Mrs. Boebert was shocked. She could not even find the words to refute them. “W-Why you—”

Suddenly, a steady rhythm of footsteps approached them. Declan King’s jocular tone sounded. “Whoa! What’s going on here? Are you guys having a party here?”

Deirdre clenched her fists instinctively. She could not help but be worried. Kyran could not possibly be with him, right? If he were… Bobby might suddenly switch his target and name Kyran, the culprit. Then, because the young man was mute, Mrs. Boebert would bulldoze him even harder with a one-sided argument!

To Deirdre’s relief, Declan added, “Okay. Why does everyone look so intense? Is this because I’m crashing the party or something?”

He said ‘I’, not ‘we.’ Declan was alone this time.

Mrs. Boebert had seized the chance to slink away from the fray with Bobby in tow. Maybe she was afraid of taking up Deirdre’s medical costs after all. Either way, the rest of the crowd broke off soon enough, leaving a slightly nonplussed Declan with Deirdre