We parted ways in the corridor. Asher went to the staff room, and I knocked on Parks’s office door. Unfortunately, after pleading my case, he refused to give the go-ahead for me to leave long enough to talk to Kennedy. Frustration simmered beneath my skin for the rest of the shift, but I understood his refusal. If anything were to go wrong, he needed me here. But that didn’t make it any easier to wait out one of the most uneventful shifts of my career.

As soon as I was off the clock, I drove to Grace’s place and took the path past the house to the cottages. I rapped my knuckles against the wood and stood back, waiting to see if Kennedy would let me in. But when the door opened, it wasn’t Kennedy standing on the other side. It was Blair. I scanned him from head to toe, noticing the differences a decade had wrought. He’d filled out, and he looked more confident in himself than he had as a sullen teenager. Once upon a time, he’d been moody and distant, but we’d bonded over music, and I’d earned his approval. Now, it was obvious any trace of his past warm feelings toward me was long gone. He glowered, arms folded over his chest, and waited for me to speak first.

“Is Kennedy here?” I asked.

“What’s it to you?” he demanded. “Didn’t think you cared what she did or said because it wouldn’t make a difference.”

I winced, hearing my own words reflected back at me.

“It seems like we’re overdue for a conversation,” I said as levelly as I could. If I responded to his aggression with my own, it would only make things worse.

Blair scowled. “I’m not letting you in just so you can hurt her. She deserves better than that.”

“I have no intention of hurting her,” I assured him. “I just want to talk.”

“You’ve had three weeks to talk, but you haven’t been interested.” He glanced over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. “As far as I can tell, nothing has changed, so why now?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “I thought I had all of the information, but I’m starting to think maybe I don’t.”

“Because that’s what I told you,” he snapped. “If I hadn’t said anything, would you ever have listened to her on your own?”

Shame burned in my gut. I couldn’t say yes because I wasn’t sure. I liked to think I would have eventually given her a chance to say her piece, considering how we’d been slowly getting more comfortable with each other again, but I couldn’t say for certain.

“Please.” I appealed to Blair. “Five minutes is all I’m asking for.”

“What’s going on here?”

We both turned at the question spoken in Kennedy’s accented tone from behind Blair.