“I already talked to Kat Karras and Levi Summers this morning,” she says matter-of-factly. “I told Levi if he doesn’t drop the settlement against the Karrases, then I will band together with Kat and sue him for what his boy has done to our neighborhood. I also told him I was on my way to the courthouse to file a restraining order against Adrian for harassing my granddaughters, and that gossip about everything Adrian’s done would be all over town by the afternoon. That did the trick, all right.”

I try to speak, but nothing comes out of my mouth.

She folds her arms and gives me a smug look. “It wasn’t difficult. I’ve known Levi all my life, and I just told him how it was—that was that. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about his son. I guess I didn’t want to. To tell you the truth, Levi Summers is a decent man, and not many are who have the money and power he does, at least in my experience.”

“He’s dropping the settlement? The window …”

“Forgotten. His lawyer’s going to talk to Kat’s lawyer and work out an agreeable compensation for anything their insurance didn’t cover on their broken window. It’s done. Forget the window.”

I blink at her. “No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“No. That’s not right, Grandma. You can’t just swoop in here and fix everything. I mean, in regard to the Karrases, I’m one-hundred-percent grateful,” I say, hand over heart. “But the window is my problem. I broke it. And because of me, Lucky has not only endured gossip around town, he’s been working two jobs to cover the costs. Hard work. Sweaty, demeaning work. All my savings has gone to pay him back—all the cash I earned from my photos online. You just made everything we did this summer completely meaningless. It can’t just be for nothing.”

She stares at me for a long moment. “You sound just like your mother, you know that?”

“Good. Proud to.”

Her head nods once. “Proud that you do too, kid.” She exhales. “Okay, I see your point. You’re thinking that Diedre Saint-Martin meddled in your life, right? That’s what you’re thinking. That’s what Winnie always says.”

Well, yeah. But now I understand why. “You could’ve asked me first. There wasn’t a rush. I haven’t eaten breakfast yet!”

“I haven’t slept,” she admits. “My schedule is all messed up from the flight. But okay. Maybe you have a point. Sometimes I make mistakes and trip over my own feet. If I screwed up, I’m sorry. Nothing is set in stone, though.”