Holly switches back into all-business, burning my bridges down like a townsperson with a torch. “And Jordan? Babe, that guy was a lazy asshole who didn’t check his own ass for cleanliness, much less his chute for functionality. I’m just glad you didn’t jump that day too, because who knows if he checked your chute. You could’ve plunged to your death because he was too busy playing video games to perform actual life-saving procedures.”

My jaw drops open at the awful things she’s saying about Jordan. “He could’ve died, Hols.”

“But did he die?” she repeats. “No.” Gentler, she continues, “Losing your parents was awful, honey. I know that, and there ain’t no blunting it. But it wasn’t your fault. Your grandparents, either.” She lets that sink in for a painfully long moment and then puts the exclamation point on the end of her argument. “You know what people have in common? Every single person on the planet? They die.”

She gestures to Mrs. Cochran, who agrees with her.

She’s right, dear. I wasn’t a saint, but the one thing I did right in my whole life was love my Walter. I’m glad that whatever days we had together, we made the most of them.

To Holly, I lift one brow and deadpan, “So touching, very sensitive.”

“Shut up, you know what I mean. Just . . . go out with him, see what happens, get your wet ass pussy licked.”

“Holly!”

She shrugs, smirking. “No shame in my game. Sometimes I date for dinner conversation, sometimes because a guy seems like he has real potential, and sometimes, just because I wanna throw my head back and howl at the moon as many different ways as I can.”

Maybe she’s got a point? She is basically saying the same things Blake said, so maybe they’re not crazy or brave? What if I’m a big, old scaredy cat, hiding my fear behind walls of protection layered with warning label stickers, but the truth is, I’m not dangerous?

I’m . . . risk averse.

I can’t help but smile to myself at the Blake-ish label.

“Zoey, I haven’t said anything in a long time, mostly because I didn’t think you were ready to hear it, but also, there’s no one around here worthy of your awesomeness, anyway.” She rolls her eyes, but I can tell she’s talking about the people of Williamson County and their judgy ways, not about me.

“Thanks, I guess.”

“But this is the first time I’ve seen you fighting your own defenses, wanting more for yourself. And that alone tells me all I need to know about Blake Hale. Take a shot. What’ve you got to lose?” I give her an arched brow glare and she presses her lips together and cringes. “Sorry. Poor word choice. But you know what I mean.”