray. He very rarely speaks about anything with any amount of seriousness. The fact that he’s calling me out right now means I should probably pay attention to what he’s saying.
Instead of responding, I nod at him. I’m not even sure what I could say. He’s right. There’s something about her that triggers my anger, and I haven’t been able to pinpoint it yet.
Part of me wants to push her until she breaks open and shows all her pieces to me at once. That fairy-tale princess facade she wears isn’t her true self. I have enough trauma to see that clearly. But figuring out exactly why that bothers me is going to take some soul-searching, and I’ve never been much good at that.
CHAPTER 11
Farrah
“Thank you for entertaining the littles,” Muriel says with a small smile. They’re all sitting at the table, eating the cookies they made with Stan. Emmett’s daughter Emma is currently telling a big story that has the whole group of kids enraptured.
The mood in the house has settled into one of relief. Holt and Gia found the girls and are going to pick them up now. From all accounts, they’re fine, but I think we’ll feel better about it when we see them in person.
Holt said they’re going to bring the girls here once they’re done talking to the police. His mother-in-law snuck the girls out of school without telling anyone. They found them at a cabin Holt’s in-laws own up in the mountains. We’re still not sure what the entire story is at this point, just that this whole situation is beyond messed up.
“They made it easy,” I respond to Muriel.
“Well, I know we all appreciate it. Just because you work with kids every day doesn’t mean you want to play babysitter.”
Her astute observation makes me like her even more than Ialready did. “It’s only when it feels expected that it grates on the nerves.”
“You’re one of the good ones, sweetheart.” Muriel exhales a long breath, patting my hand. “Today was a tough day. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this worried. The last time was when the boys were teenagers. I swear they did their best to kill me.”
“Now, that’s just not true.” Nix comes to sit next to his mom on the couch. “A minor heart palpitation, maybe, but never kill.”
I laugh at his teasing. Nix and I have become friends since he dropped me off after the bonfire a few weeks ago. He’s got a great sense of humor but is a total playboy. I think he decided to be my friend when he looked at me expectantly outside of my apartment, and I just looked back at him in sheer confusion. He started laughing and said, “You’re the first woman I’ve given a ride to who didn’t try to coax me into their bed.”
I responded with a smirk. “And I’m sure saying no to them is an absolute hardship.”
