I open my mouth to make introductions, but Gabby sees Mrs. Hildebrand and yells, “Adele! How are you?” and scurries over to her to give her a hug.
“What the hell is happening right now?” Tank asks without moving his lips.
I want to ask the same question.
54
RIDER
Gabby standsin the middle of the living room. “Why are y’all staring at me?”
I wave back and forth between her and Mrs. Hildebrand. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah,” she says slowly. “She used to get coffee at the Rise ’N Grind.” Turning toAdele, she asks, “What’s going on? I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been? And what in the world are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, because of course I am. Are the guys helping you with something?”
But Mrs. H doesn’t hear a thing. She’s staring at Poppy, who waves her hands and kicks her legs in excitement.
I clear my throat. “This is Poppy’s grandmother. I mean, her great-grandmother.”
“No shit?” Gabby collapses into the chair behind her, looking as stunned as I felt a little while ago.
Mrs. H takes Poppy from Bree and cracks the smallest of smiles when the gremlin tries to cover her in slobbery kisses. After a few minutes, Mrs. H’s scowl returns and she leans in to sniff her.
She just sniffed my kid.I almost laugh.
“You’ve kept her clean. She’s gained weight, so that’s positive. And you’re right, she is a happy baby. No worse for wear, I suppose.”
Don’t lay on the compliments too hard there, lady.
Bree whispers to Olly, who’s closest to her, “Does this mean we know who the mother is now?”
Fuck. Heat crawls up my neck.
Hoping that Mrs. H doesn’t hear that comment, I wait a good long minute before I turn her way, but nope. She’s staring back, nostrils flaring all over again. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember my Margot.”
Tank holds out his hands. “Rememberis such a specific word. I’m not sure our boy here…”
She quiets him with her laser-beam glare. “Are you telling me you don’t remember what happened that weekend? Were you that high or drunk or whatever you all do here, that you don’t remember…having relations?” She almost chokes on that last part.
Did I think having my father freak out in front of Gabby was the most embarrassing moment of my life just last week? Today definitely ranks a close second place.
What the hell do I say?
“Mrs. Hildebrand, I’m not sure what to tell you.” I swallow, gearing up for her to ream me out.
Olly leans over to furiously whisper to Gabby. When he’s done, she takes Poppy into her arms and gently pats Mrs. H’s arm.
“Adele, this might be difficult for you to hear, but from what I’ve understood about the weekend in question, Margot brought some… homemade edibles… with her. And perhaps she didn’t realize how strong they were. I don’t know if they were hash brownies or if they contained any other drugs—”
“Sweet Jesus.” Mrs. H presses her hand to her cheek.
“Now I’m not absolving Rider from any responsibility. However, I don’t believe anyone understood how intense those brownies would be. Because Rider is not the only one who can attest to their potency. Olly here”—she motions to him—“he can also tell you. As a result, the guys barely remember that weekend, much less who was there. And your granddaughter left a very vague letter when she dropped off Poppy, so they had no way of knowing who she was or they would’ve tried to contact her.”
Yeah, all of that.
I let out a breath, once again so fucking grateful for Gabby. The second I have more than a few bucks left to my name, I’m buying this woman a million roses and taking her to a spa weekend or whatever girls like to pamper themselves.
Mrs. H seems overcome, and we’re all quiet while she collects herself. Eventually, she turns to me. “If you don’t remember Margot, then how do you know this baby is yours?”
