“Then, by all means, do it.” Zayn didn’t back down, and there was something hot about watching him meet Horner’s gaze without fear. I supposed he had cash for a lawyer if he needed it. “But leave us out of it. You have no reasonable cause to be here in front of Keaton’s trailer asking questions. He told the police last night everything he knew. Now you’re bordering on harassment. He lost his mother. Have some empathy.”
I had no fucking idea what empathy was, but it sounded really good curled on his tongue. He was so damned smart, and I’d never really found that a turn-on until now. I supposed empathy was like sympathy. I knew what that meant, at least.
Ginny let out another small sob, and I shushed her, rubbing a soothing hand over her back. I should’ve told her as soon as we got back to the trailer, but I hadn’t expected cops to stop by and ask more questions. Or announce that our mom was dead like they were talking about the weather.
Gross flexed his fingers in his belt as though he was tempted to curl them into fists but held back. He stepped forward, his boots crunching the gravel underneath them. “Listen, slick,we’ve got a job to do and you’re standing in the way of saving lives.”
“You don’t care about our lives,” I snapped over Ginny’s shoulder. “You care about promotions or looking good in the news. Guess what, dude? You’re not gettin’ nothin’ here, all right? Not a fuckin’ thing. So how about you pack up your rodeo and fuck off?”
To my left, I noticed the curtain on one of my neighbor’s windows open, and Mrs. Butler peered out from behind it, curious. She wasn’t the only one, either. A door opened somewhere in the next row and “shut up” was shouted a little farther down.
Damn it. This wasn’t good.
Horner crowded closer, his face near mine. The only thing that stopped him from getting any nearer was Ginny plastered to my chest. He pointed at me, and Zayn shot toward us, wedging his way between me and Horner, becoming a shield.
“Back off, Officer,” Zayn ordered, his Daddy voice coming out to play. My body reacted on an impulse and a shiver raked down my spine. I loved that tone coming from him. “Because I will call my lawyer. He’s on retainer.”
Horner frowned, giving Zayn a once-over. “Who are you and why are you involved?”
“I’m Keaton’s significant other?—”
Fuck. I winced because Mrs. Butler had opened her window to listen and she definitely heard that part. The gossip would be all over the park by afternoon, and then I’d have even more trouble coming my way, including eviction. The owner didn’t mess around with “the rules,” and we’d broken more than one today, including having the cops show up because of us.
“—and I have a damned good attorney.”
Ginny sniffled and turned her head to look at Zayn. She wiped at her teary eyes and hiccupped, while Bernadette grewmore agitated in the trailer, her whines and barks increasing in volume. The door shook violently under her persistent clawing.
Horner put a few feet of distance between himself and Zayn. “We’ll be back.”
“You won’t unless you have a good reason.” Zayn waggled his fingers at them in a mocking wave that made my mouth twitch into a smile. “Bye, officers.”
He stayed in front of me as a wall until the cops got back into their patrol car and left. I wasn’t able to breathe again until I saw the tail end of their trunk disappear, and air rushed out of my nose.
Zayn swung around toward us and laid his hand on Ginny’s back, rubbing a comforting circle as the sobs began again, racking her small body as she buried her face against my shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but there wasn’t much that could be said to fix what the cops had ruined. Ginny had learned about her mommy’s death in the worst way possible. I felt like a monster.
“I’m sorry, Gins,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. My stomach cramped as panic assaulted me. “I was going to tell you. The policeman was right. Mommy had an accident and she went to heaven.”
She sobbed harder, fisting my shirt. “I . . . I hope she’s not . . . not with Grandma. Mommy always said . . . said she was a bitch.”
I chuckled because she wasn’t wrong. Mom had named Bernadette after our grandma, claiming they were both bitches. Ginny still didn’t fully understand the reference, except that it wasn’t a good thing, and I hoped it was a while before she did. I needed her to live a childhood, but it was clear we were going to get kicked out of the park. I wasn’t sure what to do. Not unless....
I stared at Zayn. “Okay.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Okay what, boy?”
I sucked in a deep breath, expanding my lungs until they hurt. “We’ll get out of this park.” I had no idea what that meant. Were we actually living with Zayn? And what happened if we didn’t work out as a couple?
His gaze stayed glued on mine, his hand continuing the circular patterns on Ginny’s back in comfort. “My house is on the bigger side. Ginny can have her own room.”
Ginny’s head popped up and she shot a look at Zayn. She rubbed the tears from her red eyes. “Mine? I don’t have to share?”
Zayn brushed her curly bangs off her forehead, and it was a gentle gesture, one that had my chest squeezing with warmth I didn’t want to think about. He smiled at her, his face softening until there wasn’t an ounce of hardness on it. “Yes, sweetheart, all yours. We’ll need to go into town today and buy you a few things, but we can do that, can’t we?”
She nodded so eagerly she nearly fell right out of my arms. I tightened my grip on her. “Can we get Bernadette a bed in my room, too? She can sleep at the end of my bed.”
Zayn laughed and the rich sound soaked into my skin, turning to bubbly liquid in my veins. I was feeling something. I didn’t like it. Or at least, I didn’t think I did. “We sure can. And we’ll get both of you toys.”
Ginny gasped. “I’ve never had many toys.”
