“I’m afraid I’m not that interesting.”
“Hmm.” The officer’s radio squeaked, and he silenced it. “I can tell you, we haven’t had any other reports like this in Nutfield. I’ll check to see if any of the neighboring towns have, but I’d be surprised. This”—he spun his finger in a circle indicating her house and the events of the day—“this is very unusual. So keep your eyes open, let us know if you think you’re being followed or if anyone shows you extra attention. Not that there’s much we can do, but if anything unusual happens, let us know. We’ll try to keep an eye out for you. Okay?”
They wanted to watch out for her? The thought felt so foreign that any authorities would care. That anyone would care. “I can do that.”
“And I’m not kidding about the gun. You don’t need a permit in New Hampshire. You can buy one today and bring it home.”
“Just like that?”
“You have the right to protect yourself. And the responsibility. To yourself, your parents, your loved ones.”
Kade squeezed her hand and inched slightly closer. “To me.”
She glanced at him, expecting to see amusement, but his face held no smile, no crinkling around his eyes. Only intensity in those pursed lips, that serious gaze.
The police officer continued. “Buy a gun, learn to use it, and then be prepared to shoot if you have to. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
He shook her hand, shook Kade’s, and left.
After the door closed behind him, Kade turned to her. “I can help you with the locks and with the gun.”
She headed toward the kitchen for a drink. “The locks I’m fine with. I’m going to need to think about the gun.”
He followed and stopped in the doorway. “Get your things.”
She turned. “Right now?”
His eyebrows rose as if she’d asked a stupid question.
She needed to think, to process. She pulled two glasses from the cabinet and filled them with water. Obviously, Kade was in a hurry to be finished with her and get on with his day. He’d told her he had other things to do, and she’d kept him hours longer than he’d planned to stay. “Look, I can manage.” She held a glass out to him, thinking he must be as thirsty as she was. “I know you’re busy.”
He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath through his nose, then blew it out. His features relaxed, and he opened his eyes. “Your life is in danger. There’s nothing more important than making sure you’re safe.”
She set the glass he hadn’t taken on the counter. “For me, maybe, but for you, there’s nothing more important than—”
“Would you stop? Get your things and get in the car.”
“You’re not the boss of me.” She put as much teenage attitude as she could in the words and added a grin so he’d know she was kidding.
He smiled back. Finally. She hadn’t seen his face free of worry in hours. It warmed her almost as much as his touch had. She set down her own drink and rested her hand on his arm. “I’m not trying to be obstinate. I’m just saying, I can manage shopping by myself, and you have other things to do. Why don’t you go home and work on your presentation to the zoning board…” Their conversation from earlier popped into her head. “Let me get that binder for you. It’ll be a great place to start.”
His back stiffened. “I’m not thinking about that right now. I’m worried—”
“I know, okay? Worrying about my safety isn’t going to get your development built. And I really am capable of managing the hardware store by myself.”
He leaned against the doorjamb. “Will you at least let me install the new locks?”
“That would be great. I mean, I could figure it out, but if you know how…”
“I’ve done it plenty of times on properties I’ve flipped. If you have a tape measure, I’ll see what size boards you need to get for the windows.”
She opened her junk drawer—one of many in her house—and dug around until she found it. She handed it to him, then grabbed a notepad and a pen. “I’ll take notes.”
He took those, too. “You find that binder for me, okay? This’ll only take a few minutes.”
He headed for her back windows while she went upstairs and into the first bedroom on her right. She was pretty sure her old work things were in a box in there.
And she was right. It was lucky she hadn’t brought much with her from California. Most of the things in her house she’d purchased since she’d moved here. She met Kade back downstairs with the binder in her hand. He was bent over the notepad, scribbling.
“Got it,” she said.
He finished what he was doing and handed the pad to her. “I got all the windows measured and wrote a list for you.” He stood beside her so he could read what she was looking at. He’d labeled each window—front right, front left, etc.—and added measurements to the sixteenth of an inch. Meticulous.
“You see at the bottom”—he pointed to the last notation—“I recommend that brand of lock. They’re easy to install and well made. Any chance you have a drill?”
“I do. It’s in the shed.”
“Good. You’ll need to see what size hole cutter and buy that while you’re there. I don’t know what to recommend in terms of a security system. Maybe ask them at the hardware store. I can do some research if—”
“I probably won’t do that today. Surely whoever broke in this afternoon won’t come back tonight. That’ll give me some time to figure it out.”
He stepped back so he could face her. “You’re going to stay in this house tonight, all alone, without a security system? Do you really think you’ll sleep?”
She considered the question, didn’t like the answer. “I know what you’re saying, but—”
“We can call one of those security companies and have them do the install. Maybe you could stay with a friend until they get out here.”
