Page 91 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

“Not a baddy, then?”

He turned to look at her, running his eyes over her face. “You okay?”

She nodded.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You can’t say that, Finch. No one⁠—”

He cut her off by kissing her again. He then turned back to greet Dan and his uncle. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Dan said. “We thought we’d come here to run through a few things where we can get some privacy.”

“Good idea,” Finch said.

Soon they were all seated at the table with more coffee, though Nina was pretty sure no amount of caffeine was going to help her today.

“First off, I wanted to let you know that the town already knows what happened last night, which is to be expected in Lyntacky,” Sheriff Dans said. “We’ll keep those who aren’t involved uninformed as to the details until we know more. But I have told my family because I want eyes all over town and on you.”

“So you believe me that I didn’t leave my hair straightener on?” Nina said.

“A few things had me leaning that way,” the sheriff said. “We went to your house this morning, Nina. The smoke smell is bad, and the bathroom where the fire started is going to need a full renovation. Due to smoke damage, some furnishings will also need replacing and others heavy-duty washing. You’re going to need a professional cleaner in there.”

Nina felt sick when she thought about what someone had done to her lovely little house. Anger followed closely, a dark, seething rage toward whoever was doing this to her.

“I visited Sawyer’s place as the sun came up. I knew he and Birdie would be awake because Sadie’s an early riser, and while I was there, JD arrived with Connor, who had a restless night, and he thought a drive might be good for his mother.”

Dan snorted. “Zoe can’t function without sleep.”

“I told them what had happened last night. Sawyer is smart, so I wanted to see what he thought. When I mentioned what Jett said about the hair straightener, JD said there is no way you would leave them on. He said you’re obsessive about checking things are turned off before you leave The Gnat, Nina.”

“It’s true, I am.”

“So, with that piece of information and everything else that has been happening in your life lately, I think someone is targeting you. We’re doing a thorough scene examination of your house, but let’s go with my theory because I feel in my gut it’s the right one. Dan agrees.”

“I do,” his nephew said.

“I’ve discussed this with Nina and Dan,” Finch said. “Is it possible her mother took something when she left and didn’t realize it was of value to Dale Falcon? Because if it was just Nina they were after, they’d have grabbed her by now.”

Hearing his name still gave her a jolt, but then, do you ever get used to knowing your father is actually alive when you believed him dead?

“It’s a solid theory,” the sheriff said.

“We need to go through everything that belonged to your mother, Nina,” Dan said.

“She didn’t have that much stuff.”

“And is it all in your house?”

Nina nodded. “I’ve got a few things in storage at the Murrays’ place. Her living room suite and some boxes. But I don’t think anything there is⁠—”

“It doesn’t matter, we have to look at everything,” Finch said.

“Is there anything at all that your mother cherished or told you to not touch when you were younger, Nina? Are there any notebooks or documents that may contain information?” Dan asked.

The crunch of tires on gravel alerted them that someone else had arrived. The door opened seconds later, and in stomped Sawyer Duke and JD. Jay was on their heels.

“I told you I was coming to talk to Nina alone, Sawyer, and I’d get back to you after,” Sheriff Dans said, looking at the men.