Page 13 of Penn

“You’ll be safe at my place,” Penn says.

“You still want me to stay there knowing he might set it on fire if he finds out I wasn’t home?”

“Of course,” he says, rubbing my biceps. “What’s his name?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

“Dixie—”

“There’s already been enough destruction because of this situation. I’d rather it just end with my place going up in flames. That’s more than enough.”

He’s clearly unhappy with my request, but he doesn’t fight me.

“Why don’t you take her home, Penn?” Nancy asks.

Turning, I shake my head. “No, you need me to cover for Demi—”

“I can handle the bar while Lainey takes care of the floor. We’ll figure it out. You just lost your home, honey. You’re in shock right now, but it’ll hit you. And it’s best to be alone when that happens.”

“We’ve got it,” Lainey assures. “Go get settled.”

“Come on, baby mama,” Penn says.

“Of all the inappropriate things you could have said,” I say, but I laugh regardless.

It is kind of funny.

And sad.

Chapter 6

Penn

The sound of my bike pulling into my driveway usually brings me a sense of peace, but tonight, everything feels heavy. I kill the engine of my bike, and I wait for Dixie to pull in behind me in her sedan. There’s apprehension in her gaze now that we’ve reached my house, but I’ll be damned if she ends up in a cheap motel.

I climb off my bike and open the driver’s side door, offering my hand to help her step out. She takes it, but her silence worries me. Dixie’s always known to have a quippy comeback or retort to anything.

Then again, her house was just set on fire, possibly by her baby’s father, and it may have been intended to have her inside of it. That would be enough to silence pretty much anyone. Even me.

“It’s not as fancy as Pacino’s house, but it’s safe. And there’s really no way of anyone reaching the house without being seen,” I say.

She steps inside, and her flats barely make a sound on the tile flooring. I walk her through the entryway and into the living room, the kitchen and then the bathroom, and the guest room followed by a smaller guest room I use for storage. It really isn’t all that big, but I bought it more for the land. It sits on almost two acres, and it’s pretty isolated.

“It’s nice, Penn,” she whispers. “Thank you. Really.”

“Let’s get you set up.” I guide her into the guest room again where a queen-size bed with a gray comforter sits against one window while a desk rests against the other window, looking out into the darkness. “I’ll grab you some clothes to sleep in. Hold on.”

Hurrying into my bedroom, I open a few drawers, pulling out a pair of shorts, sweatpants, and a T-shirt. I’m not sure if she’s more of a shorts or pants type of sleeper, so she can have her pick. Not that either will fit her extremely well.

When I walk back into the guest room, she stands facing the window behind the desk with her arms crossed. For the first time, Dixie looks fragile. Vulnerable. Something I doubt she particularly wants anyone to see, and I have the urge to reach out and hold her. To wrap my arms around her and promise everything will be okay even though I don’t know that things will be okay. Her situation is a little out of my depth, but I’ll help her however I can.

“Here,” I say instead and hold out the clothes. “They’re going to be too big, but you should be comfortable.”

She reaches for them, and our fingers brush. I don’t know about her, but the sensation of her skin touching mine nearly makes me jump out of my boots. “These will be perfect. Thank you.”

“Get some sleep, Dixie. We’ll figure everything else out in the morning after you’ve gotten some rest.”

All I get is a tight nod, and I walk out of the room, closing the door behind me gently. Standing in the hallway for a minute, it hits me. She has nothing. Literally nothing but the clothes on her back and her purse. No toothbrush. No clean clothes. No bodywash or shampoo. Not even a hairbrush.