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She rolled her eyes. “You’re annoying. How about you answer the damn question?”
That was a little better.
“I’m helping Amma weatherproof the windows.”
“No, you’re not.”
I looked down at the supplies in my hand. “I definitely am.”
“I can’t deal with this today,”she muttered and pushed past me to go inside.
Her vanilla scent filled my nose, the same even after all of these years. My eyes closed, and all I could do was remember the night in my truck when I made the biggest mistake of my life.
I had to take a moment before I followed her.
My jacket hit me in the face the second I walked in the door. “Oh, and you can have that back.”
Stella was gone by the time I regained my bearings.
I couldn’t resist the smile that made its way onto my face.Thatwas the Stella I knew. I’d take her throwing things at me rather than her shying away like she had in middle school when those fucking kids bullied her.
“Stella,” Amma said as she walked into the living room, “I know you had a rough night yesterday, but let’s be civil.”
“I think I’m in the anger stage of grief,” Stella replied as she followed Amma. “Spurred on by his presence.”
“Who died?” I asked.
“My patience.”
“As much as I love watching verbal sparring matches,” Amma interrupted, “we have work to do. Stella, I called him here.”
“You did?”
“Yes. Him andNick, but he’s too busy with work to stay. I can’t help that he sent you in his place.”
In some way, this was my fault. I didn’t tell Nick about my plans since Amma had called me over at the last minute. Half the time, I showed up whenever I hadn’t seen her in a while anyway. I doubted he would have sent Stella if he’d known.
“But—” Stella was interrupted by Amma.
“I know you’d love to get all your frustrations out on my other helper, but I can’t have that. I want my house to be ready for this weather.”
“Amma, this storm isn’t a big deal.”
“It’ll be a very big deal,” I interjected. The glare I received in response would have made a lesser man fear for his life. “But we don’t have to argue about weather patterns. I’ll finish what I started and go.”
“I can offer something better,” Stella said. “You leave now and I’ll weatherproof the windows.”
Amma shook her head. “We’re on borrowed time here. And I need you for other things.”
“What do you need me for?”
“You’re the skilled cook in this family. Come and help me meal prep for this.”
“No.”Stella shook her head firmly. “Amma, I can’t. I haven’t cooked in a year.”
Amma’s wide eyes matched mine. Since when did Stellanotcook? She was always whipping up something in the kitchen—she’d done it even when she was a kid. Oftentimes, when Dad forgot to feed me, I’d go find her. She’d been far too young to work a stove, yet she still made something delicious.
What the hell had happened to her?