Page 55 of Starlight Bay

But I couldn’t. It wasn’t the right thing—for her, for Huddy. The only person winning in that equation would be me and for how long? Until she realized she’d made a huge mistake and bailed, just like Hudson’s mother?

No. Not this time.

“I’m sorry, Lana. I really am. I wish you all the best.”

Then I walked back into the house before I changed my mind. I stood in the foyer, barely breathing, watching her brushaway her tears before climbing onto her bike and riding away into the sunset.

CHAPTER 16

LANA

Bastard.The mantra rang through my head the entire ride home. I took the long way, too, because I couldn’t stop crying.

Damn you, Violet.

Everything my mother touched turned to ash. I finally had a good relationship with a solid guy, then my mother swooped into town and screwed it up.

And I couldn’t fix it.

Grant shut me out. He thought Violet was right, so what could I do?

I pulled into the drive, parking my bike, then trudged into the house. I hoped Bethany and Violet were still at dinner; the last thing I wanted to do was talk about what had just gone down.

The door was still closed. At least that was good news; they were still out.

I scurried to my bedroom, shoved all Violet’s shit back into her suitcase, zipped it shut, and slammed it into Bethany’s room. She could deal with her tonight, I didn’t even care. Beth would get over it.

I needed a shower, but I didn’t want to risk running into them if they came home soon. So I settled for just throwing on my pjs and brushing my teeth. Afterwards, I changed my sheets (Violet’s signature scent was apparently eau de summer camp), then crawled into my bed, curling up into a tight ball and crying myself to sleep.

CHAPTER 17

GRANT

After the argument with Lana, I was in a pissy mood. I tried not to take it out on Huddy, but it was so damn hard. I read him one bedtime story and tucked him in, but then he asked for water thirteen times and I lost my patience.

“I’m sorry, bud, I didn’t mean to yell. You shouldn’t have any more water, though,” I said in a firm voice.

“It’s okay, Daddy,” he said, muffling into his pillow. Then he sniffed.

Shit.I’d made everyone cry today.

I sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his back, like I did every time he had trouble sleeping.

“What’s wrong, bud? Why can’t you sleep?”

“I miss Lana.”

My chest squeezed, my throat thick. “Didn’t you see her today at lessons?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“So why do you miss her now? You’ll see her tomorrow.”

“I heard you yelling at her, Daddy.”

“What?” I asked, frowning down at him. “When?”

“After my bath. I ran out to say hi to you and I heard you guys fighting.”

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