“How bad is it?” she asked when he opened his door.
“Bad. We need to call the sheriff.”
Addie’s heart clenched. She must have turned very pale because Cade’s angry expression softened and he reached for her hand as he slid onto the seat.
“I know you don’t want to deal with them, but this is serious, Addie. You can’t handle this on your own, even with me here. You’re going to need a police report for your insurance as well. You do have insurance, right?”
She nodded, unable to speak.
“Good, ‘cause we’ll have to call them, too.”
His words hit her like a punch to the gut. Her eyes burned and a small tremor rolled through her body. Insurance? Police report? What all did they do?
“How bad is it?” she repeated. “Tell me.”
Cade sighed and pulled her into his arms. She didn’t fight him; she wanted his strength and the sense of security he gave her, but she also wanted the truth.
Pulling back a little, she looked into his beautiful eyes and saw concern for her and anger for what had been done. “Please, Cade. Just tell me.”
He lowered his chin, inhaled and exhaled, then met her gaze. “It’s bad. The garage door is just the beginning and not the worst of the damage.”
The lump in Addie’s throat returned.
“Your little sports car has a shattered windshield and all the lights have been broken.”
A little whimper escaped her lips and Cade stopped, his eyes searching hers. “Do you want to hear the rest?”
“There’s more?” Her voice, barely above a whisper, cracked on the last word.
He nodded. “That’s probably the worst, but yes, there’s more.”
She took a steadying breath and straightened her spine. “Tell me.”
“The kitchen is a disaster. Everything from the cupboards was tossed around the room. I don’t think any breakable stuff survived. The drawers were pulled out and upended. The food from the fridge is…” he shrugged, “everywhere. The living room was tossed as well and the TV is busted. They did the same thing to your room. It’s not livable in there right now and… Addie, they destroyed your laptop.”
She felt her lips tremble and knew that the tears she’d tried to hold back had spilled onto her cheeks. What was she going to do now? She had some money and the insurance would help pay for the damage, but she still had other bills to pay as well. After taking care of all of that, would she have anything left to pay Cade? Would he leave if she couldn’t pay for his time and effort? He’d planned to leave anyway, but she had hoped that maybe he would change his mind. Over the last few days, it had seemed as if he might be willing to stay. But would her monetary shortcomings cause him to hit the road sooner? With his truck running again and the extra money he had now…
Damn it! I’m not ready for this to end! Not yet.
“Hey,” Cade murmured as he cupped her face and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “It’s not that bad. We’ll get it cleaned up and good as new in no time, don’t worry.”
“I may not be able to pay you,” she whispered and wanted to bite her tongue. Why did she say that?
A sob bubble up from her chest and the tears she’d bottled up sprung free. All her fear for their safety, her financial situation, and his leaving shattered the hold she’d had on her emotions. “What am I…g-going to do?” she cried, staring back at him.
Cade’s jaw clenched and she didn’t fight when he tugged her into his lap. Holding her close, he rocked her gently.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said and kissed the top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere. Right now, we need to get the sheriff out here. Do you think you can handle that? Calling them, I mean. Or do you want me to do it? Either way, it needs to be done.”
She sniffed, sat back, and wiped her face with her hands. “I’ll do it.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, they were sitting on the tailgate of Cade’s truck, watching the sheriff’s deputies trail in and out of her house, recording the damage done to her home and property. She and Cade had already given their statements but had been asked to hang around a little longer in case there were any additional questions.
When they had asked if she knew of anyone who would want to do this to her or if she had any enemies, her first thought had been Ted. But for some reason, she hadn’t been able to say so.
Cade, however, had not been so limited.
“Ted Ballinger,” he’d said with more conviction than Addie could muster. “We just had a run-in with him in town a couple of hours ago, and one of your deputies, Mark Harden, has been harassing her, too.”
Addie closed her eyes and moaned. She hadn’t wanted to bring Mark up with his coworkers, but the woman taking their statement simply nodded, her pen scratching away on her pad. When she stopped writing, the deputy had glanced up at Addie and smiled as if she understood Addie’s hesitation and the situation.
Maybe she’s been on the receiving end of Mark’s unwanted attention, too.
“We’ve had a few complaints about him in the past,” the deputy said quietly, “but recently, he’s been…better. Do you really think Deputy Harden would do this?”
“Yes,” Cade replied, but Addie shook her head.
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