"I don't want you hurt," she said.
"That feeling's mutual," he said."And let's be very clear about something.You're not the one putting me in danger.Whoever is behind this, whoever broke into that trailer and cut those lines, they're the problem.They're the ones making choices that have consequences.I'm making my own choice."
"What choice is that?"she asked, even though she already knew the shape of the answer.
"To stay," he said."To stand in your half-built cabin and call it a future worth fighting for.To stand in your field with the cops and call it a problem we'll solve together.To look at this mess and decide it doesn't get to make your decisions for you."
Her eyes burned, pressure building behind them that she refused to let spill over."Colby."
He stepped closer, closing the last remaining distance between them until she could feel the heat of him along her entire front."You said yesterday that it scares you how much you want this.The cabins.The land.The life that comes with building something from scratch."His voice dropped lower, rougher."It scares me how much I want you in my life.How much I already look forward to seeing you in my kitchen.How empty the cottage felt before you started leaving your shoes by the door.That doesn't mean I walk away because someone cut some string and wants to play mind games."
She let out a shaky laugh that was more than half a sob."You really have a way with romance.String-cutting and crime scenes."
"Hey," he said, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth."I'm a man of lumber and spreadsheets and fire scene analysis.You get what you get."
She rested her forehead against his chest, right over his heartbeat."You're more than that, and you know it."
His hand slid up her back, slow and steady, and came to rest between her shoulder blades."So.Ground rules."
She groaned into his shirt."You would make a list."
"Absolutely, I would," he said."One.You're at the cottage.Full stop.No argument."
"Fine," she muttered against the fabric.
"Two," he continued."You do not come out here alone.Ever.Not even for five minutes to check on something."
"I already agreed to that with Diaz," she said."You don't need to double down."
"I like making sure," he said."Three.We tell the people who matter what's going on so they can keep an eye out.Extra sets of ears and eyes."
"Hank and Brian," she said.
"And Bree," he added."That woman hears everything.If someone mentions seeing a strange truck on this road or an unfamiliar face asking questions, she'll know about it before Diaz does."
The idea of that informal network tightening around her property, around her life, made her chest ache in a completely different way."You're building me a security system out of people."
"That's usually the best kind," he said."The kind that actually cares about the outcome."
She lifted her head and looked at him."I hate that you're right."
He smiled, small and real and just for her."Gets you every time."
Silence settled between them, thicker than before but without the sharp edges of earlier.The cabin frame stood behind them, patient and unfinished.The broken lock was somewhere in Diaz's evidence bag.The boot prints waited for plaster casts.
The threat had shifted from abstract fear to something with weight and shape and footprints.
Sabrina looked past Colby's shoulder at the outline of her future, the bones of a cabin that someone had tried to rattle but hadn't managed to knock down.
"I won't let whoever did this take this from me," she said, and her voice came out steadier than she expected."They already took Norman House.They already took the life I thought I wanted.I'm not handing them the next one."
"Good," he said."Hold onto that.Remember what it feels like."
"I might need help," she admitted.
His eyes warmed, that particular shade of brown that made her think of coffee, autumn, and safe places."That's why I'm here."
She nodded once, a decision settling into place."Then we go back to the cottage.You make your terrible coffee, and I'll call Bree and tell her what happened so she doesn't hear it from someone else and show up here with a pitchfork and righteous fury."
