I press my lips together into a thin, hard line. “I have nothing to say to you.”

Shelby is slowly inching toward us, wanting to overhear. I look at her. “Can we have a moment, Shelby?”

Sighing in disappointment, the woman says, “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

As soon as she is out of earshot, I frown. “Look, I’m already searching for jobs, okay? Once I find one, I’ll be out of your territory.”

“I didn’t come here because of that.” Robert Montgomery studies ...