At the sound of her name, my head jerked upward. "What?"
"Arden Weathers," he repeated.
"I heard you the first time," I said. "But what are you saying?"
"The scholarship," Chase said. "It was Arden's until she lost it."
I stared across the kitchen counter. "Lost it how?"
"The usual way," Chase said. "Grades didn't measure up."
I shook my head.No way. Arden's grades were perfect, until—
Oh, fuck.
Instantly, all of the things she'd said during the past few months came flooding back to me.
"It cost you nothing."
"It cost me everything."
And what had I told her in reply?"Get over it."
I considered the house on the beach. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have been saddled with student loans. She wouldn't have been working too many hours while getting her degree. She would've had a lot more fun – and a hell of a lot more money.
And the house – it would've been hers.
I knew it in my gut. If it weren't for that stunt I'd pulled with the lighter, she could've bought the house on her own. Yeah, it would've been hard. But one thing about Arden, she gave it her all when something mattered to her.
Again, I looked to the cookies. At the crew house, I'd found a brand-new mixer, along with new mixing bowls and cookie sheets.
Arden hadn't only made me cookies. She'd bought all the supplies to make them, too.
This was no small thing.
She didn't even have a car.
And whywasthat?
I recalled something she'd said in passing. She'd sold the car to pay for home repairs – repairs that were never made, for a house she'd never own.
Thanks to me.
Shit.
In the kitchen, Chase was laughing again. "I know. It's a riot, right?"
I wasn't laughing.
And the fact that was Chase was – well, I didn't like it. Through clenched teeth, I said, "You think that's funny?"
"It's not as funny as the look on your face," he said. "But yeah, I think it's pretty damn funny."
Istillwasn't laughing.
And now I had a question. I knew the answer. But the question still had to be asked. "And Kenny was thanking me, why?"
"Because," Chase said, "if it weren't for you blowing up the lab, that scholarship would've been Arden's."
