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  Pete would be remaining at the hospital for at least the next two days based on the toxicity in his blood and the dangerously low blood pressure, but after a brief look at Clay’s father in his hospital bed, Gabriella wondered if he’d be returning home at all. Now, the Family Life coordinator seemed to be looking to Gabriella and Clay to step in and help with Mia, as if it made the most sense for them to take responsibility for her care.

  As if they’d all known one another for more than a day. Even Gabriella’s long-standing online relationship with Mia couldn’t have prepared her for meeting the girl face-to-face. And Gabriella sure hadn’t expected to see Clay again, let alone discover his connection to the troubled teen. Still, it wasn’t the kind of situation she could turn her back on. She’d been worried about Mia for weeks.

  “If I could reach my mother,” Mia said to the gray-haired coordinator, leaning on the woman’s wide desk between pamphlets about hospice care and family rights. “I’m sure Mom would let me stay with her for a few days until Pete comes home.”

  Ellen, a sharply dressed professional with steely-silver hair cut in a crisp bob, peered over the file open on her tablet. Gabriella willed the woman to nix that idea. After spending hours on the phone with Mia over the last two years, Gabriella knew Mia’s mom was trouble.

  “I looked into that possibility, but your mother is in a detox facility this week.” The woman spoke in a businesslike manner despite the sensitive nature of the revelation. She tucked some of her silver hair behind one ear, exposing amethyst hoops that matched her purple blazer. “If you are not comfortable with your brother or Ms. Chance, I can contact the social worker who handled your case when you moved out of the foster system. Mrs. Duchesne?”

  Beside Gabriella, Mia went pale. The girl pursed her lips and then let out a slow breath between her teeth.

  “Who said I’m uncomfortable with my brother and his girlfriend?” Mia laid her hand on Gabriella’s forearm.

  Belatedly making Gabriella aware that she was the girlfriend in question.

  “You seemed reluctant to stay with either one of them at the beginning of our conversation,” Ellen reminded her, hazel eyes missing nothing as her glance darted from Clay to Gabriella and then back to Mia. “And as a representative of this facility, I can’t allow you to leave without appropriate supervision—”

  “I’ve known Gabriella for two years.” Mia sat forward in her seat, her whole demeanor shifting from surly teen to responsible grown-up in a flash. She shoved aside the dark strands of hair that curled in all directions after the rain shower, then straightened into a more attentive posture. “She was my mentor in an online support group and gave me direction during the most difficult year of my life. If I sounded unhappy with her earlier, it’s only because my father’s health has me scared.”

  Gabriella resisted the urge to glance over at Clay, but she wondered if he was as impressed—and surprised—at this sudden about-face in his sister’s behavior. Apparently the idea of having Mrs. Duchesne involved in her affairs had the teen worried.

  “That would be acceptable,” Ellen agreed, returning her attention to the tablet. “But my notes also say that Ms. Chance has no permanent residence here and—”

  “That’s not entirely true.” Gabriella had roots here. And—jointly owned with her brother—a home. A plan came together in her mind as she sifted through their options. “My brother is the mayor of Heartache and he’s staying in Franklin this week for the Covington trial.” The case had been in the local papers ever since Covington’s arrest, so Gabriella had no doubt their hospital liaison was well aware of it. “I share ownership of our childhood home in Heartache and there is more than enough room for Mia and me to stay there for a few days while it’s vacant. There is a separate in-law apartment, in fact, if we need to extend our stay after my brother returns.”

  She felt Clay’s gaze on her now.

  “You don’t have to do this,” he warned her in a low voice while the counselor scribbled notes.

  “Someone needs to stand up for her,” she reminded him softly, shooting him a meaningful glare. “Mia needs to know she won’t be abandoned.”

  Gabriella wouldn’t leave the girl with a respite worker in the foster system—not when she could stay with Gabriella temporarily. Zach protected her financial interests and had accumulated a tidy portfolio in the years since he’d started his own business, buying back many of their father’s assets after much of the estate had been seized, including—for a few years—the home, land, and a collection of vehicles. While Gabriella earned very little in her mostly volunteer work, Zach had invested on her behalf for the last decade, insisting her name went on the deed with his when he bought it back at auction. Their mother hadn’t ever wanted to return to Tennessee anyhow, and Zach had helped her make ends meet along with a small pension she had in her name alone.

  “Zachary Chance.” Ellen smiled warmly as she leaned back in her leather chair. “I thought your last name sounded familiar. I remember your brother well from the year he volunteered at a senior center in Heartache where my mother was a long-term resident. His visits meant the world to Hattie Fields and her whole family.”

  There had been a time in Gabriella’s life where it had been difficult to continually hear what a great guy Zach was—especially since she had always felt like it was her fault she’d interrupted the good life he’d started to build in Heartache before her attack. But time and therapy had eased that guilt and now she felt only pride at the way Zach still balanced his good works and volunteering with running a very successful business.

  “I’ll tell Zach.” Gabriella hoped that the people she helped through her support group would one day recall her with the same fondness as Ellen and her mother remembered Zach. But judging the way Mia had blasted her for withholding the truth about her brother, she had her doubts. “So would that arrangement be workable? Mia can stay with me in Heartache for a few days?”

