Page 17 of Home Safe

I’m tempted to leave her here, but Sam has already rung the doorbell. And if I’m honest . . . I do want to talk to Danae again. Possibly several agains.

A few seconds later, the door swings open. Danae stands there in black leggings and a pale purple tunic that hugs her curves the perfect amount. She smiles at Sam but startles when she sees me.

“Oh, Griffin, er, Mr. West, I, uh, didn’t expect to see you,” Danae stammers.

“Definitely just Griffin, or Griff if you’d rather,” I say with a warm smile, leaving it up to Sam to explain my presence here.

Danae motions us through the doorway, and we step into the small entry. Sam finally speaks up. “Griff gave me a ride over because my car’s been acting up.”

Well, then. Didn’t expect her to blatantly lie.

Jason chooses just the right moment to come barreling into the entryway to greet Sam. “Sammi!” he yells. When he sees me standing next to her, his grin spreads wider. “And Mr. Griffin! Wow! I didn’t know I’d get to see you again too!”

“Hey, Fireball,” I say holding out my fist for a fist bump. “I couldn’t let Sam here have all the fun. I wanted to say ‘hi’ too.”

“Let me show you my new Lego set!” Jason exclaims, tugging on Sam’s hand.

“Hold on a minute, Jason,” Danae says, sounding concerned. She looks to Sam. “If you didn’t drive yourself here, then you won’t have a car to drive Jason in case of an emergency. I got his booster seat out of my car to be ready for you. He’s so small for his age that he still doesn’t meet the minimum height suggestion to ride without a booster.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about that,” Sam admits, having the decency to look chagrined. “I mean, I can always call 911, right?”

Danae’s face still looks panicked, even though she’s trying to hide it.

“How about I drive you over to your book club? That way your car is here in case Sam needs to drive Jason anywhere?” I offer.

It wouldn’t take an expert in body language to interpret Danae’s hesitance. Sam, for her part, impishly grins at me.

“I guess that would be okay,” Danae says. Her voice sounds less than excited. I try not to take it personally. “Let me put the booster seat back in and show you which car is mine,” she adds to Sam.

“Great—that gives me time to see this famous Lego set,” I say, smiling at Jason.

“Yes!” he yells before grabbing my hand. Danae and Sam go out to the parking lot as Jason leads me to the living room. The space is tidy but homey, with throw pillows and blankets that beg you to settle into the plush couch cushions. The small dining area to the side of the living room leads directly to the kitchen, where a pizza box sits on the otherwise uncluttered counter.

“So, this is a smallHarry PotterLego set from when Harry arrives at Hogwarts in the boats. There are all sorts of big sets like the castle, but I don’t have those yet,” Jason says as he pulls me over to the coffee table. The instructions lay open on the table, the remaining pieces of the half-assembled set organized into piles.

“Super cool!” I say, picking up one of the characters. “Who’s this?”

“Well, that’s Neville, of course,” Jason says. He peers up at me with narrowed eyes. “Haven’t you readHarry Potter?”

I give a sheepish grimace. “Afraid not. I’m not a huge reader.”

“ButHarry Potteris the best book series ever! You have to read it!” Jason exclaims.

His passion may be contagious, but I tend to avoid reading at all costs. I certainly don’t want to discouragehislove of reading, though, so I reply with a diplomatic, “It must be good if you like it so much!”

Danae and Sam come back inside, and it’s obvious that Danae is in the middle of a very detailed rundown of the evening with Jason. As they walk to the kitchen, Danae says, “There’s pizza, but if you cook for some reason, there’s a fire blanket in the cabinet under the sink. There’s also a fire extinguisher in the coat closet and in the linen closet upstairs. Do you know the Heimlich maneuver?”

I hold back a snort of laughter when I see Danae’s dead-serious face. Thankfully, Sam maintains her composure as she responds, “Can’t say I’ve ever actually performed it, but I do know the basics from the CPR training.”

Danae looks like she wants to say more, but Jason interrupts her. “Can I have pizza with Sammi now?” Danae smiles down at him and holds out her arms for a hug. Jason lunges into her embrace, and you’d need a granite heart to be unaffected by the scene.

“Get out of here and enjoy your book club,” Sam says, making a shooing motion with her hands. “Jason and I are going to have a great time.”

“Okay,” Danae says, releasing Jason from the hug. “Call me if you need anything. I promise I’ll be back before Jason needs to go to bed.” Her gaze cuts over to me. “Or, I guess, as long as Griffin is able to get me back on time?”

“Of course,” I reassure her questioning tone. “Your personal taxi will be available at the drop of a hat.”

Jason giggles at that, and I wink at him.

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