“You got it. Thanks, Hads.”
I hung up and stared at my phone. This was a recipe for disaster.
“One more story?”Birdie pleaded from her bed.
I drilled a finger into her side. “I already gave you three.”
“She just doesn’t want to go to sleep,” Sage mumbled.
“Not true,” Birdie argued. “I like reading.”
I chuckled. “Well, we’re all booked out for the night. It’s time to get some sleep. I bet your dad has big Sunday plans for you.”
Sage nodded. “We’re going on a hike.”
“See? You need to rest up so you can kick his butt on the trails.”
“Fine,” Birdie muttered.
I pushed to my feet and headed for the door, flicking off the light, leaving only the glow of the girls’ nightlight. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” they chorused.
I headed down the stairs and towards the kitchen. I wasn’t hungry exactly, but I needed a distraction. My mind had been reeling since Hayes and Calder had left. Calder had barely met my gaze when I showed up to watch Birdie and Sage, and there’d been a slump to his shoulders that had me worried.
I opened the door to the pantry and surveyed the shelves. None of the chips looked appealing right now, but I paused when I saw a box of popcorn. That should do the trick.
I put it in the microwave and set the timer. Within seconds, the kernels were popping. When they slowed, I pulled it out, cursing softly when the steam burned my fingers. I set it on the counter and opened a cabinet to grab a large bowl. More carefully this time, I picked up the bag and opened it, spilling the contents into the container.
I tossed the bag into the trash and moved to the living room. Settling on the large, overstuffed sofa, I grabbed the remote and began channel surfing. Nothing kept my attention for more than five minutes, but I finally forced myself to settle on a rerun ofMatlock.
One episode turned into two, and I demolished the entire bowl of popcorn. After pizza and ice cream with Birdie and Sage, I started to feel a little ill. My phone buzzed on the cushion next to me.
Unknown Number:Stop trying to steal things that don’t belong to you.
My heart rate picked up a fraction. The phone number wasn’t from an area code I recognized. I copied it into the internet browser on my phone and searched. It showed up as coming from Minneapolis, but the number wasn’t listed.
I toggled back over to the text message and stared at it. Unease slid through me. It sounded similar to the email I’d received.
Unknown Number:It’s a bad idea to ignore me. You need to learn your lesson.
I blocked the number. But how the heck had they gotten my phone number, to begin with? The address the email had been sent to was public, listed on my website and theVoyeurchannel. Anyone could find it. But my phone number? That was private. I didn’t have it listed anywhere. I didn’t even have social media accounts under my real name.
I nibbled on the corner of my thumbnail as I stared at the screen. The thought of going to my sheriff brother flickered through my mind, but I immediately shoved that aside. He’d surely spill the beans to my parents, and they would try to force me to move home.
None of my family or anyone outside of Toby, Jinx, and Calla knew about this other life I lived. That was how I liked it. Then none of them could try to convince me that I needed to stop.
The front door rattled, and I jumped to my feet. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” Hayes called. “Can you open up? I can’t find Calder’s keys.”
I hurried over and pulled open the door. My eyes widened. Calder was glassy-eyed and leaning against Hayes. I didn’t think I’d ever seen the man drunk. I knew he and Hayes had tied one on when they went camping right after Calder’s divorce, but that was all I’d ever even heard about Calder being intoxicated.
My gaze flicked to my brother. “Is he okay?”
Hayes grunted as he tried to get Calder inside. “He’s feeling just fine. But he’s heavier than the last time I had to do this.”
“You calling me fat?” Calder slurred.