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Twitch’s eyes never left the headboard, ensnared by the carved tale. The fairy princess wielding her sword, the elves and sprites hidden among the ferns—everywhere her eyes traveled, another magical creature appeared. At the opposite end, a knight, entangled in vines, fended off a dragon.

“It’s…” she started.

“Yeah,” Finn said.

After long minutes entranced by the headboard, Twitch turned and faced Finn.

“One bed,” she stated the obvious.

“Yeah,” he repeated.

“So you’ll sleep on the couch.”

She didn’t miss the flash of hurt that passed across his face.

“I’d prefer to be in the same room with you until this threat is resolved. I can set Auggie up in one of the girl’s rooms and sleep on the pallet.”

Twitch nodded, glancing down at the makeshift bed. “Why is Auggie sleeping on your floor?”

Finn turned toward the door. “He doesn’t like storms.”

As if that were a satisfactory explanation, Finn walked into the closet, calling over his shoulder, “I want to show you something.”

“Before you do that, I think we should talk.”

Finn sat on the side of the bed; Twitch perched beside him, a body-width between them. She blew out a heavy breath. “Okay. First of all, you need some time to let this settle.” she patted her belly, “It’s pretty huge.”

Finn stared at the small bump beneath her hand, his face revealing nothing.

Twitch continued, “That being said, I don’t want you in this baby’s life if—”

He closed his eyes, his face a mask of pain.

She put a hand on his thigh. “It’s okay, Finn. If it’s too much right now, I understand. You can’t be good to this baby if you’re not good to yourself.”

Lacing his fingers between his knees, Finn stared at his boots as Twitch continued. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you want to be a father, I want that too, but if not, we’ll get by.”

“And what about us?” he spoke without looking up.

Twitch stood and circled the spartan room, looking for anything to focus on besides the beautiful, troubled man on the bed. Finding nothing, she faced him. “You broke my heart, Finn.”

“I know.”

“I heard your words at my house, and more than anything, I want to see the change in you. If not for this baby, for you. I don’t know you, Finn. I barely knew the man you were before, but I’d like to get to know you. This you.”

“For every minute, every second, there was you without me, there was also me without you. You weren’t the only one feeling that absence,” he said.

“That’s why I’m here, Finn. I understand why you did what you did. You were dealing with trauma; you still are. Knowing why someone is destroying you doesn’t change the fact that at the end of the day, you’re still destroyed.”

Finn gave the floor a troubled nod.

“What did you want to show me?” she asked.

Finn knelt at his duffle and withdrew the laptop. After booting it up and accessing the dummy email account, he clicked on the drafts folder. Placing the machine on the bed next to her, he turned the screen.

“I didn’t stop writing, Charlotte. I stopped sending. I wrote you every week as promised. They’re here if you want to read them.”

Twitch stared at the screen, stunned silent. Dozens and dozens of documents, no recipient, no subject, each a week apart.

“I didn’t use your name. Just to be safe.”

Twitch nodded and took the computer as Finn slipped out of the room. She clicked on the first email and began to read.

To the one I love,


Tags: Debbie Baldwin Bishop Security Mystery