Page 51 of No Love Lost

Troy came over and handed her two keys. “Here you go. You’re the only one with the copies. Bring them in soon, and I’ll make extras for you.”

She nodded. These would work for her and Nina, but Heath needed one. That gave her a bit more warmth. She would have this man in her life no matter what.

Once they were in the car, she texted Nina and the school to let them know they were picking her up. The school was vigilant about ensuring only people on the lists picked up kids from school and she’d already added Heath to Nina’s pickup and contact lists at the school. No one could get to her daughter.

So many things had been going right. Except now, she had to tell Nina they had a potential stalker in their lives.

CHAPTER 16

Losing Friends

Heath watched Nina study their little home with wary eyes. Addison had explained all the things that had happened. She hadn’t held anything back from their daughter, but she’d reinforced repeatedly that Marcus had gone over the place for cameras and that new locks protected their home.

Her wording had been careful. We’ve done everything we can to ensure we’re safe. She hadn’t promised they would be safe because she couldn’t promise that. Neither could he, and that pissed him off.

They tried to keep things normal, fixing up a stir fry and talking about other things, but all of them were jumpy and worried.

When they were cleaning up the dishes, Heath decided to speak up. “I don’t want to speak for either of you, but I’m wired tonight. These incidents may end up being nothing, but I’m not going to sleep if I go home to the farmhouse and leave you two alone. I’d like to offer two alternatives. One, I stay here and sleep on the couch. Two, we all go back to the farmhouse. I’m going to head into the living room and let you two talk it out.”

Because if he stayed there, he’d do something stupid like grab them both and never let them go. He didn’t want to freak Nina out with how big his feelings were. She’d need time to learn to know him and to trust him.

Abby’s gasp and then a spurt of giggles from the kitchen had him relaxing. His girls were a lot stronger than some people might think, but it didn’t surprise him in the least.

They came into the living room with identical grins. Nina plopped down onto the couch beside him. “If we go to the farmhouse, can I get a room to myself? And do you think Branna and Sean will let Jabba stay with me?”

“Yes, to both.” Jabba was a huge mutt Sean had rescued from an abandoned property. The dog looked able to eat a sheep, but he was as gentle as one.

“Just for one night because I don’t want to be a coward, but I don’t think I’ll sleep well here tonight. Mom agrees.”

Addy’s face was deeply flushed, but she smiled as she nodded.

Nina patted his arm. “Okay. I’m going to go pack a bag.”

When she bounced into her room, Addy moved to kiss Heath’s cheek. “Thank you.”

He grinned. “You’re very welcome. I’ll text Sean to let him know the plan. At least two rooms are ready, but I don’t know if we need to bring bedding.”

Addy’s flush deepened, and she leaned in to whisper. “Nina suggested maybe you and I could share a room.”

His entire body flinched. Absolute shock filled him. “I thought we’d been more subtle than that.”

She laughed. “Me too, but apparently not. According to our daughter, we don’t need to hide the googly eyes anymore.”

“Googly eyes?”

Addy laughed and shrugged. “I don’t always speak pre-teen, but she seems thrilled we’re together.”

“Are you okay with her figuring it out?”

Addy shrugged with a smile. “I don’t like hiding things from her. We’ve always been honest with each other, so this is good. A bit weird, but good.”

But he could see some worry in her eyes. Because they hadn’t made it the first time. Because life had pulled them apart.

Addy had never had reason to trust in life in general. She’d been dealt plenty of shitty hands. She’d created an amazing life for herself and her daughter despite everything. Now, he was going to spend the rest of his life proving to her she was his choice forever. For always. That she would always have someone at her back.

When they arrived at the farmhouse, Sean and Branna greeted them with smiles and hugs. Branna led his girls up the stairs to show them their rooms while he and Sean headed to the kitchen. He quickly filled in his friend on their worries that someone was stalking Addy or Nina, but probably Addy.

Sean frowned. “I’m betting Addison doesn’t have any security cameras or a system in place.”

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