“She won’t hurt him,” Penny says, to herself, as much as to me. “But she doesn’t like him,” I counter. “He says she’s never liked him.” “Oh, she likes him fine—she just thinks he’s a bad influence on me.” Shepard and I both laugh. Bunce frowns at us. “Maybe we should leave before your mom comes down,” Shepard says. “I don’t want to be here while she’s still putting people in towers.” “I’d break you out,” Penny says dismissively. “Almost nothing you say is reassuring,” he says, somehow still smiling at her. “Being reassuring isn’t one of my core competencies,” she tells him. “Breaking people
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