I’m in that space between wake and sleep where everything feels like a possibility. Being surrounded by Knox’s warmth makes me feel safer than I ever have. Not even the threat of Alex being in town has a place in this bed this morning.
I’m going to lie here and bask in the happiness I’ve been dreaming about for years. Something happened last night between Knox and me. I don’t know exactly what it was, but the way he made love to me was almost as if he were saying the words. It made my eyes prick with tears I had to quickly swallow down. I didn’t want Knox to think I was anything but inordinately happy.
“You’re thinking an awful lot for it barely being daylight,” Knox grumbles. His sleep-roughened voice sends a shiver through my body.
I turn over so I can press my face into his bare chest. “How can you tell?”
He wraps his arms tighter around me. “Because you start to get restless the faster your thoughts move, as if your body needs to match the speed of your brain.”
I pull back from his chest in surprise. “How in the world did you notice something so small?”
He smirks down at me. “Because I made it my business to learn everything about you.”
“Why?”
“At first, I was trying to figure out what your angle was. Then I just became obsessed with everything you do.”
I shake my head. “You never cease to shock me, Knox.”
He grins as his phone rings. A crease forms between his eyebrows when he checks it. “This is Knox.” He bolts up out of bed, sending my heart thrumming in panic.
“No, she’s not in the residence. Have the police been dispatched?” There’s a short pause, then he says, “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.” He hangs up the phone before looking at me. “The security alarm at your house went off ten minutes ago. The police should be arriving any minute, but we should go meet them over there.”
“Did they get into the house?”
Knox shakes his head. “I don’t know.”
Knox wakes up Finn while I finish getting ready. The two of them are already downstairs when I’m done. They’re heating the frozen breakfast sandwiches Knox keeps on hand, talking quietly.
“Why would someone try to go to Farrah’s house without her there?” Finn asks.
“That’s what we’re going to find out, buddy, but listen, I need you to stick with Farrah or me the whole time we’re there, okay? We don’t know who tried to get into her house, so I need you to make safe choices by staying with one of us, please.”
Finn nods. “Okay, Daddy.”
Knox hands me a sandwich and a cup of coffee, and the three of us head out to the truck. I’m nervous about what we’re going to walk into, but I’m oddly unafraid. I have somany people surrounding me now that I no longer have to worry about doing any of this on my own.
We eat our breakfast on the way to my house. None of us is in the mood to say much. The potential disaster waiting at the end of my driveway puts a damper on what could’ve been a nice, quiet morning.
It’s a shock to see two police cruisers with their lights flashing. The officers are standing in my front yard with their hands on their hips while they chat. I take it as a good sign that no one seems too concerned.
Knox is out of the truck first, coming over to my side to help me out before opening Finn’s door for him. We walk over to the officers, Finn’s little hand in mine, offering more comfort than he could fully understand.
“What did you find?” Knox asks.
One of the female officers speaks first, introducing herself as Officer Pritchard. She looks like she could be the same age as me, but I can never tell how old people are these days. “Looks like they broke a window in the back of the house. It doesn’t seem like they were able to make it any further. I’d guess the security alarm scared them off, but we’d like to walk around inside to make sure.”
“Will you make sure Whiskey’s okay?” I ask.
Knox nods, leading two of the officers to the house since he knows the door code, while I stay outside with Finn and the lone male officer. He’s got a handlebar mustache that could probably win contests. His uniform says his last name is Burton.
“I remember your daddy. He was a mean son of a”—he glances at Finn before correcting himself—“gun. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with all this now.”
A surprised laugh comes out. “Thanks. He wasn’t the most pleasant man to be around, that’s for sure.”
“Your grandmother would be proud of you though. Oneof my grandbabies was in your class last year and couldn’t have loved you more.”
His last name doesn’t ring any bells, but I have no doubt I taught his grandkid. Then I realize what else he said. “You knew my Grammy?”
