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Of course Jace had made better pancakes. Jace knew what the girls liked. He knew how to take care of them. He knew how to comfort them when they were upset. And Silas had no clue. He took the plate from her and dumped them into the trash. “Sorry.”
Tess emerged from Morgan’s room. “She’ll be fine. She just needs a minute.”
Willow hopped up from her chair. “Mom, I’m hungry and IhateSilas’s pancakes.”
“Willow!” Tess squeezed her eyes shut and sighed before looking at her daughter again. “That’s not a very kind thing to say,” she said more gently.
“Well, it’s true.” Her daughter marched past Silas and then Tess en route to her room. “I don’t like them and I’mnoteating them.”
Silas shut off the burner and stashed the few dishes he’d used into the dishwasher before walking out of the kitchen. “I should go.” This morning had turned into a complete disaster. Being with Tess had been a fantasy. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking. He couldn’t do this. He sure as hell wasn’t qualified to play house.
He’d made it two steps out the front door when Tess caught him.
“Wait.”
“This’ll never work.” He was supposed to make her life better, not harder. Not more complicated. “I’ll never be what your girls need. I’ll never be the kind of father they deserve.”
Anger stirred in her eyes. “Because Willow didn’t like your pancakes? Because Morgan got upset?”
“No.” Those weren’t the only reasons. “This is too… hard.” Morgan had said she hated him. They didn’t want him. They knew he wasn’t as good as Jace. “I’m sorry—”
A police car turned onto Tess’s driveway.
Silas watched over his shoulder as it pulled up to the porch and stopped. “Is that Natalie?”
Tess’s face had paled. “Uh-oh.”
“What’d you mean ‘uh-oh’?” That protective instinct kicked in, pushing him to stand by her side. “What happened?”
“I broke into the Kline’s garage two nights ago,” she hissed. “I only wanted to see if I could find that white UTV, but everything went wrong. I broke the window and I had to run away. But they must’ve known it was—”
“Hey, Tess.” Natalie got out of the cruiser. “We need to talk.”
Silas moved closer to Tess.
“Paul Kline called me early yesterday morning to report a break-in.” Natalie stood a few feet away from the porch and shaded her eyes from the sun. “He said he thought he saw you, Tess. And the thing is, they have surveillance cameras all over their property.”
That wasn’t good.Damn.Had she come to arrest Tess? He couldn’t let her. He couldn’t let Natalie make a scene in front of the girls. “It was me,” Silas interrupted. “I broke into the Klines’ garage.”
The woman ripped off her sunglasses and glared at him. “You?”
“Yeah.” He held his gaze steady and dared the police officer to disagree. “I wanted to see if that white UTV was parked inside.”
Tess gazed at him, wide-eyed, and shook her head and he snuck a quick squeeze of her hand to reassure her. He could handle this. She should’ve left the breaking and entering to him in the first place. She had the girls to think about. Morgan and Willow were already upset enough. They didn’t need to watch their mother get hauled away in the back of a police cruiser.
“So you engaged in both criminal trespassing and vandalism to see if a white UTV was parked in the Kline family’s garage.” Natalie’s deadpan tone made it clear she didn’t believe him.
“Yes. That’s exactly what happened.” He didn’t much care if she believed him or not. That was his story and he’d stick to it all the way to a holding cell if he had to.
“No, Silas,” Tess whispered. “I can’t let you—”
“They’re pressing charges.” Natalie approached the steps, a warning in her tone. “These are misdemeanor crimes, but I have to arrest someone if we find the person responsible.”
“So, arrest me.” He stepped in front of Tess and held out his hands. “Like I said, I’m the one who broke into the Klines’ garage.” He wondered if Tess had found the UTV, but she must not have or they wouldn’t be having this conversation. Natalie would be going after them for shooting a horse instead. “Do you need a written confession or something?” he asked when the woman didn’t move.
“I don’t want you to do this,” Tess murmured behind him.
“Come on, Chief.” He ambled down the porch steps before the woman incriminated herself. “You have a full confession. You want me to put the cuffs on myself?”
