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I nodded. “That’s what makes this so scary.”
She became visibly uncomfortable, squirming back and forth on the counter. I hated to think she didn’t feel safe.
Lifting my hands up, I placed my palms on either side of her face. I pinned my eyes on hers and promised, “He’s not going to touch you again, Daisy. No matter what it takes, I will keep you safe.”
“I just remembered something.”
“What?”
“After he did what he did to me, he told me he’d be watching me,” she shared. “What if… what if he followed me here?”
Fuck.
I didn’t want to believe it was the case, but considering he hadn’t been located in Birch Creek, and now this latest bit of information from Daisy, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
He could have been here in Steel Ridge. To say it left me a bit unsettled would have been an understatement.
Regardless of how I felt, I refused to let Daisy believe the worst.
“You’re going to be safe with me, sunshine. I won’t let him get to you.”
Tears filled her eyes. “He told me he’d kill me.”
“He’s not going to kill you. I’ll never let that happen.”
She held my gaze for several long seconds, the fear slowly slipping out of her eyes. Eventually, she said, “I trust you, Forrest. I believe you’ll do what you say.”
I smiled as the relief washed over me. Then I touched my mouth to hers and kissed her. Somewhere in the middle of it, a knock came at the door.
Not expecting anyone, and being caught off guard, my fingers pressed in on her face. “Stay here,” I told her.
I released my hold on her and walked toward the front door. And the moment I opened the front door, I realized there was no threat there, even if I couldn’t say there wasn’t anything to worry about.
“What’s going on?”
“Now’s not a good time, Vivian,” I said.
My sister’s brows shot up. “Not a good time? I just learned you aren’t coming to dinner this weekend. I know you were in a bad headspace weeks ago, and I thought things turned around for you. Obviously, I was wrong, and things aren’t good. You need to tell me what’s going on.”
I loved my sister and my family, but the last thing I was prepared to do was push Daisy into a situation where she was forced to have dinner with my family. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to meet them, but with there still being some bruising around her throat and on her face, I knew my family would notice. And it wasn’t that I cared if they knew what she was going through. I simply didn’t want her to feel obligated to tell them about the situation she was in, if she didn’t want to.
“You know I love you, Vivian, but I can’t do that right now,” I told her.
Before I could go on and offer any additional explanation that wouldn’t reveal the seriousness of Daisy’s situation, a noise came from somewhere behind me.
Vivian’s eyes went in that direction as shock washed over her face. I turned and saw Daisy standing there, and it became clear she was worried about the woman standing just inside my front door, who just heard me tell her I loved her.
Immediately, I moved toward Daisy, and with each step I took in her direction, tension filled her frame. She looked like she wanted to run—or cry—but something kept her rooted to the spot.
“Daisy, I?—”
At the sound of my voice, she became unstuck and cut me off. “I’m so sorry. I should?—”
“You’re Daisy?” Vivian chimed in.
That did it.
That brought Daisy to a halt. Her eyes went to Vivian, and she asked, “How do you know my name?”
