Page 67 of Show Me

Squirt grunts.

He nods. “That’s fair.”

The sound that escapes me is half laugh, half something I haven’t felt all day—normal. For a minute, we stand in the kitchen, him scratching a pig, me biting into a sandwich, and the house breathing around us.

Then he stands. “I’m staying tonight.”

It isn’t a question. He implied as much when Emily and Jake were here, but I hadn’t let myself think about what that meant. Now, my stomach clenches with unease. I swallow. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.” The words land soft but immovable. “I can sleep on the couch. Or in the truck. Doesn’t matter.”

“It matters.” He waits. Not pushing. Not assuming. Just… present. “Stay.”

The word feels like stepping onto a bridge I can’t see the other side of. He nods once, as if that settles it.

“I’m going to run to the shop,” he says. “Grab what I can. We’re missing a few things I want on this.”

I frown. “You don’t have what you need?”

“Not everything.” He’s already on his phone. “I want better hardware than what’s in the truck.”

“That seems… excessive.”

He meets my eyes. “It seems necessary.”

“Okay.”

He’s dialing as he heads for the door.

“Hey,” he says when the line picks up. “I need a few things. Yeah, I know. I’ll meet you there.” A beat. “Yeah. Appreciate it.” He hangs up, grabs the door, and heads out.

“Are you meeting your dad? You didn’t need to bother him.”

“No,” he says, already halfway outside. “Getting Hart to open the hardware store.”

I blink. “You’re opening the hardware store?”

“I don’t have everything we need at the shop.” He pulls the door open. “I’ll be back in ten. Fifteen, tops.”

He pauses at the door. “Lock it behind me.”

“I will.”

He hesitates, like he wants to say more. He doesn’t. Then the truck starts outside, gravel crunching as he pulls away.

Squirt settles near my feet, his warm weight pressing against my ankle. I finish the sandwich he made me, lock the door, and turn on the porch light.

And for the first time since I saw my name on that box, I’m not waiting for something to happen. I’m waiting for someone to come back, and that feels different.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Xavier

Tom Hart didn’t ask questions. He just rang up the motion lights, window locks, reinforced strike plates, and the longest exterior screws they carry, as if I’d walked in after hours for this exact reason before.

I haven’t. Maybe half the town is reinforcing doors tonight and not talking about it. Or maybe they should be.

I pull into Ruby’s driveway as the porch light clicks on, casting a soft circle across the steps. The front door opens before I make it up the walk. She’s watching for me. That lands low and steady in my chest.