Chapter Eighteen
Katrina
The morning light rose over the house across the street as I sat drinking my coffee. Frankie hadn’t spoken to me since Haizley was here. She answered my questions, a simple yes or no. But she wouldn’t talk to me.
She overheard my conversation with Haizley. She knew I’d shared her story with Derek, and she was furious with me because of it. She blamed me for his walking out of the diner and disappearing.
Wherever he’d gone, he came back. I was ashamed to admit I’d been sitting on these front steps every day for hours on end, hoping to catch a glimpse of him walking into Haizley’s house.
Yesterday paid off.
He drove slowly past the house without looking in my direction. Maybe he saw me sitting here; maybe he just finally decided to keep his distance. Realized Frankie and I were more trouble than we were worth.
It shouldn’t have bothered me.
I should have celebrated the fact that he was finally listening to me.
Finally staying away. Only, it didn’t feel like a victory.
It felt like a loss. I couldn’t understand my attraction to him.
I mean, sure, he was gorgeous with his dark hair and wide shoulders.
His hands rough from years of working with wood and concrete.
But it was more than just his looks. To say his eyes were blue was true, but there was more than the color of his irises.
There was pain from a childhood filled with abuse, but they also hinted at a capacity to love in a way I had never seen.
Then there was a hidden darkness that lurked in the corners.
A darkness that somehow felt like protection.
He didn’t care about his presence the way Richard did. How people judged his outward appearance didn’t seem to matter to him. He walked with a natural confidence, one born from a place of experience rather than ego.
He also didn’t push his strength the way Clay did. His capacity for violence was evident in the way he moved, the way he silently watched his surroundings and the people in them. He wasn’t out to prove he was the most dangerous man in the room.
But Derek was dangerous; I felt it in the way he looked at me. Heard it in his voice when he spoke about my safety and Frankie’s while simultaneously warning me away from Zero.
Derek terrified me in a way Richard and Clay never did. A way that Zero couldn’t match. Because whenever he was near me, my skin sizzled with electricity, and my breath caught, telling me to stay away.
And yet, I wanted to run toward him.
My phone pinged in my pocket, and when I pulled it free, there was a text from Slyce. We hadn’t talked much since she left, but she checked in regularly. I didn’t know where she was or who she was helping, but she made sure I never felt alone. Reminding me that she was never far away.
That she was my friend.
One I could trust.
I clicked on the link she sent me, and it opened to a news article from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. There was a picture of Richard with a headline.
Local man arrested for sexual assault of a minor.
I gasped quietly as I read the words. A fourteen-year-old girl assaulted by her stepfather. They didn’t give her name, but I knew it was Hannah, Stacy’s oldest daughter. Richard was in the hospital, guarded by Marshalls until he was healed enough to go to trial.
A neighbor’s statement talked of an unidentified man who broke into the house in time to stop the assault.
If only it had been the first time. The man described as an avenging angel had saved the girl from being assaulted and left Richard bloody and broken on the front lawn until officers arrived to arrest him.
Investigators removed the girl and her younger sisters from the home until they completed the investigation. Anonymous sources accused the girl’s mother of knowing who Richard was before they married and intentionally leaving him alone with her daughters.
My hand covered my mouth as a shadow fell over the walkway. When I looked up, Haizley quietly sat down beside me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
“You know?” she asked.
“Slyce sent me an article. He did it again,” I whispered as I wiped away the tears. “She lied during the trial. She knew what he had done, and she still put her girls at risk. How can a mother do that?” I asked.
“Not all women are meant to be mothers.”
“Hannah was lucky that man broke into her house,” I said absently.
“It wasn’t luck, Kat.”
My eyes held Haizley’s. “What do you mean?”
Haizley took a deep breath before answering, “Someone was watching out for those girls even when their mother wasn’t.”
Her words were cryptic, and immediately I thought about Slyce. But the article said it was a man who broke in. An avenging angel. Whoever he was, he deserved a medal.
I used to believe in angels once upon a time. But after everything Frankie and I had been through, it was hard to stay positive most days. My eyes returned to my phone, and I shook my head.
“I don’t know what to tell Frankie,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to tell her anything.”
Haizley was right; I had no obligation to tell her, but something about it felt wrong. Like I was keeping something from her. Something important. Something that might affect her overall mental health.
“If you decide to tell her, I can help,” Haizley offered. I nodded absently, not really giving her words any thought.
“I’m here for another reason, though.”
I turned my head; her smile was so sincere, and I wondered how long she’d had to practice it to get it just right, because my mind couldn’t fathom the notion that she was actually sincere.
“I wanted to invite you to the clubhouse for Thanksgiving.”
“What?”
“Thanksgiving is next week and I want you and Frankie to come have dinner with us.”
