Page 4 of Just This Once

Guilty?

“As if she herself had killed him. Because she yelled at him.”

Swallowing, I slunk lower in my chair, not liking the fact that I had something in common with Alec’s bully of a sister.

“She had to be hurting and upset and needed to blame someone for all her pain and guilt,” Matt kept talking. “But shecouldn’t handle blaming herself, and she didn’t know you, so it must’ve been easiest for her to lash out and direct all those frustrated, angry, shameful feelings your way.”

Alec furrowed his brow in confusion, clearly not understanding. So Keene, who was sitting beside him, silently reached over and patted his arm, which seemed to settle Alec more than anything.

“So did you ever—” Matt started to ask, but a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Hey!” Madisyn, one of the other counselors, greeted perkily as she popped her head into the room, smiling wide enough for a set of dimples to appear.

Damien, who had a massive crush on her, straightened in his seat, immediately on high alert.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said as she stepped partially inside. “But we just had a new addition join the center this morning, and she’s ten, so I believe she’d best fit into this group.”

Foster whirled toward Damien with lifted eyebrows. “She? We’re getting agirl?”

I wrinkled my nose in distaste because I didn’t want a girl in the group. We’d never get to have any more guy talk or make fart jokes or any of that cool shit if some girl joined us.

Well, theotherguys wouldn’t. But I didn’t mind listening to them talk and mess around. I occasionally even got a kick out of some of their antics.

But now I wouldn’t even get that if somegirljoined us. Everyone would have to behave.

At the door, Madisyn stepped aside to let in the new addition. I sat up straighter to see better as she announced, “Everyone, this is Hope Langston.”

“Psst.”

Hearing someone’s hiss for attention, I glanced over to find Alec frantically tugging on Keene’s arm, trying to tell him something.

“That’s her,” he whispered, but Keene was too busy listening to Matt ask the girl who she’d lost to hear Alec’s warning.

“My, uh—I lost my dad,” she stumbled out in a wobbly voice. “A year ago.”

Glancing between her and Alec, I absorbed the fact that she had Alec’s rich brown, curly hair and bright blue eyes. Truth be told, she was pretty much a carbon copy of him, but in girl form.

Suddenly understanding whatAlec meant byher, I realized—oh shit—and I whirled toward Thane for help. He could fix anything.

But he was busy looking all sad and sympathetic for Hope Langston, so I had to nudge his leg. Hard.

When he jumped and glanced my way, I hitched my head toward Alec. But Thane only winced in confusion before he went back to listening to Matt welcome the girl.

“Well, we’re happy to have you,” Matt told her as he set a hand on her back and ushered her toward our circle. “How about you sit in this free chair here by Alec?”

“Alec?” Jarring to a halt, the girl lifted her face and darted her gaze around the circle.

The moment her attention settled on him, she froze solid, and her eyes narrowed with ominous intent. “You,” she hissed.

Alec gulped and sank deeper into his seat.

Pointing, she demanded, “What ishedoing here?”

“Oh!” Matt straightened in surprise and then smiled big. “Do you know Alec?”

“No,” she cried, as if the idea of knowing him was preposterous. “I don’t know him at all. I just know he killed my dad.”

“Wha…?” Matt pulled back, startled. “What did you say?”

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