Page 68 of Mine to Keep

She bounced up and down. “Why don’t you come inside?”

“This will only take a couple of minutes,” he said. “Did you get a look at him?”

“No. He was just a shadow. Actually, I couldn’t tell you if it was a male or a female.”

“Have you seen anyone sneaking around in the bushes before?”

She swallowed. “No.” Lying had become her new normal.

“Would you mind stepping outside and telling me if you’ve ever seen this man before? There have been a couple of break-ins tonight, and a few last week.”

“I’d rather him not see my daughter.”

“I understand,” Nathan said. “How about I come back later today with a picture? Would that be okay?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. And I’ll need to take a formal statement, but we can do that when I come back, too.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Thanks to you and a couple of other neighbors, we caught the guy.” Nathan reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “This is a safe town. But I do recommend keeping your doors and windows locked when you’re gone and at night. Most of our crime is that of opportunity.”

“I always do. Thanks, Nathan.” Her phone vibrated in her hand. She jumped.

It startled Zadie.

Bryn glanced at the caller ID. “It’s your brother,” she said softly.

“They listen to the police scanner at the station, so I’m sure he heard what was going on.” Nathan nodded. “I’ll be in touch. Call if you need anything at all.”

She secured the door and plopped herself on the rocking chair before tapping the green button on her cell and setting it to speaker mode. “Hey, Jamison.”

“I just heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Shaken up, but fine.” Zadie let out a wail.

Bryn adjusted her top. It was sooner than Zadie would normally wake and start her day, but shit happened.

“Is Zadie okay?”

“She slept through it all until I panicked and woke her up.”

“I think I would have done the same thing.”

“I can’t picture you panicking.” Bryn stared down at her daughter and patted her bottom. Zadie changed every day. It was all so mesmerizing, and right now, the way Zadie held her mother’s gaze seemed to stop feeding every few seconds to crack a slight smile brought tears to Bryn’s eyes.

“That part, maybe not. But I would have picked her up and given her a good squeeze just because,” he said. “I’m glad you called the police. So many people think they see a shadow but don’t do anything about it.”

“I was honestly really scared.” The entire thing replayed in her mind, and her pulse picked up. “I was sitting in the front room reading when I noticed someone hiding behind the tree. Nathan said there were a couple of robberies in the neighborhood already tonight.” She shivered.

“Don’t worry. You live in a really safe place. It was probably some teenager or random person looking for open doors. It happens every once in a while. It’s not something you need to stress over.”

“But I am,” she admitted. “I know Chip has that doorbell camera system installed, but that wouldn’t have helped me. What if the guy managed to come inside?”

“He wasn’t there to hurt you.”

“That’s not making me feel any better.”

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