“We’re not complicating anything. We’re helping.”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m worried about.”
He goes back inside before I can ask what he means by that.
I head to my truck and sit behind the wheel without starting the engine.
Rachel’s not just dealing with fires. She’s dealing with an ex who wants to destroy her, a custody battle she can’t afford to fight, internet harassment that won’t stop, and unemployment that makes everything worse.
Multiple threats from multiple directions.
And I just got a front-row view of exactly what kind of life she escaped when she came back to Millbrook Falls.
Derek’s not going to stop. He’s going to keep pushing, keep manipulating, keep using every weapon he has until he gets what he wants.
Which means we need to make sure he doesn’t get what he wants.
I start the engine and pull out of the driveway.
The fires are still a mystery. But Derek? Derek’s a problem I know how to handle.
And I’m going to make sure Rachel has every resource she needs to fight him.
Chapter twenty-one
Chapter 21
Rachel
Morning light filters through my bedroom window, but I’ve been awake for hours.
Derek’s voice keeps echoing in my head.How long before Tommy realizes his mother’s a failure?
I throw off the covers and head downstairs. Jake’s already gone for an early meeting at the research facility. Tommy’s still asleep, which gives me maybe thirty minutes of quiet before the chaos starts.
I need to do something productive. Something that proves I’m not falling apart.
Soup. I’ll make soup for Dorothy.
She called yesterday afternoon, saying she’d been feeling under the weather. Nothing serious, just a cold keeping her home from her usual activities. But she’s alone in that apartment, and everyone deserves homemade soup when they’re sick.
I pull out vegetables and start chopping. Carrots, celery, onions. Simple chicken soup, the kind my mom used to make when Jake and I were kids.
My phone buzzes with a text from Sophie.
Hey, can we talk about Tommy’s pickup today? My mom saw the video from the library, and she’s asking questions.
My stomach coils.
What kind of questions?
Just if everything’s okay, if you need help, she’s worried.
Translation: She’s worried about letting her daughter babysit a kid whose mother keeps ending up at fires.
Tell her we’re fine. But if she’s uncomfortable with you watching Tommy, I understand.
Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.
