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Tom placed his hand on Zeke’s shoulder. “Calm down, man. Allie’s right. They’re just kids.”
Adam shook himself loose from Zeke’s grasp and scrambled away as far as he could.
Zeke turned to Tom, eyes blazing. “What the fuck do you know about it? The last time I looked you didn’t have a teenage daughter.”
“I know that you need to step away before you do or say something you’re going to regret.”
“Tom’s right,” Allie said. “Let’s go home and talk about this like civilized adults.”
Zeke pointed a finger at Adam. “You,” he said. “Be at my house tomorrow afternoon. One o’clock sharp. And don’t think I can’t find you.”
Adam nodded hastily. He threw a tortured look at Claire then took off in his car toward town.
“Thanks, Daddy,” Claire said in her little girl voice. She’d managed to get her hair back in the ponytail but her cheeks were wet and her eyes were puffy. It was a look Allie was becoming all too familiar with.
“Don’t thank me yet. You’re grounded,” he said.
“For…how long?”
“For as long as I say.”
“I knew it!” Claire turned to Allie. “Didn’t I tell you he’d ground me for life?”
“I’m afraid I’m partially responsible for what’s happened here tonight,” Allie said.
“No, Aunt Allie, it’s my fault. Not yours.” Claire looked at her with eyes that looked so much like Mimi’s. But she was all Zeke’s daughter. Headstrong, impulsive. Why hadn’t Allie seen that before?
“Well, it’s somebody’s fault,” Zeke said looking at Allie. “How about you fill us in on all those details you conveniently left out earlier?”
Allie spilled her guts about everything. Except the part about nearly being arrested by Rusty for a second time. But she told them about Claire’s duplicitousness the night of the
soccer practice, the party at Grayton Beach, and Allie’s decision to let Claire be the one to tell her parents after tonight’s game.
Mimi shook her head in confusion. “So, the minivan didn’t break down? That was all a…cover up?”
Zeke glanced between Allie and Tom. His shrewd eyes took in everything. “What I want to know is how lover boy’s involved in this?”
Allie could feel the instant tension emanating from Tom’s body. “If it wasn’t for Tom, I would have never found Claire. He helped me track her down and he…he thought I’d told you everything. So please don’t blame him for any of this mess.”
“Great! So some fucking stranger knows more about what’s happening in my family than I do.”
“Calm down, Ezequiel,” Mimi said. Using his full name had been a trick of Buela’s. Usually, it helped bring Zeke’s temper down a notch, but not tonight.
“Claire, get in the van. We’re going home,” Zeke said.
Claire crossed her arms over her chest. “Not till I know how long you’re grounding me. Even prisoners deserve to know the length of their sentence.”
Uh-oh. Yep. Definitely Zeke’s daughter.
“Okay. You’re grounded for life. From everything. Happy now?”
“Everything?” Claire’s voice quivered.
“Obviously your father and I will talk to you about this in the morning,” Mimi said.
“You can talk to her all you want,” Zeke said. “She knows we’re done here.”
Claire got in the minivan and made a big show of slamming the door. Allie whipped around to stare at her brother. Who was he? Not the same Zeke she’d known and loved all her life, that was for sure.
