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“Isn’t that the question? I am vain and ignorant, at the very least, and speciesist and neglectful at worst. I take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions, Jamie. I am not a nice person. But I am trying to be better.”

Her phone rings in her purse, and she jolts.

“I have to go soon, but I want you to know that you need to avoid your father. He’s involved with Carnell, as you must know. It’s the reason you’rehere, I presume?”

When they don’t answer, she perseveres.

“Yes, well, when your father came back last fall, he was different. Harder, crueler, and it has only gotten worse—like something is eating away at him. I don’t know what he’s after, exactly, but Jamie? You’re at the center of it.”

“Me? No. It’s not about me at all.”

Wisely, Jay doesn’t offer Nix’s name but asks,

“Why wouldn’t you have tried to call me and warn me? I know you’ve never been fond of me, but at least you could have tried?”

“Fond? Jamie, I love you as much as I am able. I have been calling you. I have tried all your numbers, and Ripley Records has refused my calls, as has your newest company, Phoenix. Congratulations, by the way.”

“You’ve been calling?”

“I was until James found out.”

She pauses and rotates her wrist a few times, almost without realizing it. It’s the same thing Nix sometimes does when he’s thinking about Hayes, on the infrequent bad nights after a dark dream.

“You were safe in Nashville. You have to go back as soon as possible. Give up on whatever madness has you here.”

“Mother. Come with us,” Jay begs, far too forgiving for Leo’s peace of mind. “Come and meet Nix again. And the others. We’re having babies.”

Miranda gasps.

“You are? Oh, my. Grand-babies? Multiple?”

“Two little girls.”

She looks wistful, and the soft smile eases the hard lines on her face. She looks like she might ask more questions, but her phone rings again, and her face hardens with resolve.

“I can’t go with you. I need to be here, but if you’d accept my calls in the future, maybe? I know I don’t deserve it, but…”

“I will. I’ll tell reception at Phoenix to connect you right away. But if you reconsider? We’ll come for you,” Jay says. “I can’t forget everything you did, but if you are trying to make amends, I can try to be forgiving.”

Miranda blinks and turns away, as if she is surprised at the offer.

“Thank you. Now go. There’s an exit in the locker room onto the green. Follow the building around until you find the parking lot. You probably shouldn’t take your car back—he’ll have found that already, and he’ll likely be waiting. He didn’t know it was you this morning when he got the call from the staff, but he will by now.”

She opens the door and looks up the corridor toward the way they’d come.

“It’s clear. Give me five minutes before you try to get to the men’s locker room. I know he’s not calling from there, as cell phones are prohibited inside for privacy.”

She cracks open the door and looks back before slipping through.

A small smile curves her lips.

“I’m proud of you, Jamie.”

And with that, she is gone, shutting the door softly behind her.

They stand there in silence—Jay stock-still, and his scent superseding his scent blocker. It’s pine turned forest fire.

Leo counts five minutes before he opens the door, dragging his somber alpha up the hallway and into the men’s locker room, and right out the door Miranda had mentioned.