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“Jesse isn’t here to spank you.” Tanner groaned as he stood up. “But it doesn’t mean he won’t. Could you fix coffee, rebel?”
“Yeah, hotshot. I’m on it,” I agreed, standing up and pulling Tiana with me. Coffee was our comfort drink, and it cemented the fact that something bigger was going on. “Come help me, babygirl.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
We busied ourselves making coffee. I also fixed her a cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. She gave me the most beautiful smile when I handed it to her.
“Everything is going to be okay, darling.”
“I know, but Jesse is probably here for something serious. I’m convinced it has something to do with me.”
“Did you do something that would make him come here for you?”
“Not exactly.”
I didn’t like her answer. It seemed like there was something brewing in her mind, but before I could ask her to clarify, Tanner and Jesse came into the kitchen. Jesse was wearing his uniform, which wasn’t unusual, but a heaviness hung in the air around them. I opened my mouth to get some information, but Tiana had other plans.
“I’ve been mostly good,” Tiana blurted out. “So, you’ve got no reason to be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you, buttercup.” Jesse picked her up in a hug, and then bounced his palm off either side of her ass, hard enough to make her squeak. He did it again before setting her on the floor, and she quickly climbed onto one of the breakfast stools. It made me think she wanted to be far away from his hands. “What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, then immediately drank more cocoa. I raised both my eyebrows at Jesse, who frowned.
“Chet’s on the move,” Tanner stated gruffly. “We’re not exactly sure why he is moving toward Cheyenne, but it’s not outlandish to believe he knows exactly where Tiana is.”
“That’s, like, not even possible,” she said into her mug.
“Did you log on to any social media?” Jesse asked sternly.
“I’m not dumb,” she sassed.
Jesse glanced between the two of us, and Tanner motioned for him to proceed. I didn’t want Tiana to get upset, but she was hiding something. I let out a long breath. We had spent so much time together the past few weeks and Tiana hadn’t left the house or compromised her safety that I knew of.
Jesse took a large sip from his mug, then nodded approvingly while he likely thought about another way to approach Tiana. He had said more than once that I fixed coffee better than a fancy shop.
“Jesse asked you a question, sunshine.” I encouraged her to answer because otherwise things would not bode well for her. We could only keep her protected if she followed the rules.
“And I answered it,” she snapped. “I’ve made some stupid choices, but it’s not like I…” Tiana shut her mouth. Her face grew red, and she puffed her cheeks out, looking like she wanted to crawl into the cup in her hand.
“Okay.” Jesse took another long sip from his mug. “What didn’t you do, Tiana?”
“Nothing.”
It wasn’t like her to shut down completely over a few questions. She had likely slipped into her younger mindset, but if she had done something that could have alerted the criminal to her location, it was important to figure out what and fix the situation. I had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. She seemed to be engaging her self-destruct button because it was easier for her to leave than to stay and face the harsh reality of the situation. Jesse knew more than he was letting on, but he hadn’t explained in enough detail for me to grasp the bigger picture. Whatever it was, we would face it together, but I hated seeing my Little girl so out of sorts.
Jesse rubbed his chin. “Your eye twitches when you lie, buttercup. Tell me what happened.”
Tiana knocked the mug to the ground, and it shattered when it hit the tile. “I’m not stupid, Jesse!”
“Tiana.”
She leapt off the stool, toppling it over, panting as she glared at him. “You said don’t log onto social media. I didn’t. You said to be careful. I have been. Why does everyone around here think that just cause I got into mischief that I don’t know how to do anything for myself!? Yeah, I made some really awful decisions, but I’m the only one who has to pay for my mistakes.”
Jesse predicted her bolting from the kitchen, as she tended to do when she was overwhelmed. Taking her hands in his, he pulled her toward him. “Focus. I need to know what might have happened, if anything, to make the police suspect that Chet is headed here.”
“I said I didn’t do anything!”
“If you didn’t do anything, buttercup, then you have nothing to hide. Talk to me.”
