She was angry enough to add something snarky—that she hoped he was happy after destroying their family. But she didn’t want to be the kind of person who’d act that way, angry or not. Besides, he had to be happier without her, since he hadn’t come back to her.

What instigated this? he asked. That guy you’re seeing?

She chuckled without mirth. No. Tobias has nothing to do with it. I’m starting my life over today.

PS, she added, don’t forget to change your will.

You don’t want my money when I’m gone?

She considered the question. No, she didn’t want his money. The only thing she’d ever been interested in was his heart. Give it to the girls. I’ll make my own, she wrote back. Good luck with your next concert. Again she was tempted to add a snarky comment—I hope you enjoy whatever groupie you take home with you this time. But, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she locked her phone so she couldn’t accidentally dial him again and slipped it into her purse before backing out of the parking space.

Tobias felt like the walking dead. It had been a long day at work, especially going on so little sleep. Just after lunch, the parents of one of the students on the boys’ side of New Horizons had gotten out of her car without putting the transmission in Park, and it had rolled down the steep embankment of the overfill lot into the administration building.

Fortunately, no one had been hurt. The car had, however, run over the blow-up Santa that Aiyana had put out front, which Tobias found sort of funny. The part he didn’t find funny was that it also crashed into the building hard enough to punch a hole through the wall. He’d been working all day to clear away the rubble and get as much of the building repaired as possible—so everyone wouldn’t freeze to death before he could schedule a contractor to come out and take care of it later in the week.

Tobias couldn’t wait to go home, shower and fall into bed. But he walked over to the smaller administration building on the girls’ side of the campus so he could visit his brother, if he hadn’t gone home yet.

Apparently hearing his footsteps, Maddox looked up from the papers spread out before him as Tobias reached the open doorway. “Hey, what are you still doing here?” he asked.

“I could ask you the same.” Tobias walked in and sank into one of the two vinyl chairs across from Maddox’s desk, stretching his legs in front of him. “It’s after five. Everyone else is gone. But knowing how hard you work, I thought I’d take a chance.”