“What’s out there?” Carly asked, her brows drawn together.
If only Rachel knew.
She still wasn’t sure what the strange interaction with that driver had meant, and it felt as if she’d been holding her breath ever since. The muscles in her arms and legs ached from the constant flex of waiting. For what? Orwhom?
“Why aren’t you two watching your movie?” She indicated the television where another princess flitted through an adventure on the screen, always remaining perfectly styled and coiffed. “Unless you just want to skip it and go to bed.”
The twins skittered back to the couch and snuggled together under a knitted throw. No early bed for them. Or any sleep for her. At least she still had more work to do tonight as insomnia was becoming her new thing.
To avoid making the girls more curious, she settled between them, and they found their usual spots draped over her. As the princess twirled on the screen, she even took a moment to rest her eyes.
But her lids shot open when someone rapped on the door. She leaped up from the cushions in what felt like a single, chaotic move. Giggles erupted as the twins, who’d been displaced by her leap, ran for the door.
“Girls, stop.”
She gave them an apologetic look when they turned back to her with wide eyes. Even if she couldn’t avoid panicking herself, she didn’t want to frighten them.
“I’ll get it.” She forced a smile, hoping they couldn’t see straight through her.
In the innocent world her children had known before, people could open doors without worrying who might be on the outside. How could she explain to them that they no longer lived in that snow globe, shielded by plexiglass? Maybe they never had. Gesturing for the girls to move behind her, she stepped to the door.
“Who is it?” She couldn’t get a good look through the peephole.
“Mick,” came a low grumble through the wood.
Rachel blinked several times, her chest tightening. Still, she flipped the bolt, unchained the second lock and opened the door a crack. The same hooded man from two days before stood on her porch in a mixture of light and shadows since her duplex neighbors had turned on their porch lamp.
“What are you doing here?”
She yanked him inside and closed the door before he could answer her question.
“What’s wrong?” he asked instead. “Are you okay? Did you see the SUV again?”
He rested his hands on her shoulders and searched her eyes, looking worried enough for the both of them.
Rachel took a step back from his touch and from her own strange impulse to lean in and let him hold her. She’d only agreed to involve him in her unauthorized investigation for the sake of her children. It could have nothing to do with her. She couldn’t let it.
Tucking her chin, she caught sight of her pastel flannel pajama pants and the loose T-shirt she’d paired with it, braless. She crossed her arms to cover her chest, her face hot. Mick’s gaze darted from her left ear to her right, avoiding looking lower. He hadn’t missed a thing.
“It’s Mr. Prentiss,” Carissa called out.
Mick blinked and glanced down at her daughters as though he’d forgotten they would be there as well.
“Hi, girls. You can call me Mick. Mr. Prentiss is my…uh…father.”
The flick of his gaze to the TV screen suggested there was more to that story, but since the twins were already bouncing at their guest’s feet and helping him remove his coat, Rachel tucked away the thought. “Then make thatMr.Mick.”
“Mommy was watching for you out the window,” Carly said.
Her cheeks burning, Rachel shot a look at Mick and caught him watching her. That only made it worse.
“Want to watch a movie with us?” Carissa pointed to the TV.
Both girls folded their hands and looked up to him with pleading eyes. Rachel would have to warn them to be more guarded around people they didn’t know well. Especially now. And while she was at it, she needed to caution herself.
“Sure,” he said. “But may I speak to your mom for a few minutes first?”
The twins nodded and hurried back to their couch.
