I shrugged. “Dylan likes to use my phone. I got a really good case.”
Rose took my hand and led me back to her Beetle. “I called Dad. He’ll be here in a minute.”
“We should have taken my Expedition. He would have just bounced off my back tires when he hit us. Your car is too small, Rose. You need to get a bigger one. He had my phone. How did he get my phone? Why didn’t I notice?” I rambled. I tended to lose both my filter and my focus when I was nervous.
“Chill, Lily. We’re fine for now. Dad’s coming.” She squeezed my hand and patted my head. I was pretty sure nothing scared Rose.
“My kids... What if he tries to get near them, or hurt them? Rose?—”
She put her hands on my shoulders. “They are at Mom’s house. First, you know all about the alarm Dad installed and the fences and motion detectors and all that. And if that doesn’t make you feel better, Levi and Jude are there, and Ash and his kids. Plus, Dad said Cade just got there for lunch. Don’t worry, your kids are fine. Promise. And Dad will be here any minute.”
He pulled up in his police SUV followed by another officer in a squad car before Rose could even finish her sentence, looking around as he got out. I stupidly held out my phone to him, belatedly realizing that I probably shouldn’t have picked it up. Hopefully, I didn’t screw up any fingerprints or evidence. Dad sidestepped my outstretched arm holding the phone and pulled me close with one arm. His other arm wrapped around Rose, and just like that, I felt a little bit better.
“You girls okay?” he asked. Rose nodded and pulled away to check out the damage to the back of her car.
“We are now,” I said. “Someone called us from my phone. I don’t know how or exactly when they got it, but it had to have been when I was at Violet’s because I had it this morning. He wants some file of Will’s, and you know that’s crazy, right? Will never brought evidence home. Plus, it’s been over a year since he died. Why now? I don’t know anything about what heinvestigated or his cases, and I never did. And Trevor hasn’t called me back yet.”
Dad carefully took the phone and put it in a bag. “You’re moving into the house. Today. No more staying at Gram’s. You can move back there after I figure out what is going on.”
I nodded. I was no fool. I was also a great big scaredy-cat. Plus, Dad had guns and an epic alarm system and the town’s entire police force at his disposal. I needed all hands on deck. I needed bodyguards. But what I really needed was someone to talk me down from this edge of panic I was teetering on.
Rose turned back to Dad, and I felt myself start to slip into a panic mode, where everything was in sharp focus but also strangely muted by fear.
“Snap out of it, Lily. You’ve got that panicky, crazed look in your eyes. Nothing will happen to you or the kids. Focus on me, on Dad. It’s going to be okay.” Rose hugged me quickly, then headed back to her car.
“Rose is right, honey. Everything will be fine.” Dad gave me a reassuring smile. “I talked to Trevor. He’s on his way down with the kids. I told him he can stay at your Gram’s house. I don’t like this. There is too much weirdness going on. This just caps it all off and tells me I made the right decision about you moving in with your mom and me.”
“Trevor? Why didn’t he tell me himself?”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Dad said.
“I should cancel my date with Luke. I can’t leave the kids at a time like this.”
“No, I don’t think that’s necessary. You’ll be safe with Luke and the kids will be safe with us. You’re all covered. Go with Luke, try to get your mind off all this. We have a reason to worry, but I don’t want you to—” He looked away from me for a second, then added, “I’m taking care of it. So is Trevor.” He didn’t want me to lose my mind and freak out is what he didn’t say. He was hoping that spending time with Luke would distract me.
I wished I was a stronger person, like Rose. I wished I didn’t overthink and overreact and make everything seem worse than it was. “Thanks, Dad.” I hugged him quickly.
“You girls go straight to the house.”
Chapter 19
Luke
Istood on Lily’s parents’ front porch and stared at the doorbell with memories of ringing it at age sixteen blasting through my head. I took a deep breath to try to calm my out-of-control nerves. I’d been nervous back then too, but with happy anticipation rather than the fear that one misstep could cause me to lose everything. I blew out a breath and pressed the doorbell.
Rose answered. “We had an incident today.” I shook off the memories and focused on Rose as she explained. “Your job is to distract Lily and keep her mind off all this crap going on. Don’t let her freak out.”
I had assumed I was picking her up here because the kids were here. “Is she okay? Is it safe to go out?” I asked.
“I don’t have to tell you to keep your guard up. From what I’ve seen, it’s always up now.” Rose smiled softly. “A car followed us today, bumped the back of us, and he had her phone. Dad is taking care of it. Asher was supposed to take the kids out, but we’re all going to hang here tonight instead.” She stepped aside to let me in. “Everyone is out back, grilling and swimming. I’m going to head out there.” On her way out she yelled for Lily to come downstairs.
I stood at the foot of the stairs to wait. When I glanced up, I saw her foot—clad in a sexy, strappy, black high heel—hit the top of the staircase, followed by a beautiful leg that went up, up, up to reach the bottom of a tight silvery black dress. My eyes trailed up and down her beautiful body, over her tiny waist, along her curvy hips. Then she bent to adjust the strap on her heel and treated me to a view of the locket I’d given her as it fell from her cleavage. I blinked and took a deep breath. I looked up again to see her beautiful face framed by soft red curls falling in a cascade over one bare shoulder. I grinned at her, and she returned it. She had always been beautiful to me,always.But now, she was breathtaking. I smoothed down my shirt and straightened my tie as she approached.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” I said as she stopped in front of me and stood on the bottom stair. She was in heels, so her eyes were level with mine. Her mouth wasright there.I seized her face between my palms and kissed her. I knew that I just messed up her lipstick—that always used to make her mad—but I didn’t care. She was right there, so beautiful and somine. I slid my arms down and wrapped them around her, crossing them behind her back to grip her hips in my palms. I lifted her off her feet. Her little purse hit the staircase as she wound her arms around my neck, her fingers curling into my hair. This date would start with a kiss and end with a whole lot more. I growled into her mouth as I felt her tongue touch mine.God, how I wanted her. I had always wanted her.
“Luke, you’re supposed to kiss me at the end of the date,” she whispered against my lips.
I smiled against her mouth. “I’ll kiss you at the end, don’t worry about that,” I whispered back. “And, baby, prepare. I’ll probably kiss you during the date too.”
