Their plan to meet with the widow was already off to a shitty start. Casey had to take his lunch break a little later than anticipated due to the crowd that Mad Batter got, and he couldn't leave his dad and Xavier to fend for themselves.

Not only that, but he had to sneak out half a dozen cupcakes for August. He'd made sure to bake them before his dad arrived at the bakery in the morning, but it would probably show up in their inventory. Hopefully, his father just assumed they had to throw a lot out and didn't question it. Six cupcakes shouldn't raise too many suspicions.

"Are you about to head out?" Xavier came around the corner of the back room.

Casey almost dropped his container of frosted cupcakes. He'd wanted to sneak out before anyone noticed him. Trying not to let it show on his face, Casey forced a half-grin.

"Um, yeah. I was about to head out for lunch. Just wanted to take some of these cupcakes to a friend of mine."

Xavier nodded. "Cool. Have a nice lunch then. Hope your friend enjoys those cupcakes."

"Thanks." Casey slid by him, hoping his dad stayed busy with their customers. Just as he reached the door, he let out a breath of relief and pushed through the abrasive gusts of wind.

When he reached his car, he sent a quick text in their group chat with Lani and August after placing the cupcakes in the backseat. Thankfully, he'd gotten his windows repaired so heat could furnish inside. He should've been there fifteen minutes ago. Cursing, Casey pulled out of the bakery's lot and set out to their planned meeting spot.

Hopefully, she arrived late as well or took her time ordering food. Casey wondered if Lani approached her without him. Surely August would keep her safe if the woman turned out to be dangerous.

The Wallflower came into view as Casey pulled into the diner's lot. Something about the whole situation made Casey break out in a cold sweat, reconsidering everything about their insane plan. Out of all the places in town, why did she choose that diner? Casey remembered Emmett and his peculiar offer. It wasn't like he was involved with this, was he?

"Hey, Casey!" August called out, exiting his truck. He slammed the door behind him, leather boots crunching through the filthy snow on the ground. "Was wondering what took you so damn long. Lani's already inside, by the way. Tried to talk to her but she ignored me. Guess I didn't make a good impression on her. My bad."

Casey sighed. "Sorry about her. Come on, let's see where she's at. I hope she's not confronting this woman without us."

"Man, it sucks to learn about your folks cheating. My old man used to get around with other women too. Left me and my mom for another chick in California. Guess she had something better to offer than we did," August told him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Casey replied. He wasn't sure how else to respond to that oversharing about his father.

Inside, delightful smells of food drifted all throughout the room. A jukebox in the corner played an old rock tune. Conversations drifted all around him as he scanned the room for his sister, finding her in a middle booth by herself.

Casey told the waiter that they were with Lani and made their way back to her. She'd already ordered herself a plate of pancakes and sipped on some coffee.

"Took you long enough," Lani said.

Casey slid in the booth beside his sister, lowering his voice. "Is she here?"

"Nope. I told her I'd be running a little late," Lani replied. "Had to finish up at the bakery first. Just in case she happens to drive by Mad Batter. She'll think Dad's finishing up before coming over here for their date."

"Shit, smart thinking there," Casey replied. "I hadn't considered that."

Lani nodded. "I just don't understand why we need this fool." She gestured to August, sitting across from them.

"I'm your backup." August grinned. "Also, I'm getting free food out of this. If she tries to kill you two, I'll stop her."

Lani rolled her eyes. "As if we're not competent enough to keep ourselves safe. That's why we're in a public restaurant."

"A restaurant run by the Voiceless Rebels gang," August pointed out.

"Unlike you, that doesn't matter for most people. The only reason we might get shot at is because of you," Lani told him.

August shrugged. "Well, I hope they at least let me eat first. I don't wanna die hungry."

"I'm sure they won't do anything. Not in front of their customers," Casey assured them. "Let's try to stay focused, yeah?"

Lani pulled out her phone, scrolling through a chat log. She'd downloaded a text app to communicate with the woman, as if she were their dad, claiming it was his own number. That had to be uncomfortable, as Casey sent a few texts to Fredia in the morning to keep the ruse up.

"This bitch thinks you guys are Mr. Lockhart?" August snorted. "How lovely. Sexting with your father's mistress. You sure get me involved in the weirdest shit, Casey."

Casey paled, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "That's not what we've been doing. We're just trying to get her to meet up. And she occasionally sends some... Suggestive pictures."

"Man, wait until she finds out she's been sending her titties to Mr. Lockhart's kids." August snickered.

"She hasn't sent me anything while I've texted her," Lani said. "She's been grieving for her husband, wanting a shoulder to cry on, as his death date is coming up."

"Does she know about you guys?" August asked. "If they're talking about dead spouses, your dad might have brought you guys up. If so, the moment she walks inside she's gonna run like hell."

