“I’ll eat,” Travis put in.
“That’s really generous, Trav,” Trent replied. “Thank you, son.”
He grinned, and I snorted. “We’re so thankful that we’ll make sure to buy you the best pooper scooper we can find.”
He groaned, and Ketchup whined at the back door. Travis let him in and then grabbed the carton of orange juice out of the fridge and sat down at the island with it. He didn’t even get a glass, just started chugging.
Meh, one less dish to wash.
“Ugh, Trav, you’re so gross,” Andi said as she walked into the kitchen wearing a pair of jeans and a pink hoodie.
Ketchup danced around her feet, knocked into me, and I knocked into Trent. Setting aside his coffee, he stepped behind me, caging me in with his chest and arms, chin resting on my shoulder as I finished cracking eggs into a bowl.
“What are you doing, frat boy?”
“Eggs are expensive these days, baby. I’m just making sure you don’t drop any.”
“Gross,” Travis muttered, swiping his chin with his sleeve.
Guess what color it was.
If you said black, you clearly have been paying attention.
“Good boy!” Andi crooned, and Ketchup raced out of the kitchen with a treat hanging from his mouth. He couldn’t eat it on the floor like a normal dog. No. He had to jump onto the couch and enjoy it there.
What we created here together, in this house, was my favorite. Powerful enough to hit pause on the outside world and any challenges out there waiting. I hoped the kids felt it and knew we would always be here, no matter what.
The interviewwith the police went smoothly, and the girls didn’t cry, which was a win in my book. Travis answered all their questions and didn’t cuss once. Another win in the book of parenting. Andi sat in my lap, Travis right beside me, and Trent stood over us like the guard dog Lorhaven always claimed he was. Romeo did the same with Rimmel and London, and Romeo’s dad tried to soften their glowering with a smile. It might have worked if Braeden wasn’t also in the room.
We kept the rest of the kids out of it, even if I did suspect the little eavesdroppers stood at the top of the stairs and listened.
They asked Travis and the girls for a physical description of the woman and let us know afterward that it matched the description other witnesses gave. They also had the damn recordings all the bystanders took instead of helping. If you ask me, they didn’t need to ask our kids what she looked like because they had her on video, but I guess they had to do their due diligence.
The uniforms seemed confident they’d be able to find her. I almost told them our PIs would find her first, but I wasn’t aboutto be an asshole. I wanted all hands on deck when it came to getting this woman off the streets.
Knowing she was still out there, doing who knew what, made me want to keep the kids inside the security of the compound walls, but promises were made to two girls.
And so here we were, about to get our animal adoption on. The stone exterior of Rimmel’s animal shelter was familiar as ever. The landscaping around it had filled in over the years. The bushes were full, flowers lined the walkway, and the climbing roses covered the entire corner of the front side.
The window boxes were empty, but the dirt was fresh.
“I’m going to be filling them for fall in just a couple weeks,” Rimmel said as we approached. “And since Romeo is retired, he’ll have time to help me this year.”
“I’m all yours, smalls,” he said, linking their hands.
“Can I help too?” Andi asked.
“Of course!” Rimmel replied. “The other two shelters need some flowers too. I need all the help I can get.”
She still ran three shelters and was hands-on with all of them.
A car turned into the parking lot, and I tensed immediately, turning to stare down the approaching SUV. A man was driving, a woman in the passenger seat. I looked hard at the woman, trying to see if she matched the description of the one from yesterday.
Trent’s hand settled over the back of my neck, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s not her,” he said low.
I nodded once but scanned the rest of the lot and the main road beyond. The press was probably lurking.
“Come on, Dad!” Andi yelled.
