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It’s a harsh truth lodged in my throat the same way it’s blocking hers.
“I realized how screwed up my priorities were,” she says. “They were so wrong for so long… but I want you to know I’mserious. About coming back here and all, sorting out my life. Making things work. Being in Colt’s life.”
I nod once. “I’m glad. I want this to work out, too. For Colt.”
“Yeah.” The hint of a smile touches her mouth. “But you know, your instincts are pretty sharp.”
The warmth creeping through me stumbles.
Her tears have stopped welling, but there’s something else in her glassy eyes now.
Tension.
“What do you mean?” I ask warily, taking another slow sip of coffee.
“I mean, you were probably right not to trust me. Why would you after… after so many things?” She lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. “It’s not like it was deliberate, but Archer, you have to understand—I’mmad. I wasn’t seeing straight. I hate that I lost so much time. I let so much slip through my fingers and it made me a little crazy.”
I release the coffee cup so I don’t accidentally crush it.
“Crazy about what? What are you talking about, Ri?”
“I… I was there at your cabin that day,” she says. “Your mom mentioned the place. I think she was happy for you, but hearing the way she talked about you two—like Winnie was somegiftdropped into your lap…” She snorts. “I knew about the bees.”
My ears are ringing.
My head feels like it’s about to implode like a tin submarine plunged too deep.
“You?” There’s a sinking boulder in my gut. “It was you?”
“No, not exactly. Not like—” This time when she shakes her head, the movement is jerky. She’s bitter, but it’s aimed at herself, I realize. “You know, I almost didn’t come here to meet you and tell you.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Rina,” I say, my voice low. “Tell me what you did.”
All this time, I was so sure it was Winnie’s ex, but if the great bee massacre was fucking Rina this whole time—isn’t that what she’s working up to?
Fuck.
My stomach churns with bile.
“I was trying to psych myself up to do it,” she whispers. “I… I had a whole box of poison canisters. I was going to spray them down one by one. Figured that would teach your little girlfriend to mess with this family—and you.” She laughs, but the sound is empty this time. “No, this isn’t about you, Arch. I don’t give a shit who you date, even if she’s half your age.”
The bitterness in her tone says she cares more than she lets on.
It’s a Herculean effort not to yell, not to throw my coffee over her head, not to stand up and roar at her to never show her face anywhere near me again.
“Leave Winnie out of this, Ri—or I swear to God you’ll regret it.”
“I already do! That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” she flares, her eyes brimming with tears again. She blinks them away impatiently.
I watch, impassive, unable to bear the idea of her hurting Winnie like this.
That’s when my brain turns back on.
She said poison, didn’t she? The bee boxes were smashed. There weren’t even many dead bees mixed in with the debris.
My brain struggles to make sense of it.
“It was Colt who pushed me over the edge.” Her voice cracks. “He… he kept talking about Winnie like he already knows her better than me, his own mother. And you, being around her, looking so happy like you’re just bursting with glee… I was losing my family.”