“Thanks,” I said, softer. “For breakfast and checking on me.”
He moved around the trailer—checking the lock without making a show of it, glancing at the window, assessing the space like it was an extension of me.
His gaze paused briefly to my open bedroom window with the curtain hanging out of it. Then flicked to the one next door. Then back to me. One eyebrow lifted.
I crossed my arms defensively. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he asked mildly, lips tipping up in a knowing grin.
I gestured in the direction of Levi’s trailer. “Do the math.”
He huffed a laugh under his breath. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You thought something.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t look mad. If anything, there was something almost hopeful there.
Which made me more flustered. “I had a bad dream,” I said quickly, redirecting.
That sobered him. He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah. It was just—” I hesitated. Not a lie. Just not the whole truth. “Stress.”
His jaw tightened slightly. “Becca. You can stay with me. I mean that. I don’t care for how long. I have a spare bedroom. We’ll figure this out. And before you say anything—no, I will not stop asking.”
I looked around my small trailer. My couch. My kitchen. My life. “I’m okay,” I said. “Especially with Levi right there.”
Matt’s mouth twitched despite himself. “Oh, I’m aware he’s right there.”
I rolled my eyes. “You told him to put it right there. I mean, that close. Didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” he admitted, nodding slowly, approving in a way he was pretending not to be. “It’s a good thing,” he muttered. “He’s a good guy.”
“You wouldn’t be mad if?—?”
“At Levi?” He scoffed. “With you? Please. If something is going to happen in the middle of the night, I’d prefer it to be within sprinting distance of an EMT slash firefighter like him. Like I said, Levi is a good guy, Bec. But you already know that, don’t you?”
Heat crept up my neck again. “He didn’t… it wasn’t?—”
Matt held up a hand. “I don’t need details.”
“Good.”
He studied me again, softer now. “You sure you’re okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” And I mostly was. The fear hadn’t disappeared. The laptop still felt like a violation sitting on my kitchen counter. But the image of Levi climbing through my window almost erased the fear.
“Why would anyone actually try to hurt me?” I added, half to him, half to myself. “It doesn’t make sense. That would bring more suspicion. More attention. Do you think someone is trying to hurt me?”
“No.” Matt leaned against the counter. “Because you’re right. Hurting you would not make sense,” he said.
“So, I’ll be okay?”
“That’s what we’re going to figure out. But being cautious is the right thing to do, yeah?”
Silence stretched for a second.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
