In Safe Hands (Search and Rescue #4)(24)

Dropping his gaze to the floor, Tyler muttered, “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

“We’ve talked about this.” In just his boxer briefs and socks, the air was cold against his skin. Rob hurried to shove his clothes into the garbage bag and yanked the drawstring. “Every time, you risk exposing yourself—and me.”

His son’s shoulders curled forward. “I know.”

“C’mon.” Rob reached to put a hand on the back of Tyler’s neck, but stopped when he saw blood smeared across his thumb and index finger. “Let’s go inside.”

As the door closed behind them, Tyler turned. “Dad?”

“Yeah?” Rob used the soapy water to scrub at the smear on his right hand. Once the visible blood was gone, he uncapped the hydrogen peroxide and began pouring it over his hands.

“What really happened to Mom?”

He froze for a moment, watching the peroxide bubble on his skin. “What do you mean?”

“Until that day, she’d always come back. Always. And when you walked in and saw her hitting me… You looked really mad. Like, madder than I’ve ever seen you get.”

“Why are you asking this?”

Tyler lifted one thin shoulder. “I guess because you always take care of me. That, and I wondered why she stopped coming home.”

Drying his hands on a paper towel that he added to the garbage bag of clothes, Rob said, “Take these to the outdoor wood furnace, would you?” As much as he didn’t want his son involved in any part of this, no matter how small that part may be, Rob needed to escape the conversation. He’d never lied to Tyler, and he wasn’t about to start now.

“Sure.” Taking the bag, Tyler took a few steps toward the door and then paused. “Thank you. I used to be so scared she’d come back.”

Rob watched his son’s back until the door closed behind Tyler.

You’re welcome.

*

Her mom was sobbing. Daisy had never heard her mom cry—not like this. In her spot, crouched behind the snack-cake display, she shook and mentally called herself a coward. She should do something, help her mom somehow, but all she could do was cower and try to hold back the scream that wanted to escape. His finger tightened on the trigger—

The ringing of her cell phone brought her out of her nightmare with a jerk. Before she could figure out where she was, Daisy twisted toward the sound and fell off the window seat onto the hardwood floor.

“Ow,” she groaned, crawling toward where her still-ringing phone sat on her nightstand. By the time she reached it and saw that it was her dad, the call had gone to voice mail. She tapped her screen to call him as she sat on the floor, leaning her back against the side of the bed.

“Daisy,” he answered brusquely. “Let me in.”

“Oh, sorry!” She scrambled to her feet and headed for the bedroom door. “Have you been knocking? I was asleep.” Reaching the stairs, she flew down them two at a time.

“Yeah, I’ve been knocking for a while.” His tone had mellowed a little, although he still sounded short. “I was worried when you didn’t answer.”

“Sorry,” she repeated, pushing the unlock button. “I didn’t think you’d be home so soon.”

“Jennings called me. He told me you needed me to come home.”

“Chris said what?” Daisy realized she’d been talking and missed the sound of the exterior door latching. “Is the door locked again?”

“Yeah. Open up.”

She unfastened the locks with her left hand, her right keeping her phone pressed to her ear. When she opened the door to let her dad inside, she lowered her cell and made a face at it. “Guess there’s no need for these anymore. Hi, Dad.”

“What’s going on?” Gabe started shedding his boots and coat. He was short and wiry, and he hadn’t shaved his reddish-blond winter beard yet. Ever since she was a kid, people had said she looked exactly like her mother—they used to, at least, before her mom had been killed and Daisy had disappeared inside her house. “You okay?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” After relocking the door, she headed to the coffeemaker to start a cup of French roast for her father.

“Your deputy buddy was pretty insistent that I head home immediately. I only had a day and a half left on the Connor Springs project—it’ll be two days, now that I’m wasting this morning driving back and forth for no reason.” He hung up his coat and followed her into the kitchen.

“Sorry.” She ran through her last few conversations with Chris and shrugged. “I’m not sure why he thought you were needed here. Oh! I did mention that I wanted to have snacks when everyone comes over for training.”

“Training?”

“Lou Sparks asked if she could train with me and Chris, and then it kind of snowballed. Five or six people are coming over on Saturday afternoon.”

“Let me get this straight.” He glowered from under his bushy, light-colored brows. “Chris sent me tearing all the way over here because you’re throwing a party?”

It was on the tip of Daisy’s tongue to remind him that Connor Springs was only twenty miles away, but she swallowed the words. Gabe was building up to one of his rages, and she’d rather not have to clean up broken coffee mugs or explain new dents in the walls to her guests the next day.