The Dead and the Dark(15)

“Tammy,” Alejo said, “fancy meeting you here.”

Tammy cleared her throat. “What a coincidence. I feel like I see you everywhere.”

“I’m sure you love that.”

Barton women didn’t back down and they certainly didn’t lose. Tammy exhaled sharply. “How are you and your family settling in?” she asked. “I heard you’re staying at the Bates. Bit of a downgrade from a Hollywood mansion, but you’re used to living on my property, so I’m sure you’ve made yourself at home.”

“Mom,” Ashley breathed.

The man turned to Ashley and his expression warmed. “This must be your daughter? Ashley, right? It’s been a long time.”

Ashley blinked. She was sure she’d never met the man before, but something about his smile was familiar.

“Don’t talk to her,” Tammy said, stepping in front of Ashley.

Alejo rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. I’m just trying to have a conversation. You’re the one turning this into a thing.”

“I’m not doing anything but getting my groceries.”

“Right,” Alejo said. He eyed Ashley again. “I heard you met my daughter the other day.”

Tammy scowled. “I said don’t talk to her. How would you like it if I went and talked to your daughter?”

Ashley looked back and forth between the two of them. Her mother was usually a master of mitigating situations like this. She was supposed to be the picture of poise and calmness. This untethered version of her was unsettling. Ashley held her breath. Guilt over the fight in the gift shop welled up in her like a balloon.

“You don’t have to,” Alejo said. “Your daughter and her friends already harassed her. It was apparently quite the Snakebite welcome.”

“Hmm.” Tammy briefly eyed Ashley like she meant to ask for clarification, but she steeled herself. “Maybe if she kept her head down, she wouldn’t—”

“Logan isn’t hurting anyone by shopping for candles, Tammy.”

Tammy paused for a moment, eyes narrowed. “Logan…?”

Alejo cleared his throat, but said nothing.

Tammy shook off whatever surprise the name had given her. She spun her cart around to leave. “We’ll just get our groceries later.”

“You don’t have to—” Alejo dragged his palm over his mouth. His lips pressed together in a thin, desperate line. “Can we talk?”

Tammy closed her eyes and exhaled, slow and measured. Without looking at Ashley, she smiled. “Can you go get some broccoli for the stir-fry? I’ll just be a second.”

Ashley nodded. She took the shopping cart and walked as briskly as she could to the next aisle. She had no intention of missing their conversation. She’d never seen her mother act so unnerved by anyone, let alone a lanky forty-something in a knit sweater. From between the candy bars and the soda, she could just make out her mother’s tense voice.

“Okay, five minutes.”

“Tammy…” There was a moment of silence as someone walked through the aisle. Once they were gone, Alejo continued, “You’re not happy we’re here—I get that.”

“Apparently you don’t. Otherwise you’d leave.” Ashley could hear her mother’s scowl from an aisle away. “What do you want?”

“You know we haven’t had it easy here.”

“Yes, I know the loss was hard on you. And I’m sorry, really.” Tammy was quiet for a moment. “But I thought you two leaving was more of a permanent thing.”

“I did, too,” Alejo said, “but the three of us have just as much a right to be here as anyone else.”

“Hmm,” Tammy said. “Her name is in really poor taste, by the way.”

Alejo was quiet. His quiet was a wounded thing, tense and cold all at once. “You can say whatever you want to me and Brandon—I really don’t care—but Logan doesn’t have anything to do with that.”

“You know how Snakebite is. Why bring her?”

“Because we’re a family,” Alejo said, voice bordering on desperate. “What’re we supposed to do—leave her home?”

“Alejo,” Tammy said, softer than before. “I’m serious. What are you doing back here?”

“We’re location scouting. For the show.”

“You’re going to make a joke out of us.”

And then neither of them said anything. Ashley leaned further into the candy bars, listening for more. Her head swam trying to keep up. It occurred to her how strange she’d look to anyone browsing the aisle, but she didn’t care. This was about more than what John had said to Logan at the store. She’d never heard her mother talk like this. She’d never heard her sound so unsettled. This was the same Tammy Barton who chased fast food chains and superstores out of Snakebite without batting an eye, who commanded the entirety of Barton Ranch with ease. She was Snakebite’s sole protector. Nothing rattled her. But something about Alejo apparently crawled under her skin.

He cleared his throat.

“It’s not a joke. You don’t think things have been weird? You don’t think there’s something off?” Alejo asked. “After … there was a lot of stuff happening here when we left. Problems we never got to resolve.”