  “As long as Mia is amenable?” Ellen looked to Mia, who nodded quickly. “And an upstanding representative of her family?” Ellen’s silver bob swished as she turned to glance at Clay.

  Clayton’s dark eyes lingered on Gabriella. Her skin pricked with awareness at his attention even as she resented his lack of involvement where Mia was concerned. How could he bear to see his sister handed off to strangers, especially after all the hardship and upheaval she’d already had in her young life?

  “That will be fine.” He shifted in his seat, turning to face Ellen. “For now, at least. If my father doesn’t make a full recovery, we may have no choice but to investigate other options.” He signed a release form that Ellen slid across the desk. “Gabriella’s stay in Heartache is only temporary.”

  The reminder turned a solemn group even more so as they filed out of Ellen’s office. Gabriella wasn’t sure if Clay had brought up that fact as a heads-up to Mia that she couldn’t hide from the reality of Pete’s declining health forever. Or had Clay mentioned the timeline as a none-too-subtle reminder to Gabriella that Mia wasn’t her business?

  Either way, the words put a wall between them as they returned to the waiting area where a nurse informed Clayton and Mia that they could see Pete now that he’d been moved to his room.

  Gabriella hesitated for a moment, but followed them to the room the nurse indicated. Things might be awkward between her and both Clayton and Mia, but she suspected they were even more awkward between the siblings who’d never met before today. Still, she hung back while the two stood over the old man’s bed.

  Actually she didn’t think Pete was all that old, but the years had taken a hard toll on the yellowed face that rested on a crisp white hospital pillow. IVs hung on a metal stand above his head, and Mia checked the labels on both of them before smoothing the sheet across the pale blue hospital gown that covered her father’s thin chest.

  Something about that gesture made Gabriella’
s throat catch. The teen had a complicated relationship with her father—she’d shared her confusion with Gabriella about meeting him for the first time as a fourteen-year-old, and she didn’t know what to make of his battle to win custody of her. But Mia was ultimately grateful to Pete for claiming her, and the evidence of that was clear in her tender touch of the weathered forehead before she planted a kiss there.

  Mia looked younger as she stood over him, her expression vulnerable. Clay, on the other side of the bed, stood rigid. No doubt his emotions were even more complicated than those Mia dealt with. But then, he’d lived with a much different man than the sobered-up Pete Yancy Mia had gotten to know.

  Clay blamed his father for his brother Eddy’s death. And, probably, a whole lot more that Gabriella didn’t know about. But didn’t it soften his heart just a little to see how much it meant to Mia to have found a home with their father? Didn’t it sway him to want to be a part of her life, too?

  When a nurse returned to take Pete’s vital signs, she suggested they return the next day since visiting hours were coming to a close and they considered Pete stable for the night.

  They left the hospital quietly and drove in silence to retrieve Mia’s things for school from Pete’s house. Mia huddled in a corner of the backseat with her hoodie pulled up over her head, her earbuds in her ears moments after they left the building.

  Of course, it wasn’t just the unusual dynamics of the housing situation that made for an awkward car ride. Gabriella understood that Pete Yancy’s health scare would mean very different things to Mia and Clay. For Clay, losing his father meant he’d forever miss out on the chance to make peace with the old man. As for Mia, she’d lose what security she’d found with him in the last six months. No matter that the girl’s relationship was more that of a caretaker than a daughter, at least the home life was stable.

  Once they arrived at Pete’s darkened residence, Mia bolted from the car. The rain had stopped, but the night was all the colder for the storm, a chilly wind whipping into the rental vehicle during the few moments the door was open. Gabriella stared down at the Family Life Services paperwork on the front seat between her and Clayton, knowing that it ought to be his name in the blank for temporary guardian.

  She peered across at Clay, sprawled in the passenger seat.

  “I hope you understand why I offered to watch over Mia.” Gabby had mixed feelings of her own about being back in the Chance house where she’d spent the summer from hell. So much had gone wrong there.

  Her father’s arrest. Her mother’s abandonment when Gabriella had needed her most. The inappropriate online exchanges with her attacker. The assault in the woods. The suicide attempt.

  She had good reasons for not going back there. But for Mia’s sake, she would brave those old ghosts.

  Clay kept his focus trained on his father’s house with the sagging porch as one light after another flipped on inside.

  “I’d like to stay with you.” He drummed his knuckles on the passenger-side window in a slow rhythm. “I’m worried about Mia’s state of mind. She seemed to agree to this arrangement out of desperation to avoid her social worker and it doesn’t give me a good feeling. What if she runs away?”

  Or worse.

  The girl didn’t seem suicidal, but Gabby knew firsthand how fast events could escalate in a teen’s eyes. She understood the way desperation could drive people to the brink.

  On the other hand, she recognized how Clayton’s presence would shift a dynamic in her own relationship with him. And while Mia’s safety was her highest priority right now, Gabriella couldn’t deny a heightened sense of awareness of the man beside her—a sensation that was only going to increase by sharing a roof with him even for a few days. Still...if she wanted Clay to be a part of Mia’s life, she couldn’t deny that this might be a step in the right direction.

