Chapter 76
Jasper smirked with smugness. “Dealing with someone like Stella, who’s got no steady income, is a piece of cake.”
“Haynie, let’s leave Stella in the cold for a few days. Then, I’ll figure out a few tricks to make her come crawling back.”
Haynes ignored Jasper and turned his attention to Rachel instead. “Rachel, you fell down the stairs accidentally. Why didn’t you tell us?”
A flicker of panic crossed Rachel’s eyes. Haynes wasn’t as easy to fool as Jasper and Keen. He had a knack for seeing through people’s facades.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Haynes. “I thought Ms. Cameron was coming to apologize to Keen and you, so I wanted to take her to see you guys…”
“I might have gotten too eager and reached out to Ms. Cameron. I’m unsure if she shook me off or if I lost my footing and fell…”
Jasper interjected, “Haynie, Rachel was trying to help. The video shows Rachel trying to bring Stella to you guys. And Rachel never said it was Stella’s fault.”
He paused, whispering, “Keen even said it was Stella. Who would doubt that? Besides, Stella’s always picking on Rachel. If people misunderstand her, isn’t that Stella’s own doing?”
Seeing where it was going, Keen lowered his head. “Dad, I’m sorry. I must have made a mistake.”
Rachel quickly added, “Haynie, Keen’s still young. It’s normal for him to make mistakes. If you need to blame someone, blame me. I shouldn’t have approached Ms. Cameron…”
Rachel looked at Haynes pleadingly. “Haynie, I’ve been punished enough. Please don’t blame Keen, okay?”
Keen watched Rachel take the blame upon herself, feeling grateful and a little resentful.
Of course, Rachel was the kind one. His mom, on the other hand, seemed to relish pushing his buttons. What he didn’t realize was that Rachel had skillfully redirected the blame onto him, neatly stepping away from the mess.
Haynes’ stern expression softened. “Rachel, this isn’t your fault. You wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t been trying to catch up to Stella. Now, get some rest.”
As he finished speaking, Haynes’ phone rang.
Answering it, he heard Callie’s worried voice on the other end. “Haynie, Mom’s out of her meds, and Stella hasn’t brought the new batch. Mom’s been in bed all day with one of her headaches. It’s worse than usual. You need to get Stella to bring them over!”
Haynes furrowed his brow. “What’s Stella got to do with Mom’s meds?”
“Haynie, you know how Mom’s had these headaches forever. No doctor seems to help. A few years ago, Stella brought her some medication that seemed to do the trick.”
“Surprisingly, it’s been working wonders. Stella’s been delivering it regularly for years now.”
“This time, she’s three days late!”
Callie paused with frustration. “Do you think she’s doing this purposely to get to Mom?”
“Whatever her issues are, she can’t mess around with Mom’s health like this!”
Haynes was silent before responding, “You’re saying she’s been doing this for years?”
Callie confirmed, “Yeah, at least two.”
“I’ve had countless specialists prescribe meds for Mom with little success. What is Stella bringing that works so well?”
Callie answered, “I’m not sure. She said it was from some old traditional medicines. Mom checked it out with her doctors, who said it was fine. But you know, Mom’s headaches have been around for decades. It’ll take a while to cure them.”