“Trav—” Her voice was soft, like she didn’t want to disturb the surrounding serenity. “You built this?”
She looked up at him, and I swear something in his eyes shifted, changed even, something deep. Like maybe he could imagine her inside it like I could. “I did.” He announced proudly. “Eli and I have worked on it for years.”
I stood back when we got inside and watched her take it in. The inside was all smooth lines, warm wood and coziness. The foyer opened into a large living area and open kitchen with butcher block countertops and a farmhouse sink overlooking the wide treelined backyard.
A stone fireplace sat along the edge of the living room, and Travis went over to it and turned it on, letting warmth billow out and hit us.
Frankie walked around the space, dragging her fingertips across the counter and the back of the couch that never got sat on. “You don’t live here, do you?” She asked.
“No,” Travis leaned back against the wall of smoothed logs, shined up and warm.
“Why?” she asked with a slight scowl.
“Didn’t feel finished,” he shrugged. “It wasn’t done until recently, but even then, it didn’t feel right.”
“And now?” She whispered as her green eyes caught the firelight.
“Now it's starting to feel like it’s the right time.”
She looked between us as if she could feel the weight in the air. All the things that still needed to be said hung between us, yet she wasn’t making any progress toward saying them.
“Let’s start with the most important thing to discuss,” I said, dragging my knuckle down her cheek. “Do I need to go get the kids and bring them here? Could they be in danger somehow?”
A haunted, defeated look filled her eyes as she shook her head. “No.”
“How do you know?” Travis asked, turning the lights on and urging Frankie to sit down on the couch close to the fire. He took a seat in the chair on the other side of the coffee table, and I covered Frankie with a blanket from the back of the couch before sitting on the arm. I wanted to be close enough to catch her if she bolted, but she needed enough space to open up to us.
“Because the person who did this has never cared about the kids.” She brought her knees to her chest and hunkered in on herself. “He wouldn’t start now.”
Something cold twisted in my gut, “He?” I repeated, my voice tighter than I intended it to be. “So, you know who it is. You know that it was in fact intentional.”
She flinched, just barely, as the words escaped accidentally. “I didn’t say that.”
“Enough,” Travis growled, leaning forward with a slight grimace. “Just stop, Frankie. For the love of God, just stop. You’ve been looking over your shoulder all week. Just be honest with us.”
She fingered the edge of the blanket, curling it in her fists. “It’s not that simple.”
“The hell it’s not,” I barked, and she flinched, making me regret it instantly. I sank to my knees in front of her and held her hands in mine, trying desperately to control myself. “Please, Frankie.”
“I have no proof.” She cried, widening her eyes as tears misted behind them. “That’s his M.O.! He never leaves proof that I can hold on to and use against him!”
“Who?” I asked, lethal grit in my voice.
The tension grew between us as she stared at me before her shoulders sank again. “Danny.”
“Danny?” I asked, trying to grasp who she meant.
“The kid’s father.” Travis growled from the chair, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“Yes.” She whispered. “I think he stole my spare keys and broke into my house too.”
“Jesus.” Trav got out of the chair and came over to the couch, pulling her into his arms as she linked her fingers with mine and pulled me up on her other side.
“I’m sorry.” She cried, letting the tears fall over her eyelashes. “I don’t know why he’s back, and I’ve been ignoring the signs for so long. But this—” She shuttered, looking up at Travis. “I can’t ignore it anymore. You were hurt because of it. You could have died!”
“I’m just glad it was me.” Trav said powerfully, pulling her in and resting his forehead against hers. “Because if you had gotten hurt because of him, I would have lost my goddamn mind.”
“I don’t know how to stop him.” She sniffed. “Last time—” She shook her head, letting her eyes close as a memory assaulted her. “It almost killed me.”
