Chapter 15
RONAN
“We’re going to do mani-pedis,” Haley chirps.
She’s so wound up, she’s practically vibrating with excitement. “After that,” she continues, “We’re going to watch a movie and eat all kinds of junk. That’s what Hazel said. Nothing healthy. Only junk. That’s what you have for a girls’ night. Candy and chips and ice cream and chocolate.”
From across the living room, Angel catches my eye. She’s smiling—an indulgent one that I’ve learned comes whenever she’s about to let Haley do something she normally wouldn’t. “But you need to listen to Hazel,” she warns gently. “If she says you’ve had enough, that means you’ve had enough.”
Haley flicks a quick glance over her shoulder at Angel. “I will.” Then she turns back to me. “Do you know what a mani-pedi is? I do them with my mom sometimes, but Hazel said she bought special polish just for Christmas. With glitter and stencils so we can do candy cane nails if we want.”
As a matter of fact, I do know what mani-pedis are. But I think it’ll be more fun if I pretend I don’t.
With a solemn shake of my head, I tell Haley, “I don’t know. What are they?”
“Well.” Haley props her hands on her hips. “A mani is short for manicure. Which means you paint your fingernails.”
“You paint your fingernails?” I raise my eyebrows at her. “Like with the paint you use on a house?”
“No. Nail polish.” She wiggles her unpainted fingernails at me. “In all kinds of colors. And you use moisturizer before. So your hands and nails get all soft.”
“Hmm.” I look down at my own nails. “Sounds interesting. What about this pedi thing?”
“That’s a pedicure. You do the same thing, but for your toenails.” Haley’s voice dips conspiratorially. “We always use light colors when we do it here. But at Hazel’s, I’m going to get bright red.”
Now Angel is trying hard not to laugh. “What’s wrong with light colors, Hale?”
“Nothing,” Haley replies quickly. To me, she adds, “I’m going to do candy canes for my fingers and toes. It’s going to be so cool. And guess what?”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. “What?”
“Hazel said she’s going to paint one of Alec’s nails, too. So they match. Isn’t that funny?”
“It is funny,” I agree. “Do you think I should paint my nails, too?”
Haley regards me solemnly for a second. “Sure. You could do white and silver. For the snow. With glitter.” She grabs my hand and studies it. “You should probably moisturize, too.”
“Haley.” Angel is laughing. “I think I see Hazel and Alec pulling into the driveway. Do you have all your things?”
Haley jolts like an electric current ran through her. Then she drops my hand and races across the room, where her backpack is sitting beside the front door. She slings it over her shoulder, nearly nailing Angel in the face with it. “I’m ready!”
I walk over to the window and look out at the driveway. Alec’s SUV is idling in the driveway, and Hazel’s already out and heading up to the front porch.
Haley reaches for the doorknob, ready to yank the door open, but Angel touches her arm to stop her. “Let me, Hale.”
“Actually.” I hurry over to them. “Let me do it.”
They both turn to me with matching quizzical expressions. “It’s the gentlemanly thing to do,” I explain. “That’s what my dad always told me.”
I’m not making that up. Opening the door for a woman was something he taught me early on, along with always walking on the outside of the sidewalk and standing when a woman comes into the room. But there’s another reason why I want to open the door for them.
It puts me between Angel and Haley and a potential threat.
Not that I think anything will happen. Not with Phil in police custody, awaiting trial.
That’s why Angel and Haley are back at their house instead of mine, though I said they could stay as long as they wanted. “I think it’s important to get back to our regular routine,” Angel explained. “And honestly, the longer I stay here, the harder it’ll be to go back.”
I didn’t want them to leave. During the three days Angel and Haley stayed with me, they quickly settled in as if they’d always been there.
Haley made the loft into her own special space, with twinkle lights strung on the railing and a collection of beanbag chairs in one corner, perfect for cuddling with her stuffed animals while she read.
And Angel took over the kitchen, adding little decorations and filling the room with delicious scents.
Then there were the evenings. My favorite time.
We’d all sit in the living room while we’d play board games and watch movies, and it felt like we were an actual family.
Then Haley would go to bed and Angel and I would retreat to my bedroom—not to have sex, but to cuddle and watch baking shows and talk about anything and everything we could think of.
But Angel said she needed to go home. And as much as I didn’t want her to leave, I had to respect it.
Maybe if the case against Phil wasn’t as strong, I might have tried to convince Angel to stay longer for her safety. But once we looked at the evidence, it painted a pretty clear picture of what happened.
