Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
VIVIAN
I drop the sheet and stare him down. “Excuse me?”
He pauses, the sheet still draped between his arms. “Whoever trashed your place was looking for something.”
I shake my head, but it just jumbles my thoughts even more. “Like what?”
“You tell me.” It comes out stern, almost sharp.
Does he think I’m some kind of criminal? I fight the emotion climbing up my chest. “Everett, I’m not hiding anything.”
He sets the sheet on the bed, his eyes never leaving my face. “Maybe it’s something you don’t know you’re hiding.”
“That makes even less sense.” There’s no mistaking the tension in my voice now, either.
“Is Dr. Boone harassing you?”
“What on earth gave you that idea?”
“Back at your place, when I asked about work.” He releases a hard sigh. “I got the feeling you weren’t telling me everything. I know it’s not Ava or Sepp bothering you.”
“Dr. Boone doesn’t harass me. He just gives me looks sometimes. I’m not even sure it’s real. He’s sort of controlling when it comes to patient care, but so are a lot of doctors.”
“Okay, let’s set Dr. Boone aside.” He arches an eyebrow. “For now. Is there anyone else in your life I should know about? A friend, maybe someone who asked you to hold onto something for them?”
“No.” It comes out shaky. “I’m not stupid.” Or inexperienced.
“I know,” he replies, his tone softening. “Bear with me, okay?”
I risk a glance at him, then wish I hadn’t. He’s wearing that same fierce expression, the one that makes me want to trust him.
Can I?
“Okay.”
“Why did you move to Finn River?” he asks.
“Why is that relevant?”
He takes a step closer to me, his eyes dark and sincere. “Because something’s not adding up here. You don’t have an ex-boyfriend or a crazy coworker stalking you or acting threatening. You don’t walk around town flashing expensive jewelry or wads of cash. Why would a thief squeeze out all your shampoo and toothpaste? Dump out jars? Slice open your mattress and couch? I’m pretty sure he even flipped through Mateo’s picture books.”
A sharp chill pricks down my back. I sink to the bed and cover my face with my hands.
Everett settles in next to me. Not close, but enough that his warmth and his fresh pepper scent fill the space between us. It shouldn’t be reassuring, or calming, but I’m having a very hard time fighting it.
Because he is calming and reassuring. And patient. And kind.
Like how he insisted I come here. Did he know that being surrounded by his welcoming family in this quiet, serene location would bridge the final gap that’s keeping me from trusting him?
“So, if it isn’t someone in Finn River, maybe it has to do with something you left behind. Or someone.”
I picture Mateo sliding his hand into Everett’s, like it was the most natural thing in the world. What would it be like to let myself trust Everett in the same way?
“There’s nobody in my life like that,” I say.
He rocks to his feet and rubs his hand through his hair. “Vivian, if I’m going to help you, I need to know who might pose a threat.”
Anger flares inside my chest. So much for kindness. Here comes bad cop . “I don’t need your help.”
“Bullshit,” he says, his hands on his hips. “Someone targeted you today. Who?”
“I don’t know!” I fire back.
“Did you recognize that reckless driver a few weeks back? The one who almost hit you and Mateo?”
“You think these two events are connected?” I shake my head. He’s being ridiculous.
He gives me an impatient one-shoulder shrug. “You were awfully quick to leave Glory Holes that day.”
Because it was my own fault And yours! “I don’t know who was driving. I’ve never seen the guy before.”
“How about the car?”
“No.”
“Who do you know in Bonneville County?”
“Where the hell is Bonneville County?”
He huffs a tight breath through his nose, his dark eyes like lasers. “Is this about Mateo? Are you in some kind of custody battle?”
I stare him down. “I have full custody. You want to see the documents?”
His eye twitches, like he’s considering this option. “His father just gave him up?” he asks.
“Yep.” I lean back on my arms, like I have this situation under control. Think you can rattle me? Go ahead.
“Why did you leave California?”
“I wanted a change.”
He takes a step closer, forcing my gaze to lift. “A change from what? ”
Palm trees hanging limp in the summer heat. Noise. Loneliness. Crying myself to sleep . “My ex-husband.”
The planes of his face harden. “Tell me about him.”
I look away. “Drop it, Everett.”
“Are you running from him?” His tone has softened, but it’s not enough to warm the ice in my veins.
“No.”
“So, he had no problem with you moving here with Mateo? He just let you walk out of his life.”
“Why is that so hard to believe?” My chest starts buzzing. It’s a warning. We are getting too close to the things I keep inside.
To my horror, that hardened look on his face breaks, and he grimaces.
Hell fucking no. Not pity.
“Did he hurt you?” Everett asks.
I coax in a slow breath, but it doesn’t stop the buzzing chill from rising to my cheeks. “No.” At least not like that. “He’s a cop, Everett, okay?”
His frame stiffens.
Now do you get it? I want to ask.
“What’s wrong with him being a cop?” he asks.
“Nothing.”
Everett shakes his head, his lips pressed tight with frustration. “Your body language says otherwise.”
“Don’t take it personally.”
He wipes down his stubbled chin, the scrape of his whiskers against his palm filling the silence. “When was the last time you were in contact with him?”
“Two years maybe.”
His head cocks to the side. “He’s not in your life at all? Not even to find out about Mateo? Talk to him?”
“No.”
His face twists in disgust. “How about child support?”
“He deposits money every month in an account…” I bite the rest ba ck. I don’t need to share that I’m only using the child support money to pay off my divorce. Or that using Kent’s dirty money for any other purpose feels wrong. Like I’m part of the problem.
“He has no reason to break into my trailer.” I jump to my feet, my muscles burning with the need to move. To escape.
“Vivian.”
The effect of that one word from his lips stops me in my tracks, all while my heartbeat taps lower and a sudden yearning spirals up through me.
It makes no sense, and yet it does. Maybe it’s my craving for safety, or maybe it’s because I haven’t felt anything like this before. It’s so much deeper than some fluttery urge or casual attraction. Whatever it is has hooked me right in the gut.
I stuff the emotions swirling loose inside me back where they came from with a hard swallow and turn around. “It’s the truth.”
The light dims in his eyes. “Okay.”
I swallow my frustration. He doesn’t believe me, or he just can’t figure out how to let it go. Even though I told him things I’ve never shared with anyone else in Finn River, it’s somehow not enough.
Don’t we all have secrets we don’t share? It doesn’t make us unworthy of trust.
“Let me have your phone,” he says.
“What for?”
“I’ll put in my number. In case you need to call me.”
I slide my hands into my back pockets. My phone is in the right one, but it takes me a moment to do what he’s asking because though his tone hasn’t changed, I’m reading it like a warning. That he thinks I might need him to come to my rescue.
That’s the last thing I want him for.
“You’re safe here,” Everett says in a soft voice. “But if you start to feel like you’re not, I want to know about it, okay?”
I drink in the warmth in his gaze. He’s looking at me like he cares. I also get the feeling he won’t take no for an answer, either .
How does he manage to be considerate and irritating at the same time?
I slip out my phone and unlock it. “Fine.”
He adds his number, then hands back my phone. “Let’s get these beds made.”
We work in silence, but the energy between us feels different now. Charged, almost electric. One would think that because of what I shared, it would feel calmer, the way clouds melt away after a storm, but it’s the opposite.
Like the storm between us is only building.