Page 16 of By the Book

“I um… don’t have a guest room,” I say, looking over my shoulder down the short hall to my bedroom and bathroom.

He lifts his gaze from the book he’s picked up, his warm eyes settling on me. “I’m good with the couch.”

“Are you sure?—”

“Someone came after you. And if I haven’t been able to catch them, I’m sure as hell not leaving you alone tonight.” His voice is clipped and it’s clear this isn’t up for debate. Not that I would actually want him to leave.

“You know this isn’t your fault, right?”

The look Tripp gives me carries guilt and frustration. It’s clear that he very much blames himself, and it breaks my heart.

I cross the room and take a seat on the couch, pulling my legs up under his jacket I’m still wearing. “Did you want to take my statement?” I ask, hoping it helps his need to do something.

“Are you sure you’re ready? I thought you didn’t want to talk about it?” he asks cautiously, coming over to sit on the coffee table before me.

“It’s different talking with you,” I admit, my heart stuttering from saying it aloud. “Plus, we can just get it over with.”

He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. Phone in hand, he prepares to record. “You’re sure?”

“I am, what should I say?”

“Just tell me what happened as you remember it. Any details you can,” he replies softly.

I nod, taking myself back about an hour earlier. “Okay, well I was back in my office working on ordering when I heard a breaking noise. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, so I paused my music and that’s when I heard a door open. I figured the breaking was someone going through the glass to unlock the door at that point.”

Tripp sets his mouth in a hard line as I talk, his jaw jumping with tension.

“So, then I grabbed my phone and hid under my desk. I started to hear breaking noises. A lot of them, all over the store… as you saw. And I texted you from under there.”

“I’m really glad you thought of me,” he murmurs.

“Dispatch would have taken forever to get to you, and I would have had to talk. He could have heard me. And I knew, somehow … I trust you. There was no one else that even came to mind.”

Tripp reaches out and rests his hand on my knee. Even through his jacket I can feel the warmth of his touch. “I’m really glad,” he repeats, warmth in his eyes as well. Then he shifts up, a realization coming over him. “You said he. Did you see who broke in? More importantly, did he see you?”

“No, no. I don’t think he knew I was there. He did come into my office, at the end there. You saw my computer. Anyway, he was standing over my desk when he heard Millie’s sirens. I heard him cuss and it was very clearly a male voice. Then he took off.”

“He was standing over you?” Tripp’s voice is a near whisper.

“He was,” I reply, shivering at the memory of the intruder’s closeness. “Millie really had amazing timing. One more second…”

Tripp turns off the recording and moves to sit beside me, his weight on the cushion tilting my body towards him. He wraps an arm around me and tucks me into his side. It has an immediatecalming effect, pulling me from the terrifying memory back into the present, and the safety of his embrace.

I want to stay like this all night. But a rapid knock at the door shakes the spell his touch has me under. I move to open it as he rises and gives himself a clear view of whoever will be on the other side. I don’t have to open the door to find out their identity, though.

“Ivy?” a high-pitched voice rings out.

“She’s here, right? I mean she has to be.”

“Do you think she knows?”

I fling the door open to reveal Stevie, Poppy, and Wren. They lunge at me in unison, coming to a stop only when they notice the sheriff in the room. Poppy’s head jumps from him to me, and back again. She’s about to snap her neck from the rapid movement.

Wren looks as if she’s about to burst as well, her eyes bulging at the suede jacket still wrapped around me. Stevie, to her credit, only smiles innocently. But I know her well enough to know what the look actually means.

“Hi Tripp,” Poppy greets him eagerly.

Leaning against the fireplace mantle, he offers a smile in return. “Evening, ladies.”

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