It didn’t help that he’d spent such a big chunk of the money he’d made when he turned in his last book on her engagement ring—a ring she had conveniently forgotten to give back when she’d called off the engagement. And no way was he calling her to ask for it back. He couldn’t stomach the thought of her looking at him with pity, like he needed the money. Fuck that. She could keep the damn thing.

But not having the ring to cash in left him here, stacking boxes in the hallway. Without that money, until he got a payment on another book contract—if he could get another book contract—he didn’t even have enough to get a place in Jersey and last more than a few months without going under. He’d worked too hard to slide that far back into the hole now.

So after drinking too much the night Melanie left, he’d made a decision. He was going to have to do what he swore he would never do. The only way he could figure out how to save up money fast.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket. He set down another box, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and stepped back into the apartment. When he saw the number on the screen, he took a breath, not wanting his irritation with his situation to come through in his voice. He forced a smile, hoping she’d be able to hear it in his tone. “Hey there, Grace. How’s my favorite lady?”

“Oh, just fine, sweetie,” Grace said, her voice a soothing balm to his frazzled state. “Just wanted to check on you. How’s the packing going?”

“Almost done, ma’am,” he said, his Texas accent bubbling up despite him having spent the last decade trying to shake it. Grace did that to him. “With all the traveling, I don’t keep much. I just have to get the last few boxes into the moving van, and I’ll be on my way.”

“That’s great to hear. Do you know how long the drive’s going to take?” she asked, the sound of water running in the background.

He could picture her outside by her and Charlie’s pool, the little waterfall feature running while she sipped her coffee on the back porch, the air probably already heavy with humidity. His mood lightened a little at the comforting image. “I plan on doing the drive over two days, so I should be there Sunday afternoon if that works for y’all.”

“Of course. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you, though I’m sorry about the circumstances,” she said. “You doing okay, hon?”

The genuine concern in her voice made his chest tighten, made him wish he’d had Grace in his corner from the very start, but he forced a bright tone. “Totally fine. They say everything happens for a reason, right?”

Lies. Total fucking lies. If he’d ever had any hope that the sentiment was true, he’d lost it after the Long Acre shooting. There was no reason good enough for all those people dying. But he wanted to reassure Grace.