“Excuse me, miss, you dropped your book, doesn’t count. We’re from totally different worlds, Kyle. Surely you can see that.”

“What I can see is that in high school—back ten years ago for me and what, eight for you? What I can see is that we ran in different crowds but heck, I was two years ahead of you anyway. You went to college right away and then grad school. I started my own landscaping business. If you’d yelled at my brother before that night I’d have surely noticed you. Okay, so I didn’t really notice you before that night but once I did—once I got to know you a bit—I saw what I’d been missing.”

She sighed, putting her forehead against the window.

“Maggie, stop trying so hard to find things wrong with being with me. I know you’re skittish after Alex and then dumbass Shane, but I’m not them. Let me show you that.”

She turned to him, giving him a small smile. “I’ll try.”

He took her hand and kissed the knuckles. “Good.”

When they got back to her house she sat bolt upright. “What the hell?” She yanked open her door before the car had even come to a full stop, heading toward her front porch at a dead run.

“Wait! Damn it, Maggie, wait!” Kyle yelled as he put the car in park and jumped out to catch her and grab her arm.

She stared at the broken front window and “WHORE” written in red paint across her front door. “Who would do something like this?” Her voice was a taut whisper.

Kyle held her tightly against him. With his free hand, he pulled his cell phone out and called Shane who agreed to rush over immediately. But not before admonishing them not to go inside.

“Sweetheart, let’s sit in the car out of the wind until Shane gets here,” he said softly. With gentle hands, he guided her back down the driveway to his car, holding her while they waited for Shane.

“Jesus, Maggie, I’m sorry.” Shane arrived shortly and walked up to her front door, surveying the damage with a wince. Another officer was there with him and appeared to set about looking for clues or evidence or whatever cops did.

“We’re going to talk to your neighbors to see if anyone saw anything. Right now, I want to go into the house to make sure it’s clear all right?” She nodded, handing him her keys and his eyes tangled on Kyle’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“Maggie, why don’t you stay with me tonight? I have a guest room and I’m near the high school. Your windows are broken out, it’s not safe.” Kyle brushed his lips over her temple.

Before she could say anything, Matt and Marc pulled up. Throwing the car into park, they rushed to where she and Kyle were standing. “Oh shit, Maggie! Are you all right?” Matt looked agog at the door and what was written on it.

“Alex,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

Shane came back out of her house and spoke to the other officer before coming back to them. “Maggie, it’s clear inside. There’s no one there. There’s a brick on your floor. It’s probably what they used to break out your window. It landed on your coffee table so the glass there is broken, too. Matt, can you and Marc get those windows boarded up?”

“You bet,” Marc said.

“There’s wood in my garage from when I was remodeling.” Her voice was flat, emotionless, as she struggled to process it all.

Matt squeezed her arm and he and Marc walked past her and toward the garage. Before too long, they were hammering boards over the broken out window.

“Maggie, you think Alex did this?” Kyle asked.

“He called me a whore at The Pumphouse that night and he went off on Liv once at the market, saying the same thing. I’ve never been called a whore in my whole life other than by him.” Tears rolled down her face, she bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

“I’ll go and check him out, ask him a few questions. Listen, can you stay with someone tonight? Even with the windows boarded up it isn’t as safe as it could be.” Concern was clear on Shane’s face.

“She’s going to stay with me,” Kyle informed him.

“No. I’m not leaving. I will not let this chase me out of my own home,” she said angrily before walking past them both and into her house.

Kyle looked at her, annoyed and Shane glowered. “You need to convince her to leave.” Shane’s voice was gruff.

She returned with a bucket of cleaning solvent and a big scrubbing sponge. She dragged on rubber gloves and set to scrubbing the horrible world off her door.

“Not gonna happen,” Kyle said in an undertone. “Find who did this, Shane. We can’t let her be terrorized like this.”

“I will. If it’s Parsons I’m gonna stomp him.”

“Don’t. Don’t get fired. Arrest him, then I’ll stomp him later.”

Shane laughed with cruel promise and walked back up to the porch where she had succeeded in removing the W and most of the H. “Maggie, please call me. Any time day or night if you need anything.” He lowered his voice. “I’m sorry I was such a jerk but please trust me to protect you right now. Let me be your friend as well as the sheriff, all right?”

She nodded her head, not taking her attention from the scrubbing. “Thank you, Shane.”

“Why don’t you let Matt and I do that, sweetheart? We’ve finished with your windows. Go on inside so that you can call the glass shop. They can get out here first thing to replace them.” Marc gently took the gloves off her hands and put them on his own and took the sponge. “Go on, baby.” And she nodded.