Thanks to Alec’s computer expertise, he was able to search through hours of footage, not just from Angel’s security cameras, but those of her neighbors. That’s how he spotted Phil skulking around her house only an hour before the break-in.
Then there were the fingerprints—on the front door, the back, and all over the porch—that forensics identified as belonging to Phil.
On top of that, they discovered his fingerprints on a hammer found in the backyard, which we presume he planned to use to break in if the lock picks didn’t work.
Coupled with an obvious motive, Phil is sure to be convicted. And with him locked away, there was no reason Angel and Haley couldn’t go home.
Still, I don’t like it.
My house feels too empty without them. Too quiet.
And in the two nights she’s been back here, I haven’t stopped worrying. Not about Phil, but other things.
What if Angel is scared, being back here? What if she can’t sleep because she’s laying awake, listening for that metallic rattle at the back door again? What if she needs to reach something that’s too high for her, and she falls? Hurts herself?
What if Justin decides to complicate things? Just because he wasn’t responsible for the break-in doesn’t mean he’s on the up and up. He could be angry at Angel for indirectly making him a suspect. He could get it into his head that he wants retribution.
Chances are, I’m creating problems where there aren’t any. But I’m still going to make sure I’m on top of things, like triple checking Angel’s security system and giving her and Haley necklaces with tracking devices inside them, just to be safe.
Oh, and opening the door for them. Always. Even though I know damn well Alec wouldn’t have let Hazel get out of the car on her own without thoroughly surveilling their surroundings first.
“Oh,” Angel says. Then she puts her arm around Haley and moves them both to the side. “Well, far be it from me to stop you from being gentlemanly.”
“The boys at school don’t open the doors for girls,” Haley adds. “They just let the doors close in our faces.”
“Maybe they haven’t learned about that yet,” I tell her as I open the door. Stepping onto the porch, I quickly scan the front yard. Aside from Hazel coming up from the front steps, everything is quiet. Peaceful.
As soon as Hazel sees me, a wide smile stretches across her face. Then she hurries up the steps and gives me a hug. “Ronan. Why am I not surprised to see you standing out here?”
“Just being gentlemanly. Opening the door and all.” Glancing over at Alec in the driver’s seat, I add, “I’m surprised Alec didn’t insist on coming to the door himself.”
Hazel flicks a look back at him. “Oh, he wanted to. But we’re working on him trying to be a little less protective.” She laughs. “It’s slow going. But he’s trying.”
Haley squeezes through the doorway and hops onto the porch with a thunk. “Hazel! You’re here!”
Hazel smiles at her. “I am. Are you ready for our special girls’ night?” Then she glances over Haley’s head to give me a knowing smile. Girls’ night isn’t just for Haley. It’s so Angel and I can have some adult time together.
“I’m ready.” Haley bounces on her feet. “This is going to be so fun.” She takes a step away from the door, then freezes and turns back around. “Wait.”
She darts back into the house, her braid trailing behind her. Several seconds later, she’s back. “I had to give Murphy a hug,” she explains. “I didn’t want him to think I forgot about him.”
Then she gives Angel a hug. “Thanks for letting me do girls’ night, Mom.”
Angel hugs her back. “Of course, Hale. Have fun.”
As soon as Haley steps back from Angel, she turns to me and wraps her arms around my waist. “You’ll take care of Mom, right? She hasn’t been sleeping well since we got home. I think she’s worried about the basement flooding again.”
I pat Haley’s back. “I will, Speedy.”
She tilts her head back to look at me. “And tomorrow night, will you come over so we can play another game? And watch the Christmas Vacation movie? Mom says since I’m almost ten, I can watch it now.”
Stealing a quick glance at Angel, I widen my eyes in silent question. If it were up to me, the answer would be yes. But I don’t want to assume. Angel might not want me here every night.
Angel smiles and nods. Taking that to mean it’s okay, I tell Haley, “I’d love to. That’s my very favorite Christmas movie.”
“Great!” Haley releases me and bounds down the porch steps. “Come on, Hazel. I’m ready.”
“Thanks, Haze,” Angel says more quietly. “Call if there’s anything…”
“I will.” Hazel turns to follow Haley. Over her shoulder, she adds, “And you two. Have fun.”
Angel moves beside me to watch Haley leave with Alec and Hazel. When their SUV is only two small taillights in the distance, she says, “Well. I guess it’s just us now.”