and followed Tyler down the hall. I trailed behind, leaning against the door frame of the small space. It was so filled with equipment—computers and video screens and soundboards—I wondered how they all fit without bumping into each other, but they all seemed to have their own corner.
Tyler handled the introductions. “You remember Vinnie and Mushroom,” he said.
They waved and Dani offered them a weak smile. “Hi, guys.”
“And that over there is Steven,” Tyler said. “Actually, you might recognize him from the Daily News Drop on the show. He’s on camera with Isaac a lot.”
“Sure. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Isaac’s sister, Dani.”
“But you can call her Chef Dani,” Isaac said, barreling past me into the room. “She’s a little down on her luck right now so she’s going to earn her keep cooking for us.”
“Down on your luck?” Tyler asked. “What’s up?” He gave Dani a concerned look that made my jaw tense. I forced myself to relax. I was not jealous of Tyler, no matter how my emotions decided to react.
Dani looked from Isaac to Tyler, then to the rest of the men in the room; all their eyes were trained on her.
I slipped out of the room and pulled out my phone, scrolling to find Dani in my contact list. As soon as she popped up, I called her number.
Seconds later, her phone started to ring. I listened as she started rummaging through her purse. “Sorry, I was expecting a call. I should . . . I should take this. Bye, guys.”
She stepped into the hallway just as she pulled out her phone. She looked at the screen, then looked up, then back to her phone again, her face awash with relief. “Thank you,” she whispered, dropping her phone back into her bag.
“Don’t mention it.”
She followed me up the narrow stairway and down a long hallway into a single bedroom that comprised the upstairs. I flipped the light, disappointed to see just how dismal the room actually appeared. It was completely bare, nothing but the red couch pushed into the corner and a row of boxes stacked to the left of the door. Only one window graced the room—a narrow transom that ran across the top of the far wall. “This feels really depressing,” I said. “I’m almost sorry I suggested it.”
She made a derisive noise. “So then I’d be where? Back on the street? Trust me. As tired as I am, I’d sleep just about anywhere right now.”
I wheeled her suitcases across the floor and lined them against the wall, to the right of the couch. She needed a table. And a chair. A lamp and a rug for the floor. But then, if we were going to go that far, she needed a bed instead of a dingy sofa. There had to be some things sitting around Isaac’s that could be moved into her room. I made a mental note to take a look when I went back to the main house. “I’ll see if I can find you some blankets, at least. And a spare pillow.” Even if it meant bringing her something from my own room, I could at least do that much.
“That would be great.” She sank onto the couch, settling back into the cushions. “At least it’s comfortable,” she said. “I left all my stuff back in New York. It’s sitting in a trailer at Mirna’s house. Chase is going to drive it down for me in a few weeks.”
“Darius’s mom, Mirna?” I asked.
“Yeah. She actually told me to tell you hello.”
“How’s she doing?”
Dani smiled, the first genuine smile I’d seen since she’d arrived. “She’s officially in remission. Chase and Darius are still trying to figure out how to pay for everything, but the cancer is gone, which makes it all feel worth it, I guess.”
Chase and Darius and Mirna felt like part of another life, a separate life, with a version of myself far removed from the person I’d been for the past year. But Chase and Darius, Paige and Reese—they had mattered in a real way. A pang of guilt settled into my gut. When I’d walked out on Dani, I’d walked out on them all.
“I wish I’d done a better job of staying in touch,” I said softly.
“Why didn’t you?” Dani asked. There was an edge of defensiveness to her tone, but this time, I didn’t think her malice had anything to do with the hurt I’d caused her. She really was just thinking about her friends,