“I’m not leaving my home.” She glanced around at her house. Her house. Where she’d always felt protected. She’d felt safer here than she ever had in all those little rent houses. “Look, I’ve lived here for almost a year, and nothing like this has ever happened. It’s weird it happened today, I’ll admit, but I don’t fear for my life. Whoever that guy was, he came when I wasn’t home on purpose. He was looking for something. Even if he didn’t finish the job, he’ll wait until I’m not home to come back. Don’t you think?”
“That’s not a risk we should take. We’re talking about your life.”
“No. We’re talking about my stuff.”
His brows lowered, and he closed his mouth tight. “Just look at security systems when you’re there. If you see one, buy it, and I’ll install it.”
“You have to—”
“I can work tomorrow.”
He was stubborn and obstinate and determined to protect her. There was something intensely comforting—and attractive—in that, so much so that she couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed. “How about this—I’ll let you help me stay safe if you’ll let me help you with your development.”
His eyebrows rose. “Really? You want to help?”
It was the least she could do, but she realized as she’d asked the question that she did want to help, and not because she owed him. “I would be honored. You work on getting acquainted with the binder while I’m gone.”
A smile, a real, full smile, crossed his lips. He held out his hand to shake, and she placed hers in it. He closed his other around hers. “Deal.”
As Ginny drove to the hardware store, the events of the day—and the day before—pressed down on her.
She’d always prided herself on being able to focus on what she wanted, keep her thoughts free of fear and worry. It was how she’d managed to graduate from high school with honors, go to college, and then rise so quickly in her first job—all despite the uncertainty and unsteadiness at home. It was how she’d managed to keep going after her father died and her mother sent her away in such a strange and sudden way. It was how she’d managed to start over
in a new town in a new state with a new career and be successful so quickly. Positive thinking had fueled her life.
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Even though Ginny loved that proverb from the Bible, she wasn’t sure what to think about God. Most of her new friends in Nutfield were Christians, and they had convinced her to go to church a few times with them. Samantha Kopp hosted a Bible study in her home one night a week, which Ginny attended sporadically. She’d been raised with no religion at all, but she’d always believed in a higher power. Nobody could look at the beauty and complexity of creation and think it had all happened by accident. The God of the Christian church, though? What she’d learned about God so far had resonated. Like that proverb, for instance. But she wasn’t convinced. She believed what she chose to focus on directed her life.
After the intruder, Ginny needed to focus on Kathryn’s warnings and make a plan.
At least she could get to the hardware store on autopilot. Her mind was a million miles away.
In Nutfield, Ginny had friends. She had a business and a life. She desperately needed roots, a home, a family. In Nutfield, she’d begun to cultivate those things. Sure, the friends she’d met weren’t technically family, but they were the closest thing she had.
And there was Kade. She had no idea what would become of that, but she wanted to explore it.
At what cost, though?
She needed more information about what she was dealing with.
She parked in the hardware store’s lot, took a deep breath, then pressed her sister’s number on her car’s Bluetooth screen. Maybe, now that Kathryn was safely away, she’d feel comfortable sharing more information.
But Ginny got a recorded message saying the number had been disconnected.
Wow. That was fast. She swallowed the disappointment, the sadness. The next number on her screen was her dad’s. If he were alive, he’d answer her call. He was the only one who’d still cared for her.
Except, though Daddy had been kind to her, even tender with her sometimes, though he’d encouraged her and even told her he was proud of her when she made good grades, Dad had never been honest with her.
He wouldn’t be now, even if he were alive.
She missed him anyway.
And then there was Mom’s number. Ginny hadn’t spoken to Mom since Dad’s memorial service. Not that she hadn’t missed her mother and longed to hear her voice. Mom had never loved Ginny, not like a real mom should, but she was the only mother Ginny had.
Before she thought too much, she pressed the button. It rang twice, and her mother answered.
“Why are you calling me?” Her voice was rough, a leftover effect of years of cigarette smoking.
Ginny’s heart pounded. “Kathryn left.”
“She had to.” Ginny could picture her stubbing out the latest butt in the old gold ashtray they’d had forever. “That was your fault. I told you to run. I didn’t tell you to run to her.”
“She called you?”
“That’s the deal. You move, you call. So there’s nothing you need to tell me that I don’t already know.”
“My house was broken into today. Someone searched it.”
Silence. Then, “Did they take anything?”
“I don’t think so. The duffel bag’s in a safe place. Is that what they were looking for?”
“How in the world should I know?”
“You do know, Mom. Just tell me—”
“Do what your sister did and run. Take the money and your valuables. When you get where you’re staying, get a burner and—”
“I remember the instructions.”
“Obviously not. I told you to lay low, and I told you only to call from a burner. So this time, do a better job of hiding.”
“But I don’t want to run. This is my home.”
“You were always such a”—expletive—“whiner. Get those stars out of your eyes.”
“I have a life here, Mom.”
“Run. And don’t look back.”
