“No doubt, and it explained why mean girl’s favorite possession, a two-hundred-and-fifty-buck designer jacket, went missing and ended up in tatters, flying on the school’s flagpole.”

“Maya did that?”

“Nobody knows for sure, but we all assumed she did. And who could blame her, really?”

“What about Ash? What did he do?”

“I don’t think she told him, either, not at first. I don’t know why, because Ash was immediately popular when he arrived from England. He would have put a stop to it right away, and people would have listened. He was untouchable, in a way. A leader. Before Ash arrived, Keenan thought he was the king of the castle, and then Ash dated the most popular girl in high school...”

“You mean Celine?”

“Yes. Keenan went bananas, tried to make her stop seeing Ash, but of course she wouldn’t listen. Why would she? Ash is a great guy. But then Celine left, and Keenan blamed him. Things seemed to settle down for a while, at least on the surface, but then Keenan went out with Kate before Ash ‘stole’ her, as my brother still puts it. Honestly, I’ve told him a hundred times it was because he drank too much and didn’t care enough about her, but the animosity between him and Ash runs way too deep for him to listen.” She wrinkled her nose. “Doesn’t this weird you out, talking about Ash’s exes?”

I let out a half laugh. “A little.”

“Only a little? You’re a better woman than me. So, what do you think you’ll do now?”

I flicked through the options in my mind. Go back to Brookmount, call Heron and Stevens and let them figure stuff out, or... “Stay a couple more days, at least until I speak to him properly. I can’t leave before that happens.”

“Good decision. And don’t worry about your room. We’ll go on a day-by-day basis, it’s yours for however long you need it.”

Ten minutes later I still sat outside alone, soaking up the last of the sun, and debating whether I’d made the right decision, when my phone rang. When I saw Mike’s number, I picked up immediately. “Hey,” I said. “How are you? You don’t need the car, do you? I took a little trip.”

“Ah, in that case this really isn’t the best time for my call...” He let out a long sigh. “Lily, I apologize, but the garage... I’m afraid we’ve got no choice. We’re closing. End of the month.”

“Closing?”