His retreat was almost comical, backing away with his hands raised as if I were pointing a weapon at him.In a way, I was.
Once he was outside, Griffin and Inferno could make sure he didn’t come back.Griffin would keep him engaged until the cops got here to take his ass somewhere he could sober up before he tried to drive.
The rage that had built inside me during the confrontation needed somewhere to go, so I channeled it into deep, measured breaths.In prison, uncontrolled anger was a one-way ticket to solitary -- or worse.Out here, it wasn’t much different.The last thing these women needed was to see me lose control, even in defense of them.
When I was certain my face showed nothing of the storm inside, I turned and re-entered the common area.The shelter coordinator gave me a small nod of thanks before disappearing down a hallway, probably to check on the woman with the cast.But it was Zelda’s reaction that caught me off guard.
She stood apart from her mother and sister, her small frame tense but her eyes alive with something I hadn’t seen there before.Now in addition to her wariness, a kind of fierce curiosity showed in her expression.She studied me openly, her gaze tracking from my hands to my face and back again, as if looking to see if I’d fought the guy.While anyone in this room could see out through the large picture window, it was one-way glass.The front was blacked out and looked decorative instead of what it actually was.If she’d watched, she knew I hadn’t fought the guy, but she still looked like she didn’t quite believe I hadn’t settled the problem without violence of some kind.
Across the room, Penny’s gaze met mine.The fear that had shadowed her expression earlier had shifted, not gone but different now.There was gratitude there, yes, but something else too.Maybe a reassessment of me.The look of someone seeing past the surface to something familiar underneath.Story of my life, except most people didn’t bother to look deeper.
I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with the scrutiny.“Everything’s OK,” I said to the room at large, though my eyes lingered on Penny for a heartbeat longer.“I don’t think he’ll be back.”
Violet appeared with Caleb, both ready to leave.I’d promised them a ride back to the clubhouse where Riot would be waiting.As I followed them out, I found myself already planning to return tomorrow to do preventative maintenance on… anything I could find that needed it in the next two or three months.Maybe stuff even that didn’t need it.Maybe I’d see if Kira wanted me to check Mr.Hoppers in case he needed any more repairs after all his years of loyal service.It had nothing to do with wanting to see if Zelda’s curiosity would win out over her caution.Or to see if Penny would look at me again the way she had just now, like maybe I wasn’t someone to fear after all.
No.Nothing to do with any of that.At all.
Chapter Three
Penny
I chopped carrots into neat, even pieces, the rhythm of the knife against the cutting board oddly soothing.The kitchen at Haven hummed with quiet activity as Violet and I prepared enough vegetable beef soup to feed the four families currently staying here.Steam rose from the massive pot, carrying the rich scent of Italian seasoning, garlic, and onion throughout the room.For a moment, it almost felt normal, just two women cooking together on a quiet afternoon, but the weight of vigilance never fully left my shoulders.
“So, how are the girls settling in?”Violet asked, her red hair tucked up into the paper hair cover sported by both of us as she stirred the pot.Her voice was casual, but I’d learned that Violet rarely asked casual questions.
“Better than I expected,” I admitted, sliding the carrots off the cutting board into a bowl.“Kira slept through the night yesterday.First time in months.”
Violet smiled, the expression warming her pale blue eyes.“That’s progress.Sleep is always the first thing to go and the last thing to come back.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
“I am.”She added the carrots to the pot, the splash sending up a fresh cloud of fragrant steam.“It took Caleb three weeks to sleep more than two hours at a stretch after we left his father.”
“How did you know when it was… safe?You know.To trust people again.”
Violet paused, wooden spoon hovering over the pot.“I didn’t.Not at first.You just take small steps.And you watch for the people who prove themselves trustworthy through actions, not just words.”
I nodded, reaching for the celery.The steady chop of the knife filled the silence between us.Then I heard a sound so unexpected and precious that my hands froze mid-slice.Laughter.Zelda’s laughter.Not the forced, hollow chuckle she sometimes produced to placate adults, but her real laugh -- open and unguarded.I hadn’t heard that sound in… I couldn’t even remember how long.
“Penny?”Violet’s voice seemed to come from far away.“Are you OK?”
I blinked, realizing I’d been standing motionless with the knife hovering over the celery.“That’s Zelda,” I whispered.“Laughing.”
Understanding crossed Violet’s face.“Go,” she said gently.“I’ve got this.”
I set down the knife with trembling fingers and moved toward the sound, drawn by its magnetic pull. I followed the sound to the common room, stopping abruptly in the doorway.The scene before me was so unexpected that for a moment I wondered if I’d somehow stepped into someone else’s life.
Tiny sat cross-legged on the floor like he had the first day we’d seen him here.He’d managed to fold his massive frame into an improbable position.His head nearly reached the height of the sofa, even seated, but his focus was entirely on the delicate structure of playing cards taking shape between him and my daughters.Both girls knelt across from him, Kira leaning forward with unusual eagerness, Zelda with her arms crossed but a smile -- an actual smile -- playing at the corners of her mouth.
“Careful,” Kira whispered as Tiny reached forward with a playing card.
His enormous hands, capable of who knew what kinds of violence, trembled slightly as he attempted to balance the card atop the fragile tower.His brow furrowed in concentration, the short Mohawk down the center of his head lending him an incongruous, almost comical appearance as he focused on this delicate task.
The card wobbled, then slipped, sending the entire structure cascading down with a soft patter.Kira dissolved into giggles, the sound so pure and unexpected it caught in my chest like a physical pain.
“Your hands are too big,” Zelda said, but there was no malice in her voice, just the matter-of-fact observation of a child.
“I know,” Tiny replied, his deep voice so soft it was barely audible from where I stood.“Good thing I’ve got you two to help me.”
