“Right after you walked out. Gentry got it all cleaned up, but Aiden kept not coming in for work. Gentry couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen him in sweats. He’s taking it hard and, sorry if I’m out of line, but I don’t think it’s because of the money. When he’s around you, he’s…lighter.” She fiddled with a fry. “I shouldn’t say this, I’ve stepped in enough that’s not my business, but Gentry says that when Aiden’s around you and his brothers, he sees more of the kid he was before Sarah died. He said Aiden was a true mama’s boy.”

My lungs deflated. This trust mess had all started with Sarah’s death. Why hadn’t I connected the dots backward a little more? He’d lost his mother, and he rarely talked about her. But sometimes when we were in King’s Creek, he’d get this faraway look that tugged at my heart. He’d shake himself out of it and look around like he hoped no one had seen him. I’d pretend like I’d just caught his gaze and smile, and I’d leave it at that.

“And the way Gentry dealt with it afterward”—Kendall waved her hand around as if she could conjure a glimpse of the past—“wasn’t good. He was there for the boys physically, but not emotionally. He’s talked before about how he was afraid it affected the guys. I mean, if Sarah hadn’t made those trusts for each of the boys, they all might still be alone.”

I nodded and dug into my food. For the rest of the conversation, I steered clear of my divorce, and if she noticed, she didn’t make any attempts to return to it. After an hour and a half, we parted ways and I went to Mom and Randall’s place.

I’d been staying with them for three weeks. They said it was fine, but I doubted they wanted their grown daughter crashing their time together. Both of them worked full-time and then there was me, invading their evenings and taking up bathroom time in the morning.

Finding my own place would be easy enough. I could go back to apartment life. Live in a place that would fit into the garage of our house. His house. My gut clenched. No doubt the apartment I found would have a bigger bedroom than the one I slept in now.