Page 11 of Passing Notes

Lavender Lane, indeed. That name had died when I stopped stripping. Nobody knew about it, not even Sadie. It was the only secret I’d ever kept from her. A purple bobbed wig, creative stage makeup, and lavender-tinted cat-eye glasses had kept my face disguised. And who would ever recognize me in Nashville, anyway?

I had majored in pre-law and minored in finance. Every penny I made—and stripping had made me a lot—was invested into my education and the stock market so I could ensure that the Hill sisters would never be treated like shit again and we’d always have what we needed.

But one look at Nick this morning had sent me back to feeling like I was curled up in a ball under the bleachers, half-drunk and crying about my dad being gone and my mom being a bitch, and I resented it.

Nick had never been part of my delinquent friend group, which was probably why it had been so easy for us to keep our relationship a secret. Even though he had been working through the loss of his dad and his mother’s quick remarriage, he had put his focus on his grades and the football team and all the other extracurricular crap he did.

He hadn’t wanted his mother to find out about me, about how much trouble I was always in. He said she’d never allow him to date me if she knew. But the bottom line was I just wasn’t good enough for him.

A car sped around the corner, shaking me out of my thoughts. I watched as it pulled into the garage next to Janice and Leonard’s place and Curt Pindich stepped out. I only ever referred to him by his first name. He was your garden-variety man on a power trip. Mediocre in every way but determined to rise above it by stepping on others on his way up.

“Oh, crap.” I gestured across the street as my mind connected the dots that Nick had distracted me from earlier. “That’s him. Pindich, right? I knew that name sounded familiar.” He had a huge, unkempt pine tree next to the driveway that drove Leonard nuts because the dried-up needles and little branches constantly dropped off and littered his yard. It was hilarious to watch Leonard mumbling curses as he swept them up, but infuriating that Pindich insisted on being such a dick about it. It was a blight on the entire street, the jerk.

Gracie glared in his direction. “Yup. The one and only.”

“Hmm, okay. All right.” A plan began percolating in my brain. I had to get into that school somehow to keep an eye on Gracie. She needed a bodyguard. Once Marianne and her little buddies realized I would absolutely make their lives a living hell on earth if they didn’t back off, they’d leave her alone. I was sure of it.

Maybe I could volunteer? Or perhaps become a substitute teacher?

I refused to let Gracie suffer the way we had. I refused to let her suffer at all. Especially not after I’d spent most of my adult life in therapy, making money, gaining knowledge, and working hard to make it so I could protect myself and my sisters.

No one would take advantage of or look down on us ever again—not on my watch. I decided to give our cousin Mari a call and ask her to keep an eye on Gracie while I solidified my plans to infiltrate the school and watch over her myself. Mari was family, she’d keep this hush-hush. And Nick had already offered to help. Even though he’d left me high and dry after high school, I didn’t think he’d let anyone pick on Gracie. She’d be okay until I could take care of the situation once and for all.

A pickup truck with the Monroe & Sons Construction logo emblazoned across the side pulled up to the curb in front of Nick’s future house. Gracie and I exchanged a look when Everett stepped out, waving to us with a huge smile across his face. “Hey!” he called as he started walking over. “You missed spaghetti night. Is everything okay?” He stopped at my porch railing with his eyebrows raised as he waited for my explanation.

“Hey,” I muttered, feeling guilty for missing dinner as I spied the huge cooler bag with a loaf of bread sticking out of the top.

“Busted.” Gracie laughed. “I forgot to tell you he’d be coming by with leftovers.”

After he married Willa, my sisters and I met at their house once a week for dinner. It was always spaghetti and Everett always cooked for us. He was sweet as could be, like the brother I never knew I needed. But last night I had been in no mood to be anywhere near my sisters, who were all living the dream with their hubbies and their kids and their happy bunch of bullshit. Though, if I’d known Gracie was as miserable as me, I might have reconsidered. “Yeah, I had a headache.” I had not had a headache; I’d spent the evening binge-watching Bob’s Burgers and stuffing my face with a bag of Cheetos.

His face softened. “Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. I have to work on the deck next door, so I figured I’d bring you some leftovers. I know you aren’t fond of cooking.”

“Thanks.” I stood and took the bag.

He let out a laugh when my stomach growled. “What have you had to eat today?”

I shrugged. “Coffee and angst.”

At that moment, Nick pulled into the driveway next door, and it was all I could do not to visibly react when two adorable middle school–aged kids popped out of the truck’s back seat carrying Daisy’s Nut House takeout bags. They stood in the driveway excitedly taking in their new house and my heart melted a bit—a very tiny little bit.

Gracie sat up, watching them just like I was. “Mr. Easton is going to be your neighbor?”

“I guess so.”

“He is,” Everett confirmed. “You know he was on the football team with Wyatt back in high school,” he informed Gracie as he waved at Nick. Wyatt was the only Monroe brother not married to one of my sisters or besties.

I already knew Nick had been on the football team. I used to know everything about him. Since this morning, the impulse to ask around town and find out what he’d been up to since high school was a huge temptation and it pissed me off. I was over him. Wasn’t I?

Everett turned to me. “You remember Nick, right? He’s a good guy, always has been. He’s been divorced for years—maybe the two of you could go out. I think he could be good for you.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I froze.

My mouth dropped open with a panicked gasp. “Uhhh...”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“What an awesome idea. His kids are cool. I babysit for them sometimes and he’s super nice.” Gracie nudged my shoulder, unwittingly saving me from answering Everett. I closed my mouth and plastered a smile on my face. “Now you don’t have to worry about another dickhead like Pindich moving in next door. One jerk on the block is enough.” Gracie called out with a wave and a huge grin, “Hi, Mr. Easton!”

“Hi, y’all.” Nick’s face was deliberately impassive as he took in the sight of us on the porch.