“Man, it’s weird to be here when Finley isn’t,” Brie said, swinging a bag of beach towels over her shoulder.

“Yeah, but it’s your mom’s weekend, and I know how they both live for it.” Finley adored her grandmother. Hell, we both did. Vivian filled the massive shoes left empty not just by Claire but by the three other grandparents Fin was missing.

“How’s the new nanny working out?”

“So far, so good. I know your mom wasn’t keen on Fin spending so much time with a stranger—”

“Look, Jax, your job is utterly unpredictable. You never know if you’ll get a call or if a shift will run late. You have no say in what happens out there.” She motioned toward the ocean. “Mom’s not taking care of her diabetes the way she should, and she’s getting older. She’s not up for those late-night drop-offs anymore. You absolutely did the right thing hiring Sarah.”

I closed the lid on the cooler. “She still pissed about it?”

Brie cringed. “Well, she did go off on Claire for a good twenty minutes this morning.”

My stomach cramped. “Claire’s here?”

“Oh no!” Brie’s eyebrows shot up. “I meant on the phone. They still talk every Saturday.”

My jaw flexed, and I bit back every remark that came to mind, like how fucking ludicrous it was that Claire talked to her mother every week when she hadn’t bothered to call Finley in the last two months. “How is she?” I managed to ask.

It wasn’t Brie’s fault that Claire was…well, Claire.

“She’s good. Still in L.A. waiting to see if the last pilot she did gets picked up.”

“Pilot. Right.” How many was that now?

“She really does miss Finley. You, too, of course.” Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Yeah, misses her so much that she’s seen her once in the last eight months.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm the ever-present rage that boiled to my surface whenever I thought about the way Claire treated Fin. “You know what? Let’s not do this.”

Brie forced a quick smile. “Good idea. Let’s get down to the barbecue,” she suggested, moving to hold the door open.

“Yeah, let’s get out there.” I latched the cooler and lifted its hefty weight, then headed out of the house and down the stairs with Brie following close behind.

My gaze caught on the massive F250 parked outside Morgan’s boathouse. Sam—her last houseguest—had left two days ago, and I hadn’t seen the truck or her Mini Cooper budge.

None of your business.

Except I’d gone and made it my business the minute I’d rescued her over a week ago. But what the hell else was I supposed to have done, left her stranded with her Hello Kitties blowing in the breeze, half in and half out of her staircase?

Maybe if she hadn’t fallen through the wood, if Fin hadn’t heard her yell, if I hadn’t raced out there to dislodge her, I would have had a prayer’s chance of ignoring my new neighbor.