She couldn’t have faced Buster DeSilva right then. Any questions she had for him would have revealed her newfound knowledge and her anguish and disappointment with Nahoa’s judgment. She couldn’t help but stew over the story Warren had related. Evie had been afraid to tell Buster she’d missed her period—five of them, in fact. She’d just worn baggier clothing, which her father never questioned. Though Warren and Justin deduced she was pregnant before Buster, they knew exactly when he caught on because one morning he appeared at work snarling and uncommunicative. At the dojo, he’d barked out the most rudimentary of commands to his classes and flattened unsuspecting students with lightning-fast moves. This had continued for about a month, when he’d apparently risen above his rage. He cheerfully informed Warren that he’d felt the baby move. After that, he gave frequent reports on the progress of the pregnancy. Class attendance rose, too, though Warren doubted it was because Buster had again become personable.
