*
As soon as it got dark, Tyler slipped through the trees to his favorite watching spot. All her blinds were pulled, blocking his view, but he still stared at the house. Anger surged through him at the thought of how much trouble and worry she was causing. There had to be something Tyler could do to help his dad.
Absently, he pulled his favorite Zippo lighter out of his pocket and began flicking it open and closed in a steady rhythm. His dad always told him he needed to think things through before acting. Tyler could manage that. He’d wait and watch and eventually know what he had to do to keep their tiny family of two safe—and he’d do anything necessary.
His gaze dropped to the lighter as the tiny flame flared to life.
Anything.
Chapter 13
“Did you forget one?” Ellie asked, nodding toward the dangling chain.
“No.” Daisy had been waiting for someone to notice. It seemed too small a thing to announce out of the blue, but she’d hoped someone would ask so she could share her tiny victory. “I’m leaving it open. It’s been that way since yesterday morning.”
Ellie’s eyes widened along with her smile as she grabbed Daisy’s arm and jumped up and down. “Daisy!” Her name was an excited shriek that brought the others rushing back through the kitchen in a stampeding herd.
“What’s wrong?” Chris asked sharply, his cop eyes raking over them.
“Nothing’s wrong.” Like Ellie, Daisy couldn’t stop smiling. The night had been hard—really hard. The open lock had haunted her, demanding that she go downstairs to fasten it, but she’d resisted. It had made it worse that she couldn’t kick the stuffing out of Max to relieve some of her nervous tension, but she’d promised Chris to take a day of rest. Instead, she’d cleaned and paced and listed the dolls for sale and tried unsuccessfully to read and stared blankly at the television. It had been miserable, but she’d done it, and she was very, very proud of herself.
“Look!” Ellie gestured toward the door with a game-show-hostess flourish. Everyone stared at the unfastened lock except for Daisy. She’d found it was better if she kept her gaze away from it.
Lou was the first to react. With a high-pitched scream that put Ellie’s earlier exclamation to shame, she lunged forward and grabbed Daisy in a tight hug.
“That’s so awesome, Daisy,” she said, finally releasing her so that Daisy could breathe. For a small woman, Lou was surprisingly strong. The others gathered around and gave her their sincere but more subdued congratulations. Chris stayed back, though, and Daisy sent him a worried look. She’d expected that he’d be the first to share her excitement.
“How long have you had that open?” His tone was even, but there was something in it that made the others come to a silent agreement to head toward the training room after a final round of pats and accolades.
Now that it was just her and an impassive Chris, insecurity began bleaching out Daisy’s excitement. “I never latched it after you left yesterday.”
He stared at the lock a long time before meeting her eyes again. “Daisy.”
“What?” Her nervousness bubbled over, mixing with hurt. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”
In two strides, he was right in front of her. “I am.” He glanced at the lock again and blew out a hard breath as his gaze returned to her. “Dais. This is…incredible.” Finally, he started to smile.
“Yeah?”
“Hell yeah!” With a whoop, he scooped her up into a hug and swung them in a circle. When he returned her feet to the floor, he kept one arm around her shoulders. “That’s great, Dais. I’m so proud of you.”
“I know.” She laughed from sheer happiness. “I’m proud of me, too.”
Shaking his head, he looked at the dangling chain again. “I can’t believe it only took one session with the new therapist.”
“It wasn’t just that.” Their conversation two nights earlier had been more of an impetus than the phone call with the psychiatrist, but she kept that to herself, not wanting to squash Chris’s good mood with the reminder. “I was just…ready.”
His arm tightened around her, squeezing her against his side. “Whatever the reason was, I’m just glad.”
She smiled at the unfastened lock, happy that he’d realized such a small thing was actually a huge deal for her. “We’d better get to the training room. The others will be waiting.”
“Sure.” He steered her through the kitchen without releasing his hold on her shoulders. “I bet you’re going to be bouncing off the walls in there.”
“Finally!” Although she pretended to be annoyed, she couldn’t stop grinning. “I’ve been dying to work out since yesterday.”
With a fake gasp, he flattened his free hand over his heart. “Did you actually take an entire rest day?”