Mom flings her arms around me, crushing me in a hug that I want no part of. I stiffen, but she doesn’t catch on to my irritation. All she can focus on is how she’s miraculously escaped yet another s**t situation. “Oh, sweetheart, thank you so much. I swear, it won’t happen again.” She pulls back and looks at me with earnest hazel eyes that I don’t trust for a second. “Don’t thank me. I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Dad. You know damn well what they’d do to him if we don’t get this paid.” She finally shows a hint of the remorse that should be eating her from the inside out. “Are you going to tell him?” I lift my now full coffee mug up and breathe in the caffeine-laden steam. “Probably, but not until this has all settled down. In the meantime, I suggest you find a new damn hobby b
