I felt a little too disappointed by his absence. I'd gotten used to him being nearby, sharing every shockwave that hit me, but he had a show to do, and it wasn't fair to keep putting my problems on him. Although, his mother had had an odd relationship with my mom. And if I were being honest, Kade had an odd relationship with her, too. I didn't understand either of those connections—another missing piece in the puzzle that was my mother's life.

It was probably good that Kade was gone. Things had gotten a little heated last night. By forcing me to make some new music, he'd opened up a part of me that hadn't seen the light of day in a while. And the music had unleashed feelings in me that I preferred to keep buried.

That was probably why I'd felt so emotional when he'd come into the room, so on edge when he'd looked at me. I'd felt bare, vulnerable, stripped of my defenses, and somehow, I'd let this stranger in when I was very good at keeping everyone out.

But that was last night, and today was a new day. Nothing had happened between us, mostly because Kade had left the room in a big hurry. Whatever moment we'd had was long over. I needed to go to the hospital to see my mom, check in with my sister, and follow up with the PI, as well as Inspector Greenman. I also still needed to find my father. I wondered if he might show up at the vigil tonight at my mom's school.

The list of things I had to do drove thoughts of Kade out of my head, and I was grateful for that. Unfortunately, they came flying back when I saw a box of freshly baked donuts on the counter.

Damn him. He'd gotten me donuts before he'd left. Why did he have to be so nice?

I lifted the lid on the box, and my mouth watered at the sugary glazed, chocolate, and vanilla donuts. Something for everyone. I grabbed a glazed donut and felt immediately soothed by the warm, sugary pastry.

Kade was an interesting mix of toughness and kindness. I felt continually thrown off by him. Just when I finished forming one opinion, he did something that changed that opinion, made me think of him differently. Dani would tell me I was getting too close too fast, and she wouldn't be wrong. As if on cue, my phone vibrated, and Dani's name flashed across the screen. She must have been reading my mind.

"Hi, Dani," I said.

"I'm still waiting for the picture of you at a hotel."

"I'm at the house, but everything was fine last night."

"I knew you weren't going to leave. Was it really fine? I just got off the phone with Vicky. She told me about your conversation, about the video, about her going to San Francisco. Why didn't you call me?"