Page 69 of Once Upon A Second Chance
“Did you just threaten me, Travis?”
He freezes, eyes flicking to the side just as a patrol car rounds the corner and slows.
A young officer—Rodriguez, I think—steps out of the cruiser. “Everything all right here,Miss Morgan?”
Travis raises his hands again, like a bad magician with one trick. “It’s nothing. Just a misunderstanding.”
I shake my head. “It’s not nothing. He followed me here. He won’t leave me alone. I need to file a report.”
Rodriguez’s expression sharpens. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to back away.”
Travis falters, then—finally—starts to retreat. “I didn’t mean nothing by it,” he mutters.
But the smirk is gone.
I watch him disappear around the corner.
Only then do I breathe again.
Rodriguez turns back to me. “Want to come to the station?”
I nod.
“I’d like to file a report,” I say. “And I want to start the process for a restraining order.”
He opens the car door for me.
And I climb in, head high and prepare to take control.
Chapter Fifteen
Richard
By the time I pull into her driveway, my heart is somewhere near my throat.
I don't remember half the drive—just the sharp, clipped edge of her voice over the phone:“I’m okay, but I need you to know—Travis showed up.”
That was all it took. She said she was fine, but her voice trembled around the edges, and now my brain won’t stop cycling through worst-case scenarios like a goddamn trauma reel.
I barely put the truck in park before I’m out, feet hitting the gravel hard as I bolt up the steps.
I don’t knock.
The door swings open before I get there, and she’s already standing on the threshold, framed by the glow of her living room lamp like some fevered mirage.
“Penny—” I start, breathless.
But before I can ask if she’s hurt, if he touched her, if she needs anything, everything,me—
She closes the distance and presses her lips to mine.
Firm. Steady. In control.
It halts every frantic thought still stuttering through my skull.
When she finally pulls back, her hand rests lightly against my chest, grounding me.
“I handled it,” she says softly. “But thank you for caring so much.”
