Sarah’s gaze whips up to mine. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”
“I wasn’t asking,” I interrupt. “Someone broke into yourhouse, onmyproperty, Sarah. You won’t stay another night in there until I have the proper security in place. I won’t risk you.”
“I’m sure that I could stay with Luna.”
I narrow my eyes, and without looking away from her, say to the rest, “Give us a minute, will you?”
“Sure.” Wolfe leads the others away, and I lean into Sarah, speaking low.
“I won’t touch you or do anything that you don’t want me to do, Sarah. But I’ll be damned if you’re going to stay anywhere but with me. I have plenty of space for youandthe cat. You’re safe with me. And damn it, I want you here.”
Her lips tremble, but she firms them and nods her head once. “Thank you. We’d love to take you up on that.”
“Thankyou,” I reply softly, and turn to the others who are in a small group at the end of the patio. “Thanks for coming to help, everyone. Do you want to come in for dinner? I can order something.”
“Starving,” Zeke says with a nod, only to be hit on the back of the head by Wolfe. “What? Iamstarving.”
“Please stay,” Sarah says. “And will someone please go into my house to get Petunia’s food and dishes? Her litter box?”
“Done,” Wolfe says, and he and Zeke walk to the house.
“I’ll text Apollo and June, let them know we’re here,” Luna says, her phone already in her hands. “Hopefully, Apollo has service now.”
“This is great,” Sarah says as she and Petunia follow me into the house. “It’ll help me keep my mind off of it. I know you didn’t plan to have a houseful tonight, so I’m sorry about that.”
“Friends are always welcome here,” I reply and get to work putting away the food I’d drug out to cook.
The steak, I discover, sat in the heat too long, and is a lost cause, so it goes in the trash.
“Let’s order burgers from Gordy’s,” Luna suggests as she and the guys join us. “We’ve had a lot of pizza lately.”
“That’s the bad thing about living in such a small town,” Zeke says. “We don’t have a lot of food options. Also, holy shit, Tanner, this place isstellar.”
“I’ve never been in here,” Sarah says and sets Petunia on the couch before walking to the open wall of windows.
“The deck is totally closed in with a glass railing, so the cat can’t escape,” I inform her.
“This is something out of a movie,” Sarah says as she turns to me with wide eyes. “It’s so pretty. Of course, I’ve seen it from the sand, but I didn’t realize that these windows were doors that open.”
“We’re going to have to have something like this when we build our house,” Wolfe says to Luna. “We have to have it.”
“I highly recommend it,” I agree, and pull my phone out to place our food order just as Luna’s phone pings with a text. “I’m going to order food.”
“Awesome,” Luna says. “Apollo just said he’ll pick up the food on the way over.”
“You guys are the best,” Sarah says, watching us all with tears in her eyes. “I have excellent friends.”
“We have to eat,” Wolfe says, but winks at her. “And we love you, kiddo.”
“I know. I love you, too.” She swipes at a tear. “I want extra pickles on my burger.”
“Extra pickles coming right up.”
“You don’t thinkthis is extreme?”
Sarah watches as I screw a flood light into place above her front door.
“It’s just this light, the camera on the front and rear, and the keypad with the alarm. Trust me, I could have gonereallyoverboard.”