Micah held Travis’s gaze and let the silence do the work.
He’d learned years ago that most people filled quiet.
Travis, however, wasn’t most people. He sat in the silence like it was something he enjoyed.
A moment later, the door to The Grind House opened.
Naomi stepped out with a coffee in one hand.
Micah’s breath caught. He’d figured she was close.
But he really wished she wasn’t.
She saw them, and her posture tightened. She paused before walking toward them.
“Naomi.” Travis pushed off the wall, his hands still in his pockets. His tone shifted, and he sounded friendlier now, almost neighborly. “Haven’t seen you in a few days. Everything all right out your way?”
“Everything’s just fine.” She kept her words short and tight.
“Good.” Travis nodded slowly. “I hear you’ve been busy. Big changes up at the homestead.”
Micah’s jaw tightened. What exactly had he heard?
Naomi didn’t respond. Instead, she kept her eyes on Travis as if challenging him to finish that thought.
Travis’s gaze remained on Naomi with a casualness that didn’t sit right. “Hope you’re being extra careful on these mountains roads, especially now that you have a baby to take care of.”
Micah’s muscles felt ready to snap. He knew about the baby. How?
He could ask—but Travis probably wouldn’t tell him. Most likely, he’d been at the hospital when Naomi was there visiting Sissy. He’d probably gathered the information he needed then.
Micah narrowed his eyes. “Is that a threat, Travis?”
“A threat?” Travis held up both hands—a gesture of innocence that landed wrong. “No, sir. I’m just looking out for a neighbor. Isn’t that what being neighborly is all about?”
The silence stretched for a beat.
Then Travis’s expression shifted. “So . . . how’s the baby doing?”
Micah saw Naomi’s fingers tighten around her coffee cup. Noted the way her breath caught a second before she controlled it.
“How do you know about the baby?” She kept her tone level as she asked the question.
Travis shrugged. “It’s a small town. People talk. Word gets around.”
Micah stepped closer. “Just to be clear, I don’t want to see you anywhere near that baby. I don’t want to see you near their property. Do you understand me?”
Travis met his eyes, and his slow, unhurried smile returned. “Oh, I understand. Wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable on my family’s old land.”
He held Micah’s gaze a beat too long. Then he nodded, pushed off from where he’d been half-leaning, and started walking with his hands still draped in his jacket pockets.
As Micah watched him go, tension pulled across his back.
Thirty minutes later, Naomi sat in Lawrence Crawford’s insurance office, waiting for him to finish a phone call.
The accident had only been a few days ago, but the claim was already in motion. Lawrence had a few details he needed to go over with her and some paperwork that required her signature before he could move things forward.
The details were all boring but necessary.
