Chapter 49

She scrunches up her face, but before she can answer, her mother calls from the kitchen. “Oh no! I’m all out of tea, I’m sorry! Let me make some. It’ll only take a minute.”

“No rush,” Alan calls back. He isn’t a fan of sweet tea, iced or hot, but if it keeps her out of the room long enough for Kylie to confide in them, he’ll drink whatever she serves.

“Kylie?” Jim prompts.

The girl gives another dramatic sigh. “Fine. We texted for a while last night, okay? He said you weren’t home—” she thrusts her chin out at Alan “—so he wouldn’t get in trouble for staying up too late.”

Jim glances at Alan. “How late?”

With a shrug, Kylie says, “Midnight, maybe.”

“Maybe?”