“You have a son? How old? Ah, it doesn’t even matter. This is perfect. He’s great with kids.”
“Who’s great with kids?”
“Just you wait for it. I love a big reveal. It was lovely to meet you, Brooklyn Sanders.” And with that, he walked away.
Had I told him my last name? I shook my head and opened the door. I must have. That was seriously the weirdest conversation of my life.
I let myself into Kennedy’s apartment.
“Mommy! Yo hablo español!” Jacob called from the kitchen table.
I smiled down at him. He hadn’t been the most talkative child. I was a little worried I was a bad teacher. But now he was picking up Spanish? “You speak Spanish now? Is that so?” I kissed the top of his head.
“Más o menos,” Mrs. Alcaraz said. But she looked proud of him.
“Mi abuela,” Jacob said and pointed to her.
“Mi amor.” She patted his cheek. “The both of you,” she added and smiled at me. “Now eat.” She put an omelet down on the table. And I realized that Jacob was already eating one. I breathed a sigh of relief. How had she gotten him to eat anything besides cuppycakes? I set the tabloid down on the table and took a huge bite. Seriously, there was no better cook than Mrs. Alcaraz.
Kennedy hurried out of her room, hopping on one foot as she pulled on her boots. “I really need to set a backup alarm,” she said with a laugh. She leaned down and gave Jacob a big hug. “Now you better eat all of that, or I’m going to steal it.”
Jacob took another big bite of his omelet. Maybe Kennedy was the one I needed to thank for him eating normal food again.
“There was a guy outside looking for you. A Tanner Rhodes? Do you know him?”
“Oh. Yeah. I was just running late so I didn’t have time to speak to him. I’ll call him later.”
“He’s…odd.”
Kennedy laughed. “He is a little odd, isn’t he? But he’s also incredibly nice. Did he um…happen to say anything to you about anything?”
That was vague. “Weirdly enough we talked for a while, but I honestly have no idea about what. I still don’t even know what he wanted to speak to you about.”
Kennedy laughed again. “That sounds about right. I promise I’ll call him. But I have to get going…” her voice trailed off as she picked up the tabloid.
“Can you even believe it?” I asked. I knew Matt and Poppy were dating. But all that stuff in the article? It just felt like a big middle finger to me. I took a deep breath. No, it wasn’t a middle finger to me. I’d been dead. Matt had just forgotten about me. I wasn’t sure why I was so shaken about it. He’d forgotten about me ages ago.
“No,” Kennedy said deadpan. “I can’t.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I really have to go. See you guys later,” She ruffled Jacob’s hair. “See you tonight, Mama.” She kissed her mom’s cheek and hurried out the door.
It was only after she left that I realized she’d taken the tabloid with her.
Homecoming - Chapter 13
Monday
Matt
I stared down at the sheet of paper again. I’d asked Nigel how he knew that the car Poppy blew up related to the newspaper clipping. But apparently Nigel had connections on the force. It seemed like he had connections everywhere. And the license plate number on the car that Poppy blew up belonged to the Locatelli family.
But the Locatellis were supposed to be friends with the Pruitts and Cannavaros. So…why had she done it?
For some reason, that question kept going around and around in my head.
I wanted to pick up the phone and call the police station. Let them know the truth. But I just kept staring at the picture.Why had she done it?
And was it even her choice? Surely Mr. Pruitt was actually behind the hit.
But…why?
