Page 62 of Crumbling Truth
We bid them both farewell and stood there together until the police cruiser pulled out of the driveway, taking the box with them. There was no doubt in my mind that it was connected to the calls and the email, though I still wasn’t sure whether any of it was meant as a real threat or if it was all some sick prank pulled by someone who didn’t know just how dangerous it was.
I turned Esther in my arms, resting my chin on the top of her head. Toni would be waiting for her supper, but if Esther wanted us to spend the night here instead of at the house, I was willing to give her anything she needed right now.
When I said as much, she shook her head, brushing her nose back and forth against my sternum.
“No, we can go to the house. You were given a challenge to fulfill, Long John. Let’s hear it,” she mumbled.
For a second, I couldn’t remember what she was talking about—this afternoon felt like another lifetime—then I snorted. “Right, right, best pickup line. Let’s see. Baby, if you were words on a page, you’d be fine print,” I said, complete with a leer.
Her shoulders shook with laughter and my own felt lighter as a result. “Okay, Romeo, let’s go back to your place.”
I waited while she grabbed an overnight bag she’d apparently thrown together in my absence, then I kissed her knuckles and led her out into the snow.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Esther
Insteadofgoingstraightto bed or even cuddling up on the sofa in the family room to watch a movie, Theo led me into the formal living room and nudged me into an overstuffed chair near the fireplace. I watched as he started the gas fire and then spread a plush blanket on the carpet in front of it. Toni followed us in, twitching her tail with disinterest, but as soon as the blanket hit the floor, she claimed a corner for herself.
Theo sat on the other side and held out a hand. When I joined him on the floor, he grabbed another blanket from a basket near the couch and wrapped it around our shoulders to form a little cocoon of warmth.
Tucked against his side, with the fire dancing and the snowflakes swirling outside the windows, I could almost believe that nothing bad would ever touch me again.
Except it almost had.
“Why would someone do that?” I asked dully. “Why is someone doing any of it? My only enemy in this town died four years ago.”
Theo’s muscles went tense against my side, then he blew out a long breath as he forcibly relaxed them. “I don’t know. Rose and the chief will get it all sorted out. And believe me, if it’s some asshole thinking this is funny, I’ll make sure he understands otherwise.”
For some reason, my eyes filled with tears. I tried to brush them away without being obvious about it, but Theo noticed.
Of course he noticed—after all, he was Anita’s son.
He shifted his body and pulled me onto his lap, tucking me snugly against his chest. Without saying a word, he rubbed one hand reassuringly up and down my back while the other threaded into my hair to cup the back of my head.
The tears trickled slowly, soundlessly soaking into his shirt. I tried to remember the last time someone had jumped to my defense as he did, but nothing came to mind.
He was unlike anyone I’d ever known.
I was annoyed by the package, embarrassed at having to explain to Rose why something so basic was really such a dangerous prank, and frustrated at myself for tearing up over a simple act of kindness from the man I was sleeping with.
To shove those feelings aside, I sniffled once and mumbled, “How was your evening?”
A startled laugh burst from his lips. “I assume you mean the part I spent at Oliver’s house? It was really nice, actually, aside from being so eager to get home. He and Julian are perfect for each other.”
“They are, aren’t they? I remember Sofia celebrating for days when Ollie finally asked him out. She takes full credit for getting them together.”
Theo’s chuckle reverberated under my ear as his fingers began massaging the base of my skull. I hummed in pleasure when the tight muscles eased under his hands. Gently, his lips trailed along my hairline, then he shifted a bit beneath me.
“I thought this would be really sweet and romantic, cuddling in front of the fireplace, but I think maybe I’m too old to be sitting on the floor,” he said with an exaggerated groan.
I laughed and climbed off him, then held out a hand to help him up. “Come on, old man. Let’s go to bed.”
“Now that is the best offer I’ve had all day.”
Since Toni was still curled up in her corner of the blanket, we left it there for her, though she glared from one golden eye when Theo turned off the fireplace. We crept upstairs as though we weren’t alone in the house, climbed into bed almost fully dressed, and lay together there in the dark for a long time without speaking or sleeping.
When the words finally slipped out, they came as unexpectedly as the tears had downstairs. In a hushed tone, I told him about my first playdate without my mother in attendance, how it had been drilled and drilled into my head that I wasn’t to eat anything she hadn’t packed in my unicorn lunchbox.