“Why?” I asked.
The truth was, Frankie and I hadn’t even talked about Thanksgiving. We hadn’t had a real Thanksgiving in years. For us, it had become just another day.
The door opened, and Frankie stepped out. “Can I bring my friend? And her family?”
“That would be wonderful,” Haizley replied. My eyes darted between the two of them.
“That’s six extra people,” I blustered, searching for a way out.
“That’s okay. King and Blade are going to Arkansas for Thanksgiving, so we’re losing...” Her eyes looked above her as she ticked something off on her fingers. “There are at least a dozen going with them, so we have plenty of room.”
Frankie looked at me. She still didn’t speak, but her eyes said more than enough. I nodded, knowing I wouldn’t win this argument. We had plans to go to the orchard tonight so Frankie and Cami could have a sleepover; that would be my chance to convince Maggie to go with us.
“Great, I’ll let Sam know we have a few more joining us. She’ll be so excited.” Haizley stood up and started walking toward her house.
“Can I bring something?” I called out.
“Just your appetite!” she hollered back as she waved.
The door clicked behind me, and I sighed. Enough was enough. I followed her into the house, and before she could disappear into her room again, I said, “Frankie, we need to talk.”
She paused in the hallway but didn’t turn around.
“Come sit down,” I ordered, my voice stern enough that she didn’t dare argue.
She plopped down on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I know you’re mad at me because I told Derek what happened, but you need to understand that it isn’t just your story.”
She opened her mouth, but I held up my hand.
“I’m not finished.”
Her lips clamped shut, and she glared at me. I sat down in the corner of the couch, one leg bent on the cushion so I could face my daughter.
“Derek opened up to me. He told me about his parents, and then he asked about Richard. I didn’t think about it; I just started talking. I know I should have talked to you first, but... I’m sorry, Frankie. I can’t take it back. All I can do is promise not to do it again.”
“Do you like him?” she asked.
“Derek?” She nodded, and I thought about how to answer her. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“But is he someone you think you could fall in love with?”
I stared at my daughter. “Frankie, where is this coming from?” Her eyes settled on her hands as her fingers twisted together. She shrugged and looked away.
“Frankie, I told you, sweetheart.” I reached under her chin and turned her to face me. “You are the most important person in my life. I’m not looking to be with anyone.”
Tears hovered on the edge of her lower eyelids. “But do you think you could love him?”
“Frankie, talk to me. What’s going on?”
She took a deep breath and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I wish I had my dad,” she whispered.
I pulled her against me, wrapping my arms around her tightly.
“I wish you had a dad too, baby. But I suck at picking men.” I expected a chuckle like every other time we talked about the possibility of me dating.
When she remained silent, I inhaled a steadying breath and told her the truth. “Richard was arrested again.”
She sat up and looked at me. “Why?”
I sank back into the corner and pulled my feet up. I locked my arms around my legs and rested my chin on my knees. She deserved to know the truth, despite how much I wanted to protect her.
“He hurt Hannah.”
The tears she’d been holding back slipped down her cheek when she blinked at me. “The way he hurt me?”
I nodded. “Slyce sent me a news article. Someone broke into their house and found him in her room. The guy beat the shit out of him and left him on the front lawn for the police.”
“Derek,” Frankie breathed.
“What?”
“Derek—that’s where he went.” Her face brightened instantly. “When he left town,” she said. “He went to beat up Richard for what he did to us.”
She scooted to the edge of the couch and turned her body to face mine. “He didn’t leave us,” she boasted. “He went to avenge us.”
She threw her arms around me and then jumped off the couch.
“Frankie,” I called before she disappeared.
“Don’t you get it?” she asked.
I shook my head because I didn’t get it.
“He loves us, Mom.”
My eyes blinked out a stunned rhythm as I tried to comprehend her words. No matter how hard I tried, they didn’t make sense. I mean, I guessed it was possible; the timing of his disappearance and Richard’s attack was more than a coincidence.
But why would he do it?
It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. We’d barely spent any time with him. You couldn’t love someone you’d only just met. It took time to get to know someone. Their likes and dislikes. What kind of person they were.
“I’m going to get my stuff. Then we can go to the orchard.”
Frankie dashed down the hall to her room, leaving me stunned with her revelation. My body hadn’t moved, but my mind spun in circles, going a million miles a minute.
Haizley’s words came back to me from our first meeting, when she realized where Derek went but wouldn’t tell me. As soon as I told her what happened at the diner, she called Jack.
Derek’s brother.
Frankie appeared in the mouth of the hallway, bringing me out of my head. I plastered a smile on my face so she wouldn’t see the concerned thoughts in my head.
“Ready?” I asked.