Once she’s finished reading, Penny looks back up at me. Her features twist like she’s trying not to cry. After a shaky breath and exhale, she says, “Maybe it’s strange to be relieved. But I was afraid it was somehow my fault. Maybe I’d plugged in something I shouldn’t. Or maybe… it was Mark.”
“He’s still in jail, Pen. He can’t hurt you.”
“Logically, I know that. But I couldn’t help worrying. Thinking maybe he escaped, that he came after me for revenge…”
I know her ex, Mark, is serving a ten-year sentence with no chance of parole for another few years, but I make a mental note to ask one of my computer whiz friends to check him out. Just in case.
“You would know if he got out,” I remind Penny. “And he apologized at the trial, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.” She hesitates. “He sent me a few letters, too.” When I instinctively tense, she adds quickly, “Nothing bad. Just apologizing. Telling me how he’s working on getting his college degree. I think he meant it. But still… I worried.”
I quickly add another mental note to my list—see about adding extra security to wherever Penny ends up living next.Just in case.
With a tiny shake of her head, Penny adds, “Anyway. I’m glad everyone is okay. And that it was accidental. Not that it makes the damage any better, or brings back all the things I lost…” Her face falls. “All my books. My clothes. My sun catchers.”
“We’ll help you replace everything, Pen. While you were at the hospital, all our friends were asking what they could do to help. You won’t have to deal with this on your own.”
“I know.” She gives me a small smile. “My parents will help, too. When I talked to them earlier, my dad said they’re already looking for the next flight back to the States. It might take a couple of days, since the area of Kenya they’re working in is so remote.”
Penny’s parents are both doctors with Doctors Without Borders, and they’ve been in Africa for the last six months. I’m glad to hear they’ll be coming back to support Penny, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to offer to have them stay here. But I swallow the words back.Don’t push,I remind myself.If she brings it up,thenI can offer.
A beat later, a lightning strike hits me. “Wait.” I jump up and hurry towards the kitchen and the door that leads to the garage. “I have something in the car for you.”
Penny glances at me in confusion. “Now?”
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
And true to my words, I’m back in under a minute, the sparkly gift bag I left in the passenger seat now clutched in my hand. As I sit back down on the couch, I hand it over, explaining, “I was going to give it to you earlier. And then—well, obviously, I couldn’t. But you mentioned sun catchers, and that reminded me.”
She sets the bag in her lap and stares down at it. “You got me a present?”
“It’s nothing big.” Doubt twists my gut. “Maybe now’s not the right time, though. We can wait?—”
“No, I want to see.” Anticipation sparks in her eyes. “There’s never a wrong time for presents.”
I let my hand rest on her shoulder as she plucks the tissue paper from the bag and reaches inside. Then she pulls out the sun catcher, gasping as she sees it.
“There’s an artist in Sleepy Hollow who does stained glass,” I explain. “So I asked if she could make one for you. It has some of your favorite books, and old style library cards… I know it doesn’t make up for the ones you lost. But it’s a start. And I can help you collect more, if you’d like.”
“Mitch.This is beautiful. I love it.” She stares at the colored glass in her hand, then carefully tucks it back into the bag. As she looks back at me, her chin wobbles. Tears swim in her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” I plead. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
“You didn’t.” Swallowing hard, she adds, “It’s more that… I’m mad at myself.”
“Mad?”
She nods. “Yes. Because tonight, I realized how stupid I was being—holding back because I was scared of being hurt again.”
“That’s not stupid, Pen. It’s normal.”
Her gaze holds mine. “But it was stupid. Because you’ve never given me any reason to doubt you. Since I met you, you’ve been kind. Honest. Patient. You’re not like those jerks from my past. Not even close. It wasn’t fair of me to make you wait?—”
“I’ll wait as long as you want,” I interject. “Forget what I said about needing more right now. All I need is you. However much you want to give.”
“But I don’t want you to wait anymore. I realized… I don’t want to keep going the way we have been. I want to be a real couple, Mitch. I’m not scared of it anymore. How could I be, when you’re the most incredible man I’ve ever met?”
My heart swells.“Pen.”
