“Thank you.”
“I’m just saying, I’d relax about that. Not sure how many people around here care about someone stealing a few recipes.”
“So why’d you tell me about it?”
Thomas shrugged. “Thought you’d like to drive by it on the way out of town.”
I drilled him with a look, but then I heard a key in the lock.
My sister opened the door. Sammy was sound asleep in her arms. She looked back and forth between us.
“I don’t fucking believe this,” she said, straining to keep her voice low.
Thomas raised his hands in surrender. “It was my fault,” he said. “I was asking a ton of questions.”
“And whose fault are you?” she said.
She stormed past us and put Sammy in her bedroom, on her bed.
He laughed. “She is pissed!”
“I wouldn’t laugh, some of that anger seemed directed at you.”
“Nah. Just caught in the crossfire.”
Rain walked back into the living room. She crossed her arms over her chest, turning first to Thomas.
“I had to keep Sammy at the hotel my entire shift.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said.
“Where’s Thomas?” she asked Thomas.
I looked at him, confused. “I thought you were Thomas.”
My sister pointed at him. “No, this is Ethan.”
“You told me you were Thomas.”
He shook his head. “I think if someone rewound the conversation, it was you who told me I was Thomas.”
“So who are you?” I said.
He held out his hand. “Ethan Nash. And you’re Rain’s sister. YouTube sensation.” He paused. “Kind of.”
I stared at his hand, not taking it. “You could have corrected me.”
“I could have.” He smiled. “Just one question. Why Macon, Georgia? It’s not a particularly lush farming community. Why not go to Texas? That still has a Southern feel.”
“We clearly needed your help.”
“Clearly.”
My sister rolled her eyes. “Look, where is Thomas?” she said, completely uninterested in this. “He was supposed to grab Sammy at the hotel and take her home. She’s going to be exhausted!”
Ethan turned toward Rain. “There was a small car accident.”
The anger washed off her face and in its place was terror. “What?”