“But if you’d just tell me—”
“And don’t call me until you’re settled. With a burner, for”—expletive—“sake.”
No point in answering, not because Ginny didn’t have plenty to say, but because the three short beeps in her ear told her Mom had already disconnected.
Ginny stared at the car’s dashboard as if it could bring her mother back and fingered the necklace she’d worn ever since Dad’s death. It was a rose gold circle pendant with what looked like an onyx in the center. It was probably just a piece of black glass, but it was special to her because he’d given it to her a week before he died. It hadn’t been her birthday, nor a holiday. Just a gift because he’d been thinking of her.
A cheap trinket was all she had left of her family.
Whatever. She had shopping to do.
The store was packed. A sunny April day, and everybody in New Hampshire was celebrating the warmth. She passed people with carts loaded with plants and flowers and fertilizer and tools. People were smiling and cheerful. Some even wore shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops as if the temperature were in the nineties, not barely seventy.
Ginny glanced at the displays of flowers in the lawn-and-garden department. She’d planned to add colorful annuals to the small flowerbeds in her front yard, but now she wasn’t so sure.
Her mother’s words resonated in her mind. Run and don’t look back.
She smiled at a toddler riding in her mother’s shopping cart. The girl waved at her, and Ginny waved back until the girl and her mom disappeared around the corner.
There was such joy in this place today. Ginny needed to fixate on it and not on the many questions plaguing her.
No. She needed to fixate on the problem, not put it out of her mind. She needed to focus. Positive thinking wasn’t going to keep that intruder from coming back.
She found the aisle with locks, located the brand and size Kade had recommended. After a few moments of deliberation, she chose a set for the front door—a lovely wrought iron that would go well with the dark red she intended to paint the door one of these days. She picked a similar handle-and-lock combo for the back door, simpler but with elegant lines.
After waiting patiently for someone to help her, she instructed one of the employees to cut the lengths of wood she’d need to secure her windows.
Wood stacked in the cart and locks chosen, she headed to the aisle with security systems.
So many to choose from, and they weren’t cheap. Some were less than a hundred dollars, but this wasn’t the kind of thing one should skimp on. The better ones were pricey. Kade had done a little research and texted his suggestions. She located the ones he liked. Expensive.
Was she really going to plop down three hundred dollars to secure a home she didn’t intend to stay in?
And that was the real question, wasn’t it?
She couldn’t avoid the decision anymore. It was time for her to choose. Should she do as her mother and sister demanded and leave Nutfield for good?
Or should she take the risk and stay?
To leave meant starting over. In business, with friends. But it also meant she’d be safe from… from whoever was after her.
To stay meant fighting for the life she’d built in Nutfield. It meant she’d keep the business, the house, the friends. But only if she stayed alive.
Maybe a smart person wouldn’t risk her life for little things like a house and a job. But it wasn’t those that had her vacillating.
It was the people she’d have to leave.
Jack and Harper, Sam and Garrison, Rae and Brady and the rest of that crew, clients, people Ginny worked with, people she’d become friends with at the real estate club, in the Chamber of Commerce, at the food bank.
And she’d have to leave Kade.
The concern he’d shown her, the care and tenderness… She’d felt valued in a way she never had before. Sure, her friends would’ve helped her if they’d known what had happened. But Kade… He barely kne
w her, and he’d been there for her.
She closed her eyes, shutting out all the different boxes and displays in front of her, and remembered the moment Kade had run outside, had pulled her from the car and wrapped her in his arms.
She’d felt safe there. She’d felt… at home.
And now she was considering leaving? Starting over in a new town in a new state with nothing? She couldn’t have cared less about the money she might lose, the business, the clients.
She cared about the people. She cared about Kade.
All she’d ever wanted was a family. In Nutfield, she’d found one.
And she wasn’t sacrificing it. Not for a nameless, faceless threat.
She opened her eyes, found the most expensive of the security systems Kade had suggested, and put it in her cart. She could handle the price tag.
She’d need the best if she was going to protect herself from the enemy.
In the car on the way back to Nutfield, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID—it was Rae, one of her new friends. And… she just remembered. Brady, Rae’s husband, was the chief of police.
When she answered, Rae said, “We heard about the break-in. Anything we can do?”
That Rae, a woman she’d only just started getting to know, would call… Emotion clogged her throat, and she swallowed it down. “I need to buy a handgun. Do you have any suggestions?”
Chapter Six
A car door slammed outside, and Kade stood from his seat at the dining room table and walked to the front window. Sure enough, Ginny was opening her trunk.
He jogged into the evening light. “Can I help?”
She turned to him, a plastic sack dangling from her arm. “That’d be great.”
Wow, that smile…
Inside the trunk were cut boards and a laminated box that held the security system. “You bought one.”
“The one you suggested.”
The rush of pleasure had him scolding himself. He needed to get a grip. “I’ll get it installed tonight.”
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