Crosby absentmindedly traced a pattern on my jeans-clad thigh. “I almost decked him.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

He looked up to meet my gaze. “You still care about him?”

I let out a very unladylike snort. “I hope he falls in a mud pit full of very hungry pigs.”

Crosby’s lips twitched. “I’m taking that as a no.”

“I care about you.” I would never forgive myself if Crosby had gotten arrested or disbarred because Grant had succeeded in egging him into a fight. And Grant knew how to push people’s buttons better than anyone I knew. He had this innate ability to discern what would flip someone’s switch.

I reached out and began massaging Crosby’s shoulders, then his neck. The muscles might as well have been carved from stone. “Don’t let him get to you.”

Crosby let his head fall to my stomach. “I don’t think someone’s face has ever made me so mad. Just looking at him, knowing what he and his parents have put you through, I couldn’t take it.”

I kneaded deeper into Crosby’s muscles. “Well, it sounds like he’s going to have a nice shiner. I don’t know about you, but that should make it easier for me to look at him.”

Crosby’s head lifted. “Griffin came out of nowhere. I don’t think he liked how Grant was talking to Caelyn.”

I stiffened. “What did Grant say to Caelyn?” Caelyn was tough, but she was also sensitive. Words could hurt her more than most.

Crosby’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “He called you two trash and said something about her parents being in jail.”

My stomach twisted. “Her mom’s in jail. Her dad skipped town. That’s why she has custody of her siblings. But it’s a tender topic for her. For all of them. They’ve been through so much, the last thing Cae needs is some asshole throwing it in her face. God, I want to blacken Grant’s other eye.”

Crosby grabbed my hands as I released my hold on him. “Slow down there, Rocky. Caelyn stood her ground and rubbed his tumble in pretty damn well.”

Anxiety pricked at my skin. “She shouldn’t have done that.” Grant didn’t react well to being made a fool of. The last thing I wanted was for him to zero in on Caelyn. She had no fallback plan if she lost her job or home. I tried to remember if the Abbots had any sort of relationship with Caelyn’s landlord. I didn’t think so.

Crosby squeezed my hands. “Hey, what’s wrong?”