She looked at him.
He’d tackled a man in front of her. And now he was here, asking if she was okay and replacing her locks without being asked.
Something in her chest cracked a little.
Grace pressed her lips together, trying to breathe through the tightness in her chest. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, he was still watching her. Careful. Quiet. Present.
“Thank you,” she said. “For showing up.”
Luke smiled, but it looked pained. “Gracie, there’s nowhere else I would’ve been.”
CHAPTER 32
Luke
The locksmith wasn’tmuch for small talk, which suited Luke just fine.
Luke leaned against the wall in Grace’s narrow hallway, arms crossed, watching as the man installed the last of the new deadbolts.
Front door reinforced. Back door reinforced. Window locks replaced.
Grace was never going to feel unsafe in her home again. Never lie in bed listening for footsteps. Never wonder if a sound on the porch meant someone was coming for her.
Not on his watch.
The house felt… lived in.
Not staged. Not careful. Not curated for appearances.
Her bookshelf held rows of children’s books, a small stack of adult novels in pile by the couch. A throw blanket was draped over the armrest like she’d tossed it there without thinking.
There were pictures in the hallway.
He’d been in this house before.
He’d just never looked at it.
Now it was all he could see.
A magnet on the fridge held a crayon drawing—lopsided sun, purple stick figure, crooked letters:Miss Hart is the best!
Luke stared at it longer than he meant to.
Gracewasthe best. The kids had figured it out before he had.
He’d treated her like something temporary. Something contained. Something he could visit in the dark and walk away from.
And meanwhile she’d been building a life without him.
In chipped paint and soft blankets and secondhand books.
He didn’t just want to install new locks.
He wanted to fix every creaky hinge. Replace the peeling weather seal. Sand down the porch railing. Touch up the paint where it had chipped near the baseboards. Stop the slow drip in her kitchen sink.
He wanted to make this place stronger.
