Pippa flinched. “Slade, I did not let her do it to hurt you.”
“Then why,” I demanded.
“Because she wanted to do something,” Pippa shot back, voice rising. “You deserve joy even if you pretend you don’t.”
I laughed once, harsh. “Joy.”
Pippa swallowed. “She was so excited. Winter and Holly were excited. I didn’t think you were going to explode.”
My eyes narrowed. “You didn’t think.”
Pippa’s eyes filled. “I thought you might come home and be surprised and not be alone in it for once. Slade, you can’t run from the past.”
I stared at her.
She looked terrified now, like she realized she’d miscalculated.
My jaw tightened. “Where would she go.”
Pippa shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know,” I repeated, slower.
“I don’t,” she insisted. “She didn’t tell me anything about her lif
