Carter tenses beside me and throws an angry glare in his direction. “What did you do? You made a pass at her up there, didn’t you? You fucker. Didn’t you just tell me that you’re trying to work things out with Scarlett?”

“Stop it,” I say, but the words are wrapped in a sob I can’t hold back. He’s working things out with his wife. And dear God, that hurts, but nothing feels right in a world where what he said about Dad is true. “When he fell in love with someone else . . .”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t need to go to the ER?” Carter asks.

I’m not okay. But there’s nothing in the emergency room that can fix me.

Scarlett Lashenta is sitting on my front porch.

No. Pretty sure that can’t be right.

I drag my hand over my eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them. But when I open them, she’s still there—sitting on the front porch of the off-campus two-bedroom I’m renting with friends for the summer. “Can I help you?”

Scarlett tucks a lock of silky red hair behind her ear and gives me a weak smile. “You’re Shayleigh Jackson?”

“I am.”

“I’ve seen Easton’s pictures of you two in Paris together. You’re even prettier in person, though.” She bites her bottom lip. Her perfect bottom lip. If I tried to wear red lipstick like that, I’d look like a clown. This woman looks Photoshop-perfect in real life. “I was hoping we could talk? About Easton.”

My stomach cramps. I haven’t seen him since he left Mom’s house the night of Dad’s funeral. He’s texted, saying he wants to talk. I’ve ignored him. “Is he okay?”

“Oh, yes. He’s fine. Well, as fine as he gets. You know Easton. Every time there’s a major change in his life, he struggles a bit, so the new QB coach is getting to him.”

I didn’t know he had a new coach. I guess we didn’t talk that much about his life, now that I think about it.

“You seem like a really nice girl, Shayleigh. At least, that’s what I’ve come to believe from Easton’s stories.”

“Thanks.” This is so surreal. Scarlett Lashenta is sitting on my front porch telling me I’m a nice girl. Two nights ago, I was climbing onto her husband’s lap and trying to seduce him.

“You don’t strike me as the kind of person who’d set out to tear apart a family.” Her blue eyes fill with tears. “I don’t believe you’d want a little girl to be without her daddy. That’s why I’m here.”