Louise's POV
The dining room fell silent after Irvin finished telling them about his encounter with Caroline. "She wants you to offer her a job and somewhere to live?"
Louise finally broke the quiet, her voice carrying more curiosity than judgment. She kept her tone cautious, careful.
She thought everything felt so strange lately, so unsettling...
Across the table, Barnaby's eyebrows shot up. "What the hell happened to them? How far did they crash?" He gripped his fork and knife, slicing through his beef before stuffing it in his mouth, chewing with unnecessary volume.
Irvin didn't rush to respond. He just made a soft sound, still working on his own meal.
She studied him intently. She always did.
She had raised that boy. She recognized his temperament, his habits, the way his jaw clenched when something got under his skin.
