“Where’s Owen?” She understood her father’s stance and agreed. Standing in her driveway rehashing everything wouldn’t help. She just wanted to know the extent of the damage to her home and figure out the next best move.
Mike hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Inside.”
“How bad is it?”
“Broken window. Something was thrown inside.” Mike rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes, casting his gaze to his feet.
She swallowed the bile rising up her throat.
“I can head in and check out the footage with him if you want,” Cody said.
As much as she liked the idea of not having to watch her house being vandalized, she needed to see the destruction for herself. “We’ll all watch.”
He nodded then waited for her to make her way up the sidewalk to the front porch. Glass glimmered in the sunlight, the window looking into the living room smashed. The bile hit the back of her palate. She struggled to keep it from spewing out of her mouth and onto the daisies on the other side of the railing.
Cody rested a hand on the small of her back. “You’re okay.”
She relaxed against his touch. His statement was exactly what she needed. Not a question of whether or not she could handle what came next, but a firm declaration that she could handle whatever was inside the house.
Her father darted his gaze between the two of them, the deep V between his eyebrows comically low. But he kept his opinions to himself as he led the way inside.
Owen stood with Tommy in the living room. Both men had their arms crossed over their chest, staring at something laying on the floor.
“She’s here,” Mike said.
Both men glanced up, each aiming a confused frown toward Cody.
Cody’s hand didn’t budge. It remained a steady rock on her back, gently encouraging her to keep moving.
“What are you both looking at?” she asked.
Tommy coughed and gestured toward the floor.
Owen scowled with his narrowed gaze fixed on Cody.
“Might as well tell her what we found inside the living room before looking at the footage.” Mike stood in the center of the small group.
Appreciation washed over her. If she didn’t understand her feelings for Cody right now, the last thing she wanted was her brothers interfering or needing to speak on why she wanted Cody right now.
The thought smashed against her like whatever the hell had burst through her window. The last thing she expected was a bone-deepneedfor anyone besides her son at this point in her life. How had her world shifted upside down so quickly?
Owen shoved a hand through his hair then pointed in the same direction Tommy had indicated. “Someone threw a clock through your window.”
“Excuse me?” If she’d had a million guesses for what she’d find, she’d never have guessed that.
“With a note. We’ll bag it and take it into evidence, but the message he left is loud and clear.”
Tearing herself away from Cody, she took two steps forward and crouched to get a better look at the red clock. The hands ticked away, even if she couldn’t see them behind the words that made her blood turn to ice.
Time’s up.
Cody stareddown at the clock. The threat stared back at him, and he clenched his jaw so tight he feared his molars might crack.
Katherine straightened and swayed on her feet.
He was next to her in a heartbeat. He wrapped on arm around the small of her back and cupped his other palm around her elbow. “Let’s sit down. How about the kitchen?”
She nodded and let him guide her down the hall to the large eat-in kitchen.
