The woman sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “And what are those principles?"
"Well,” Darien said as he exhaled. “I believe pretty strongly that everybody deserves a second chance." He stood and extended his hand to help her to her feet. She thought about it for a moment, then took it, her fingers soft and warm in his rough paw. Light as a feather, he pulled her to her feet, and smiled—he had to look up at her ever so slightly, but the view was lovely.
"My goodness, you're stronger than you look," she said, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Oh, forgive my manners…” She adjusted her clothes and smiled as she wiped away the last of her tears. "Thank you for rescuing me. My name is Harriet Spalding.”
“It was my pleasure," Darien said as he shook her delicate hand. “Darien. Darien Flynt."
"Oh, my goodness—your hand!"
Darien released her grip and looked down at his knuckles, raw and bruised. "Oh…yeah…I uh…may have hit one of the guys that broke in. He's downstairs in the kitchen."
A muffled shout erupted from down the hall, then after a brief scuffle, several fragile items crashed and shattered in the kitchen.
"If you'll excuse me…I believe my associates are dealing with the criminals."
"If it's all the same to you, I’d like to go with you," Harriet said, and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I don't feel safe up here by myself."
“Of course,” Darien said with a smile. He inclined his head toward the stairs.
In the kitchen, they found Jon Boy at the table as he played with a polished silver spoon. Cisco and Lopez rifled through the generous, well-stocked pantry, and Spanner held the skinny burglar against the wall, one hand at his throat.
“Goodness!" Harriet gasped, one hand to her mouth.
"He put up a bit of a struggle there for a minute," Spanner reported through clenched teeth. "We got ‘im under control now, don’t we?” he said to the burglar.
"Yeah, little meth-head thought he could give us the slip,” Lopez said over his shoulder with a glance at the overturned chairs and broken plates on the floor.
"Gentlemen, this is Harriet Spalding,” Darien announced.
“Pleased to meet you all,” the woman said primly.
Darien nodded. “These are the guys. Over here we got my man Spanner, handling the human stain.”
“Nice to meet you," Spanner grunted with a curt nod. The skinny drug addict, his face covered in open sores struggled like a fish caught on the line, only to be pinned down harder by the car thief.
"That's my good friend Jon Boy at the table," Darien said with a gesture at the behemoth hunched over the silver spoon.
He looked up at his name, and gave an innocent, childlike smile. He held up the spoon. “Mr. Darien, lookit! You can see yourself in it!"
Darien cleared his throat and turned to Harriet. "He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but strong enough to pick up a car,” he muttered. “Jonny, what do we say to new people we meet?”
The giant scrunched his face up, then grinned. "Nice to meet you, Miss Harriet," Jon Boy said as if he greeted a teacher on a school day. He smiled broadly and displayed a gap between his front teeth.
"It's very nice to meet you, Jon Boy," Harriet said in a tone one would reserve for a child.
Harriet turned to the pantry. She leaned in close enough for Darien to feel her breath, light and warm on his ear. “Are those men wearing prison jumpsuits?" she whispered.
"These guys we met on the road out of Charleston. Cisco, Lopez—say hello to our new friend."
Cisco turned and looked Harriet up and down with a lecherous smile on his face. "Nice to…meet you,” he said with a wink.
Lopez turned and glanced over his shoulder, a granola bar in his mouth. He tossed his chin as a way of greeting, then went back to his excavation of the pantry.
Harriet swallowed and adjusted her top, crossing her arms over her chest.
Darien saw the exchange and narrowed his eyes. "Guys, can you please stop ransacking the place in front of the owner?"
"Oh, I'm not the owner," Harriet blurted. "I don't live here. I was just…”
"Breaking and entering?" asked Cisco with a chuckle.
"No! Never—look, I have the keys," she replied and held out a key ring in a shaky hand. "They…the Westins…they—they’re on vacation. I promised them I'd look in on the place for them…”
Darien inclined his head and watched her as he waited for the truth to emerge. He didn't have to wait long. She looked at him, then looked at the others, tried to smile, and gave up. Harriet covered her face with her hands again and let out a shaky sob. "All right, all right—I wasn't checking on the house. I'm almost out of food and came over here to see if they had any…”
"Two questions," Darien said calmly. "But before I ask, like I said upstairs, no one’s judging you. You don't need to be ashamed about trying to find food." He cleared his throat and held up a finger. "First, do you live in this neighborhood?” He raised a second finger. “And how did you get the keys if you weren’t watching the house for the people who do own it?"
"Oh yes, I live here—well, in the neighborhood," she said quickly. "I'm actually on Bee’s Landing Homeowners Association Board of Directors.”
“Of course, you are,” Cisco muttered.
Harriet held up the keyring again. “These keys are for every house in the neighborhood. Everyone who moves in has to give
