???
At the hospital, nurses wheel Penny in and strap monitors to her. The beeping is sharp, steady, filling the room with its sterile rhythm. I stand stiff at the foot of the bed, arms locked across my chest, every muscle coiled tight.
Finally, her eyes find mine. Fragile. Haunted.
“It wasn’t some stranger.” Her voice is paper-thin, but steady.“It was Mark. I know his voice, Cas. He saw us on the lake yesterday.” Her throat works as she swallows, tears shining.“He called me a whore. Said I’d pay.”
The words land like a match to kindling. Rage scorches through me, white-hot and blinding.
I force myself to move slow, crouching down until we’re eye to eye. My hand cups her face, my thumb brushing her cheek. Her skin is cool, trembling under my touch.
“Listen to me, Penny.” My voice is low, edged with steel.“Mark doesn’t get near you again. He doesn’t get to scare you. Not while I’m breathing.”
Tears spill over, but she leans into my palm, her fingers clutching at my shirt like it’s the only solid thing in the room. The antiseptic sting of the hospital mixes with her faint peaches-and-vanilla perfume, grounding me, reminding me that she’s here. Alive. With me.
The door to the emergency room bursts open, breaking the moment. Grace, Ethan, Dex, Jude and my parents pile in, their faces pale with worry.
“Cas! Penny!” Lily rushes to the bed, her hand finding Penny’s cheek.“Sweetheart, you’re okay. We were so worried.”
Grace edges closer, slipping her hand over Penny’s.“You scared us half to death.”
Ethan and Dex hover in the doorway, their usual cocky grins gone. Even Jude’s jaw is tight, eyes darting between Penny and me like he’s bracing for the worst.
“She’s stable,” I tell them, voice clipped.“Doctors say it was a panic attack. She just needs rest and some meds.”
Summer calls not long after, her voice tight with panic. I answer quickly, keeping my tone steady.“She’s scared, but safe. We’ve got her. Keep an eye on the shop and call me if anything feels off.”
When the nurses finally clear her to leave, I gather Penny into my arms. She melts against me without hesitation, her body light but trembling, still weak from the panic attack and the meds they gave her to quiet her nerves. Her head fits beneath my chin like it was always meant to be there.
“Home,” I whisper into her hair.“You’re going home.”
???
Back at the B&B, the air shifts the moment we step inside, warm wood smoke, pumpkin spice, the faint hum of family life.Mom isalready fussing, wrapping a blanket around Penny, pressing a steaming mug of tea into her hands. Grace tucks pillows around her on the couch, whispering soft reassurances.
Ethan and Dex linger nearby, cracking a few gentle jokes until Penny actually lets out the ghost of a laugh. Relief flickers across the room like sunlight through clouds.
I stay in the armchair closest to her, every nerve trained on her small movements, the way she sips her tea with shaky fingers, the way her shoulders finally begin to lower, the way her lashes droop heavy with exhaustion.
The house creaks, dishes clatter faintly in the kitchen, Mom hums as she stirs something warm on the stove. The rhythm of home wraps around us like armor.
When her eyes finally close, I lean forward, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. I press a kiss to her temple, lingering a moment longer than I should.
“You’re safe,” I murmur.“Here. Now. Always.”
Her breathing evens, slow and steady, and I sit back, my chest still burning with the silent vow I’ve already made:Mark won’t get near her. Not ever again.
CHAPTER 17
Penelope
Cas has taken the entire week off to be with me, and I’ve never felt so spoiled in my life. He makes sure I never have to lift a finger, even though I’m fine. Meals appear like magic, he brings me new books to read, takes me on long walks along the lakeshore, and showers me with long, lingering kisses and arms that never leave my sides. Every touch, every brush of his hand, every whispered word makes my heart race and my body ache for more, but Cas is gentle, patient. He lets me take my time, lets me feel safe, lets me breathe.
I haven’t heard from Mark again, but Cas says that’s normal. He’ll know we traced the call by now. Cas filed an incident report and reached out to the sheriff’s department in Illinois, where Mark lives, to alert them to the restraining-order violation. They checked his house, empty. He quit the mayor’s campaign last week, packed up, and vanished. Even his parents don’t know where he is. That silence should comfort me, but it doesn’t. It sits in my chest like a warning I can’t quite name.
The nightmares came back. After the first night on the couch, when Cas woke to me screaming after we got home from the hospital, he started sleeping on the couch in my room. I told him he could sleep with me, but he refused.
Tomorrow we both go back to work. But tonight… tonight he has something special planned for our third date at his house.
