Page 232 of While You Were Trending

They stare each other down.

I squeeze Ginny in a hug and press another kiss to her hair while we watch Mabel and Ten.

“I think I believe him,” Ginny murmurs.

“I think I do too,” I murmur back.

“You were supposed to be gone,” Ten mutters.

“The gift shop?” Mabel says.

“Lav left it open,” Ten says. “I put it there before I left after the wedding.”

“The envelope in the stockpot?”

“Came through to spy on Ginny and make sure this asshole was behaving.”

“You were spying on Declan?” Ginny says.

“All of you were doing harvest shit. You didn’t see me.”

“Where else?” Mabel asks.

He hesitates.

“Where. Else?” Mabel repeats.

“This is an odd way of saying thank you,” I murmur to Ginny.

“It’s an odd way of helping, and we don’t need to find out it was drug money or something else bad,” she murmurs back.

“It’s not fucking drug money.” Ten shakes his head and stalks around us. “Can’t a guy just help?”

“Have you ever?” Mabel murmurs.

His gaze shifts as he stares her straight in the eye.

She holds herself stiff as a board and stares back at him.

The air crackles.

The sky outside darkens.

Night insects stop chirping and singing.

And Mabel and Ten glare at each other with a heated animosity that’s bigger than disagreements over what’s best for Ginny.

I don’t know what went down between these two, but whatever it was, it was big.

“No,” he finally says. “I haven’t.”

He looks at Ginny. “Love you. Call you later. It’s legit money. Just wanted to help.”

“Ten—” she starts, following him, but he’s already out of the barn, sliding into his SUV, and firing up the engine before she can reach him.

I glance at Mabel.

“For Ginny’s sake, I willneveranswer that,” she says without looking at me, like she knows I want to know what happened and why she and Ten hate each other.