No matter the problem, he was her rock, she thought, swallowing against the thickness in her throat before stepping into his open arms and letting the tears flow.

“Coop had lunch with his dad yesterday,” she said between sobs.

Strong arms held her close. He moved his hands up and down her back. “We knew this.”

“He hasn’t talked about it. I’ve asked a couple of times, but he won’t say anything.”

“He probably doesn’t know what’s okay to say. He doesn’t want to hurt you.”

She sniffed and nodded, liking how strong Keith was and how being held felt so nice. “Jeremy texted me a bit ago and said he and Coop had talked about Coop visiting over the summer. Jeremy wanted to know if it was okay to have him stay for two weeks instead of one. As if I even knew about the invitation. He didn’t tell me. He didn’t say a word.”

“He’s a kid,” Keith said gently. “He doesn’t know how to handle this.”

She sniffed again, then raised her head. “Because he’s excited about his dad and he doesn’t want me to feel bad about that?”

He nodded.

“I get the logic of it, but it hurts. I don’t want him to go. I don’t want him to have a relationship with Jeremy. I’m just not that big a person.”

Keith smoothed the hair off her face. “You going to tell him no?”

“I can’t. Of course he has to go. I won’t like it, but I won’t stand in his way. I just want him to tell me.”

“Give him some time.”

“I hate Jeremy.”

He smiled at her. “No, you don’t.”

“Maybe I do.”

“You don’t know him well enough to hate him. You can hate the idea of him, but not the man himself.”

“This is not a time for logic. This is a time for listening and offering to beat up Cooper’s father.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m happy to do that, if you’d like.”

She sighed. “No. He’d probably press charges and I think he has a lot of money, so there’s no way we could afford a better lawyer.”

Keith shifted, putting his arm around her. “You’re going to get through this.”

“Maybe.”

“That’s my little ray of sunshine. Come on, I’ll buy you a churro.”

She wiped her face, then managed a smile. “I love a churro.”

“Sugar is always the answer.”

“Not always, but most of the time.”

thirteen

For the first time since moving back to Willowbrook, Unity wasn’t comfortable in her own house. Despite the familiar rooms, the sofa she’d sat on for years, the dishes in the cupboard, the place didn’t feel like home.

She hadn’t slept, she couldn’t think and even working all day hadn’t cleared her head.

She’d never fought with Dagmar before. They’d been friends for over two years and there hadn’t once been a harsh word between them. The same could be said about Ellen, and they’d been friends their whole lives. But they’d disagreed just a few weeks ago.