  “I’m worried about Mia, too,” she admitted, tracing a decorative band of leather around the padded steering wheel while they waited for the teen to return. “And I agree it would be best to have more than one set of eyes on her right now, especially since she’s lost her trust in me.” Remembering their argument pained her. “But it might be awkward for the three of us—”

  “Not at all.” Clayton straightened in his seat, giving her his full attention. “I stayed with Zach and Heather at the house all last week, so I know the layout. There’s plenty of room. Especially if one of us takes the in-law addition.” He shrugged. “Put me anywhere. I just want to help out with Mia. This could be a good opportunity to get to know her. If Pete doesn’t make it out of the hospital, it’s going to be important that I’ve forged some kind of relationship with her to facilitate her next steps.”

  He didn’t need to spell out those next steps. He’d told her often enough what he thought the best solution would be for Mia. But Gabriella tamped down her frustration, still hoping he would somehow change his mind once he got to know his sister.

  Pete’s house went dark and Mia stepped onto the lopsided porch, backpacks slung over each of her shoulders. Gabriella watched her stride through the headlight beams, her head down.

  “Of course.” Gabriella understood it was for the best. And maybe having Clayton around would ease some of her own discomfort at having to stay in that house with so many bad memories. “I’d rather have the in-law suite, if you don’t mind. There are two bedrooms over there.” One for her and one for Mia. “And less memories.”

  This week when she was facing so much of her past at Jeremy Covington’s trial, she wasn’t ready to set foot in the childhood bedroom where she’d tried to end her life. Not yet. Not tonight.

  Clayton nodded his understanding as Mia climbed into the car, thunking each backpack down on the floor at her feet. Music blared from her earbuds loudly enough to make it clear she wanted to tune out her companions.

  Maybe that was why Clay quietly continued their conversation.

  “I can make a run over to the motel to pick up some things for both of us if you want to head to your brother’s with Mia.” He scooped her room key out of the cup holder on the dash. “If you’re okay with that?”

  “That would be great, actually.” She relaxed a little at the suggestion and backed the rental out of the gravel driveway. “This day has drained me.”

  And tomorrow would be worse as the prosecuting attorney presented digital evidence of Covington’s cyber stalking pattern. Would it include transcripts of her exchanges with him when she thought Clay was on the other end of the messages?

  She hoped she hadn’t taken on too much this trip. Just weathering the trial would have been a challenge. But stepping into Mia’s world had brought a whole new host of problems. While Gabriella felt compelled to help someone she’d invested in through her support group, she would have never guessed how deeply she’d be drawn into the teen’s tumultuous life.

  “I’ll be back in less than an hour,” Clay assured her. “I’ll pick up some takeout from the pizza shop on my way. They have vegetarian options and you must be hungry.”

  Was she? She’d been so caught up in the emotions of the day she hadn’t noticed.

  “Thank you,” Gabriella said automatically. “And I can raid Zach’s kitchen for a few staples for the morning.” Or maybe she could ask Mia to go over to the main house and help herself.

  Gabriella would have to get used to being home in stages. Staying in the in-law apartment was going to be close enough to the house for tonight.

  Clayton pocketed her motel key as they neared the Chance residence. “I know you’re tired but I’m hoping we can talk for a few minutes when I come back?” He glanced behind them into the backseat where Mia had retreated under the hoodie. “I’d like to make a plan for the next few days.”

  It was a totally reasonable expectation. She’d jumped into his world, too, when she’d taken Mia under her wing.

  But there w
as a whole lot more to her relationship with Clayton Travers than a shared interest in his half sister. She had held hands with him all throughout the trial today like her life depended on the connection. Maybe he wanted to clarify where they stood with one another.

  Or maybe he wanted to act on the attraction that pulled her toward him despite everything falling apart around them. She didn’t know and couldn’t guess. But out of all the things that rattled her today, the idea of Clayton kissing her wasn’t one of them. If anything, the thought of his arms around her made her heart skip a beat, just like it had a long time ago.

  * * *

  MIA TRIED TO remind herself she’d been in worse prisons than this.

  Locking the door to her temporary bedroom, she dropped her paper plate of pizza on the wooden nightstand beside a plastic plant with peach-colored flowers. The whole apartment—what she’d seen of it—was bigger than Pete’s house. The place was undergoing remodeling, apparently, because the downstairs was great. But her bedroom was decorated in earth tones in a style that wasn’t “vintage” enough to be vintage. Or at least, it wasn’t cool like Erin Finley’s store. The bedroom was kind of like taking a walk through your grandma’s house if your grandma had boring taste and a love of olive-green.

  Which Mia did not.

  Especially since she was here against her will, in the “care” of a supposed brother she’d never heard of and a backstabbing friend who’d never mentioned anything about knowing Mia’s family secrets. The whole Gabriella/Ellie thing had been bad enough. But then, to find out the woman she trusted knew more about Mia’s life than Mia—and had never said anything—really creeped her out.

  If she’d had her way, she would have never gone anywhere with either Gabriella or Clayton. But thanks to loser parents who couldn’t do their jobs Mia had no rights. She had to go with people she didn’t trust.