"That's a good point." Lani bit into her fluffy pancakes. "I honestly didn't consider it. I'd hope Dad doesn't send pictures of us to his whores."

"Jesus, Lani."

August smirked, sipping on his chocolate milkshake. "I can't wait for her to walk in. This is gonna be hilarious and worth wasting time. What exactly is your plan if she does come to our table?"

"I'll confront her about everything and see what she knows about Mom's death," Lani replied.

"What if she won't answer you?" August asked. "Then what happens?"

Lani glared at him. "She'll answer me. If not, these texts will go viral. All of her family will see her as a whore, messing around with a married man."

Casey paled. "You wouldn't really do that, would you? Think about the repercussions it might have on us and Dad."

"Let's hope this bitch is honest then." Lani's fork scraped her plate as she polished off her pancakes.

"Love the blackmail idea," August chimed in. "I think it's a great plan. Threaten to out her as a homewrecker to everyone in town."

"Please, don't encourage her." Casey groaned.

Lani checked her phone as it pinged against the table. "She's on her way now. Just parked."

Leaning over in his seat, Casey glanced out into the parking lot. A black sudan had just parked in the front and a tall, blonde woman climbed out of the driver's seat. She donned a long-sleeved black dress, paired with some winter boots. Nothing about the woman resembled their mom, nor did she seem to be someone Casey could imagine his father seeing.

"That's her?" Casey asked, unable to mask his confusion. "Why would he cheat on Mom with her?"

"Damn, Casey." August chuckled.

"Yeah, that's definitely her." Lani glanced down at her phone as another text vibrated against the table.

"What do we do now?" Casey asked, nudging Lani's side.

"I don't know." Lani's hand trembled as she gripped her phone.

"What's her name?" August asked.

"Fredia," Lani replied.

In the most obnoxious and stentorian voice he could muster, August called out Fredia's name and waved. Heat rushed in Casey's face as he glanced over at Lani, who dropped her phone in her lap.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Lani snapped.

August shrugged, smirking. "You wanted to get her attention. I did that. Here she comes."

Casey shrunk back in his seat upon the clickety clack of her boots approaching their table. Things weren't going how he'd planned and Lani didn't have as much control over the situation as she thought she did.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" Fredia asked, bright red lips pursed in a frown.

August rose from his seat, gesturing for a spot for her. "Please, mam. Have a seat. We've got some things we'd like to discuss with you."

"I don't understand." Fredia shook her head. "I think I should leave."

"You've been messing around with our dad." Casey mustered the courage to speak. "We've been texting you today to see if it was true."

Fredia gaped. "I'm leaving. I don't need to deal with this. You should be talking to your father about this, not me."

"Why would you hook up with a married man?" Lani asked her. "Surely you knew about our mom. It's no secret that our parents got married out of high school and Dad got his bakery up and running shortly after. A simple Google search would tell you that he's not single."

"We deserve answers," Casey said.

"Yeah, lady. Be honest with your new step-kids," August told her.

"That's not... We're not serious like that," Fredia snapped, turning on her heels. "I'm leaving. Don't ever contact me again."

"Lose our dad's information," Lani told her. "Stay away from him."

Fredia didn't respond to Lani as she hurried out the door, not sparing a glance back at them.

"I might've gone a little too far," Lani admitted. "But she deserved it."

"She planned to leave no matter what we said," Casey replied, standing from his seat. "Come on, she's just made it back to her car. We can follow her. We'll take August's truck."

August rose a brow. "We will?"

"My car's already faced enough damage," Casey snapped. "I'm not letting her be a victim of another shooting or attack by this woman."

The three of them made their way out of the diner, paying for their meals, before climbing into August's truck. Lani sat in the backseat while Casey got in the passenger seat, buckling up. Only when Fredia pulled out of the lot did August trail behind her, keeping a distance between the two vehicles.

"What's the plan here, Casey?" August asked. "You know, this lady can call the cops on us for following her."

"I think I know where she's going," Casey told him. "Don't worry. We won't be following her for long. We're almost at the bakery."

"What? Why would she go there?" Lani questioned.

"To confront our dad," Casey replied. "After running into us, she'll want to figure out what to do and if they should stop seeing each other. Clearly, she won't reach out through text or that app because she knows we're using it."

"What does she plan to do here?" Lani shook her head. "I don't understand. What's confronting our dad supposed to do?"

"She probably wants him to shut us up. We threatened to expose her to everyone, and she doesn't want that to happen," Casey explained. "Would you want your entire family knowing you're a homewrecker? I understand that she must be lonely after losing her husband, but that doesn't make it right to chase after a married man. Mom was still alive during their chats."

When they arrived at the bakery, Fredia had already entered. Casey wasted no time hurrying inside, wanting to catch them together, but things didn't turn out the way he expected.