Page 100 of Cornered

“Captain Riser said it could’ve been worse.” Lahela felt bad for saying so when she looked at the wounds on Mr. Dunn’s hands. “He’s got an arson investigator coming over sometime today to determine the cause of the fire.”

Mr. Dunn’s eyes widened. “An investigator?”

Lahela didn’t want to go into all the details behind the suspicion. No reason to freak her neighbor out more than necessary. “Yes, and they might come by here to talk to you, is that okay?”

“Yes, of course.” He set the coffee on the table. “Lahela, I will pay for all of the damage.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what this is about.” She sat forward on the chair. “They’re doing their job. If this was an accident”—she prayed it was—“my insurance will cover everything.”

Mr. Dunn looked ready to argue, but the happy trilling noise coming from her cell phone stopped him. Last night, when she couldn’t sleep, she gave all her contacts a special ringtone, so she’d know it was them calling. She silenced Daphne’s call before sending a quick text that she was okay and would see her soon.

“You don’t want to answer that?”

“No, it’s my friend checking on me.” She rose to her feet. “We’re meeting up at church.”

“Are you coming back?”

Mr. Dunn’s question felt like he knew where her thoughts had gone. She glanced over at her sweet house. It appeared as lonely as she felt inside. “I hope to, but...”

“You don’t have to be scared, Lahela.” Mr. Dunn looked around the neighborhood. “We take care of our own. Rosemary was at my door first thing this morning, concerned about you. She’s probably already forming a neighborhood watch team. We’ll make sure nothing like this happens to you again.”

“I appreciate that, Mr. Dunn, but the last thing I want is for anyone else to get hurt.”

“We feel the same way about you.” His lips pressed together for a second and his eyes turned glassy again. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not a bunch of spring chickens. It’sbeen nice having someone not collecting social security living here. You’re like our daughter and we want to make sure you feel safe.”

Lahela blinked back tears. “Thank you, Mr. Dunn.”

Homesickness set in as she drove away from her neighborhood. Many of her neighbors had first welcomed her with baked goods, tips about Miracle Springs—including a little gossip—and always waved whenever they saw her. She didn’t want to leave them, but if Mr. Dunn or anyone else was harmed again because of her ... she’d never recover from the weight of it all.

ELEVEN

EYES—GUARDED.Smile—forced. Posture—uncomfortable.

Briggs didn’t need years of working as a police officer to interpret Lahela’s countenance while sitting in church. Two things kept him seated away from her at the back of the church: First, she was safe sitting with Daphne and her family, which included her father, Jack Crawford, a former Texas Ranger. And second, from his position he could watch for anyone paying extra attention to Lahela.

Or rather, unusual attention. Lahela had a magnetism that drew others to her—even if no one else but him could see how hard she was trying to appear like her normally bright self. The second the service ended, he made a beeline to her and invited her to lunch at a nearby café.

BRIGGS EYEDLahela’s untouched ham sandwich. “Is your sandwich okay?”

“Yeah, I guess I’m not that hungry.” She glanced at his own half-eaten turkey club. “You either?”

“Not really.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and her gaze slippedaway from his. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have ordered anything.”

“Lahela, please stop apologizing. I’d buy you a thousand uneaten sandwiches if it means sitting here with you.”

Uneaten sandwiches?Had he really just said that?Who buys eaten sandwiches, Briggs?A burst of bubbly laughter from Lahela pulled him from his self-deprecation. Her smile reached to the corners of her eyes as she continued to laugh, no doubt realizing what he’d just said.

Since Trevor had shown up on Saturday, this was the first glimpse of the old Lahela he’d seen, and he wanted to do whatever it took to be the one who kept her smiling and laughing—even at his expense.

The attempt to keep her smiling was interrupted by a phone call from Nash. “Hey, man. I’m out with Lahela now.”

“A date? It’s about time,” Nash practically yelled into his ear. From the smile playing on Lahela’s face, she’d heard him. “Have you confessed all your feelings for—”

“I’ll call you later.” Cheeks flaming, Briggs silenced his phone. “Sorry about that.”

“Nash needs to work on his indoor voice.” She winked and then her playful tone shifted, brown eyes searching his face. “So, is this a date?”

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