Page 112 of If Our Hearts Collide

With typical jobs that involve outside hires, there’s also a trial period that the Hoffmans like to implement, especially considering past failures for hiring trustworthy people.

Graham laughs. “Well, don’t get too comfortable. Penny’s unpredictable. She always has been.”

“Straight up facts,” Nic concurs. “I’m still reeling from when she went to see fucking Tanner.”

Graham growls, and I know his feelings without him ever speaking a word. He and I are similar in our rigidness. And if Penny was…

Mine…

If Penny was under my surveillance at that time, then she sure as hell wouldn’t be trudging into a fucking prison seeing her abuser. Tanner better be glad his life was spared and that the authorities got to him before he could have perished in the fire. But his days are numbered if he thinks he can torment the poor girl from inside his barred cell.

Mark might be telling Penny that he will see her in court, but there’s no way any of us want Penny to relive her trauma on the stand.

“But Collins has seen it all with Angie and Claire,” Nic continues. “Can’t get much worse than those two hellions.”

I swallow hard. I honestly would have thought that from the sidelines, but I’m just a couple of weeks in on the job with Penny and already want to take a leave of absence.

“I’m just glad that Penny is out of the facility and is making progress at moving on. She is strong.”

Graham and Nic nod, their eyes softening. I know they love their sister. That’s what this is all about in the first place—protecting her.

“Just keep her out of trouble,” the eldest Hoffman says with a sigh. “I have my hands full with the wife. And to think I fell in love with her for her passion and independence.”

Nic bursts out laughing. “That’s the irony, isn’t it? If I wasn’t terrified of Claire’s emotional state, I would lock her away for safekeeping and coddle the hell out of her.”

“Pretty sure you are still doing the latter,” Graham points out. When Nic starts to become defensive, he holds up a hand to quiet him. “Oh, I don’t blame you. Trust me. If my Angie were to be in Claire’s shoes, she best know that I’m not going to put up with half the shit I put up with now. My need to let her spread her wings only works when she isn’t running herself into the ground. Someone needs to make sure that woman is taking care of herself and eating right. Drives me nuts.”

I think back to the face Penny made when I made her eat breakfast on the way to her parents’. I swear all these fierce women are the same. They like to act like they don’t need us, but in reality they totally do.

And if this dickhead of a roommate even thinks about making a move on Penny, I’m going to snatch her from this town and make the idiot she cohabitates with become part of a missing persons case. I swear life has a way of throwing curveballs my way that I never anticipated needing to catch.

I take a detour to the locker room to use the shower and clean up before heading home. At least I already ran a background check on the owner of the apartment building when I first moved in, so the only thing left to do is keep a closer watch on this LukeBrawley. If he’s like most guys his age, he’ll reveal his cards soon, and I’ll know just how much of a threat he is to my sanity.

When I exit the gym and unlock my car door, I see the shiny penny that I have resting in the center console. I remember seeing Penny’s excitement over finding something that doesn’t have much value, yet now holds special meaning to me.

I drive home in silence, just listening to my own internal thoughts. I allow muscle memory to take over, parking my car, exiting, and jogging up the stairs just like I have many times.

I unlock the door, de-arm the security system, and take off my shoes. I appreciate having a tidy home. However, I can’t erase the image of Penny inside this apartment. She’s not messy, yet I wouldn’t describe her as a neat freak.

She is controlled chaos.

Despite her being in my residence just a couple of times, I still find little reminders that she was actually here and not some figment of my imagination. It’s the simplest things too, like a hair tie left on a doorknob or the way she haphazardly hung the bathroom towel. Or it was the way the smell of fresh strawberries lingered, letting me know that I didn’t just dream up the entire night in my head.

Making my way into my office, I lay out the file folder that Chris presented me with and go to work at verifying that he’s the stand-up guy I knew back in my military days. It seems like a lifetime ago that I was being trained and working myself up in rank, and then that chapter of my life ended about as abruptly as it started.

When I graduated from high school and didn’t have any clue what I wanted to do with my life, I did what many guys with my childhood upbringing do—I enlisted. It became obvious that I could endure the mental and physical stress without complaint, which were qualities that made me valuable.

I was good at my job and wasn’t afraid of a little hard work—or a lot of it. I worked my way up the ladder fast, and looking back, probably too fast. Having a target on your back when surrounded by those who should all be on the same side of freedom isn’t fun when the betrayal happens from within. It hurts more that way.

And the discharge that happened nearly crushed me.

I could put blame on others, but it all boils down to trusting the wrong people.

I refuse to ever make that mistake again.

Penny might not realize it yet, but we have similar traumas that have irrevocably changed the course of our lives.

And I’m trying my very best to prevent more trauma from happening to her.

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