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“I can’t see him doing that.” In the time he’d spent with the kid, Thatch hadn’t seen any red flags. “He’s beenworking with us for almost a month now. I don’t think he’s that reckless.”
“Teenagers aren’t exactly known for thinking before they act,” Natalie said. “You want me to find him and question him?”
“No.” If Franco did break in, he wouldn’t have stolen anything. Thatch was almost sure. Eighty-five percent at least. There had to be another reason the kid had shown up at the clinic that night. “I want to talk to him before you do.”
And he knew exactly where to find him.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It had been a long time since Lyric had seen that expression on Thatch’s face. Dark, contemplative. When he’d first moved to town in the aftermath of Jace’s death, she remembered seeing that look often. But these days he smiled, or at least appeared more relaxed, most of the time.
When Natalie had told them about the car, Thatch’s whole demeanor shifted. Every part of the man had tensed, and he hadn’t said much since they’d started driving to the school to find Franco.
“You okay?” Her voice was still a little trembly from that kiss they’d shared. So were her hands, for that matter. And her knees.
“I don’t want to be wrong about him.” Thatch sighed deeply. “Franco just said earlier today how he wanted to make something out of himself and join the navy. He has goals and plans. Why would he pull something like this?”
She couldn’t answer that question. But there wouldonly be one reason the kid had talked about joining the navy. “You’ve really had an impact on him.”
“I don’t know about that.”
As long as she’d been acquainted with him, Thatch had always downplayed his value. “I do.” She waited until he looked at her. “It’s obvious he looks up to you, Thatch. He has every reason to. You’re dedicated and loyal. You protect the people you care about.” How many men in their late twenties would’ve permanently moved to a Podunk town in the middle of the mountains to help watch out for their friend’s widow? How many men would go to the trouble of hiring a kid—and building a rapport with him—simply because she’d asked him to?
Not many.
Thatch paused longer than he needed to at the stop sign. “He’s a good kid. He shows up on time, lets me know if he can’t make it. And he’s a hard worker. Everything I’ve seen tells me he’s trustworthy.” He seemed to be trying to work out the truth in his head.
“Maybe he’s not the one who broke in.” They didn’t have any evidence Franco was to blame yet. “Maybe the car driving past is a coincidence.”
“Not likely in a town this size.” He started to drive again, under the speed limit, she noticed, as if procrastinating.
That was fine with her. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation either. “What’re you going to say to him?”
“I don’t know yet.” He turned into the high school parking lot, driving toward the cluster of cars parked outside of the gym doors. “I think he gets out of practice soon.” Thatch parked next to Franco’s car and cut the engine, his mouth still grim. “Maybe I was wrong about him. He could’ve fooled me, I guess.”
“Sometimes people only let you see what they want you to see.” Lyric had learned that lesson a long time ago. She held her breath for a beat to ward off the residual panic that gripped her anytime she thought about Luke. She didn’t have to explain to Thatch. She didn’t have to tell him anything. But the vulnerability he’d shown earlier when he’d told her about his brother had touched her. Hearing about his pain had made her feel safer somehow, less alone with her own wounds. “My ex-husband was like that. A different person in front of most people.”
Thatch’s expression immediately softened, the tension on his face replaced with an openness. He turned fully to her on his seat, gazing into her eyes, waiting.
“Luke was funny and charismatic and everyone’s friend.” She swallowed hard. Every time she started to talk about her experience, the shame that haunted her rose from the ashes, threatening to silence her. But she couldn’t stop now. “He never met a stranger. When we first got together, I used to wonder how I’d found such a wonderful man.” Luke had been a contrast with her quieter timidity. At first, she’d thought he brought out the best in her. But it had only taken one month into their marriage to see who he really was. “The first time he pushed me, I was shocked.” Somehow, even after she’d fallen to the floor, she’d convinced herself it hadn’t happened. She told herself she’d stumbled and had fallen backward. Yes, his hand had been on her, but he hadn’t meant to push. “Then it started to happen more.”
Thatch held his eyes closed for a few silent seconds, his chest rising and falling in slow, even breaths.
“I didn’t know what to do.” She refused to let her voice crumble the way her heart always did when she relivedthose moments. “Everyone liked him. Everyone thought he was such a wonderful guy. And in a weird way, he convinced me the fights were my fault.”
Thatch reached for her then, taking both of her hands into his. “No.No.” He was angry for her. She saw the ferocity in his eyes, but he was holding it back. For her. He was protecting her. She could see it in the hard flex of his jaw.
His restraint gave her the courage to continue. “The abuse…” That might’ve been the first time she’d ever called Luke’s behavior what it truly had been out loud. “Became this secret I had to hide. And I was good at hiding it. I tried harder to make everything work, but I was so isolated from everyone else that I had no one to talk to.” The tears she’d staved off started to burn.
Thatch rested his palm against her cheek, his steady gaze a lifeline of hope and healing. “He should’ve cherished you. Protected you. You’re worth cherishing and protecting.”
But Luke had convinced her she wasn’t worth anything. “In hiding and pretending, I got lost.” She let a few tears slip out. It was too hard to hold them back. “I didn’t even recognize myself when I looked in the mirror.” Little by little, the secret she was keeping had hollowed her. “Then when he broke my arm, I couldn’t hide anymore.” Her mom and stepdad had known something was going on long before she’d called them that day. No matter how often she told them everything was great, they’d had their suspicions. “So my mom and Kenny picked me up at the hospital, and I never went back.”
“You’re so brave, Lyric.” Thatch’s rough and calloused hand smoothed her hair. “So beautiful and brave.”
“I want to be brave.” This man made her want to be brave enough to lose herself in someone again, knowing she would be safe. But she’d never been able to fully give herself to anyone else since then. She didn’t know if she ever could.
Voices rose outside, drawing her attention. Basketball players had started spilling out of the gym doors. Franco noticed them and trotted to Thatch’s truck.
