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Charity: About as well as I deserve.
Faith: You deserve awesomeness.
Charity: I call bullshit.
Heart heavy, Faith stared at the ceiling and wondered how long it would take before her baby sister stopped holding herself accountable for someone else’s wrongdoing. Three years had passed, and she’d still not been back to the bay. This weekend would be the first time she visited since her divorce. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be another three years before her next visit.
Shaneand the boys loaded groceries into the back of their car. Hunter was thrilled by his chocolate bar, but Dylan was in a sour mood, and Shane didn’t know why.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked as they drove to their villa near the waterfront.
Dylan shrugged and grunted in the way only boys of a certain age could.
“Sorry, I don’t speak grunt.”
Dylan glared, his lower lip thrust out. “It’s weird that Faith just happened to run into us there,” he said with the same enthusiasm he might use to talk about an upcoming dental appointment. “Isn’t it a bit strange that she was there at the same time as us?”
Startled by the topic, Shane took a few moments to collect his thoughts. “I don’t think it’s particularly strange,” he said, wondering what had brought this on. “We live in a small place. We’re bound to run into people we know when we do the groceries. Especially in the evening, after most people have finished work for the day.”
“If you say so.” Dylan didn’t seem convinced.
Shane pulled into their driveway and parked, turning to face his son. “Well, what do you think?”
Dylan picked at the sleeve of his shirt. “I dunno. She just seems to have a lot of drama.”
“Who? Faith?” He frowned. He’d never thought her particularly dramatic, and the comment was rich coming from Dylan, considering who his mother was.
“Yeah.”
It seemed like something about Faith had really gotten under Dylan’s skin today.
“I thought you liked her.”
Looking out the window, Dylan refused to make eye contact. “I did when she was just the babysitter.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Had Dylan gotten wind of their fake relationship? They’d been careful, and he’d made sure not to say or do anything the boys might misinterpret. Whatever the case, they weren’t having this conversation in the car, in front of Hunter.
“All right, time to head in. You boys going to help me? I reckon we can make it in one trip.”
“Yeah!” Hunter cried, running around to the trunk. Shane followed, waiting for Dylan to begrudgingly leave his seat so he could lock up. With a team effort, they managed to get everything inside and packed into the pantry.
“Dylan, can you help Hunt pack his school bag for tomorrow while I make dinner?”
Behind him, the refrigerator door slammed. Shane whirled around.
“I’ll do it later,” Dylan snapped and stormed off. A moment later, his door crashed shut. Shane stared after him in stunned silence.
Whoa, what was that about?
Hunter’s eyes widened and his lower lip trembled. “Daddy, why is Dylan mad?”
Shane rested a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know, buddy. But I promise it has nothing to do with you, okay?”
“He didn’t want to help me.” Hunter’s voice quavered, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears. He idolized his older brother, and usually that was a good thing. Dylan was a pleasant, reliable kid. Normally. But something was going on with him at the moment, and Shane intended to get to the bottom of it.
