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Piper turned from the stove, and I caught a flash of genuine concern in her eyes before she carefully schooled her expression. “You’re home early. How did everything go today?”

“Frustrating.” I moved to the sink to wash my hands, needing a moment to let go of the job before fully entering this space. “We had a lead that didn’t pan out. Spent all morning running a checkpoint that yielded absolutely nothing.”

“I’m sorry.” She bit her lower lip, a gesture I’d noticed she did when she was thinking hard about something. “That must be really disappointing.”

The depth of understanding in her voice surprised me. Most people would offer empty platitudes or change the subject, but Piper seemed to genuinely grasp how much these failures weighed on me.

“It’s part of the job,” I said, drying my hands. “Some days you win, some days you waste everyone’s time. But yeah, it’s frustrating.”

“Still.” She turned back to the stove, stirring something that smelled like heaven. “I was thinking… Would it be okay if I madeyou something special for dinner? There’s this recipe I’ve always loved. I started it but then couldn’t remember everything. I’d need to look it up online to remember all the ingredients.”

She said it so carefully, like she was asking for something unreasonable instead of simple internet access. That’s when it hit me—she didn’t have a smartphone, didn’t have a laptop, had no way to connect to the outside world except through the basic phone I’d given her for emergencies.

“Of course,” I said, guilt twisting in my gut. “You can use my computer anytime. I should have offered before now.”

“I didn’t want to assume…”

I moved to Caleb’s bouncer, lifting my son into my arms. He gurgled happily, reaching for my face with tiny hands. “Hey there, little man. You being good for your mama?”

“He’s been perfect,” Piper said softly. “He had a long nap this morning, which helped me get some cleaning done.”

“You don’t have to clean constantly, you know. The house won’t fall apart if you take a day off.”

She made a noncommittal sound, and I knew she’d keep cleaning anyway. It was her way of contributing, of earning her place here. No amount of reassurance from me seemed to shake her belief that she had to constantly prove her worth.

“Would you mind logging on to your computer now to look up the recipe?”

“Why don’t you just go ahead and look it up?” I shifted Caleb to one arm and rattled off the password, watching her memorize it with intense focus. Such a simple thing, access to information most people took for granted, but she treated it like I’d handed her something precious.

Like she was surprised I’d give her access to the outside world.

Fuck, was that how she felt? Was that why she was crying last night and felt sad all the time? Did she feel like she didn’t haveany options? Like she was trapped here in some sort of gilded cage?

I’d never meant to make her feel that way, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t.

“Actually,” I said, remembering Beckett’s suggestion, “there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about. A friend mentioned that Pawsitive Connections is looking for help. It’s the therapy animal program out near Resting Warrior Ranch.”

Piper’s hands stilled on the spoon she was holding. “A job?”

“Don’t worry, you could bring Caleb. You wouldn’t have to leave him with a babysitter.” I didn’t want her to have a total breakdown like she had last week when I’d mentioned a job. She wasn’t ready to leave him, and that was fine.

I probably should’ve confirmed with Lark this was true before making the offering, but I knew the woman pretty well. I’d call in a favor if I had to.

“Just part time, nothing too demanding,” I continued. “Feeding animals, cleaning stalls, maybe helping prep for some of the therapy sessions. The woman who runs it, Lark Monroe, is really understanding about people needing flexibility. Plus, you’d be able to be outside some. Out of this house.”

“I don’t know…” The hesitation in her voice was clear.

“You don’t have to decide right now. I’d just like for you to try it for a couple days, see if it’s a good fit. If not, then we’ll figure something else out. But I think it would be good for you to get out a little more. So you’re not alone with this little man all the time.”

She nodded slowly. “What about me working at the sheriff’s office part time?”

“With me?”

She nodded.

The fact that she wanted to work with me eased a tightness in my chest I hadn’t even realized had been there.I wasn’t theproblem.I wasn’t the reason she was crying at night when she thought no one could hear. If she would entertain the thought of working down at the station, then it wasn’t me she was trying to stay away from.

But, unfortunately, her working there wouldn’t pan out. “I don’t think that’s what you want. You couldn’t bring Caleb to the station. We can’t have a baby there. He’d have to stay with a sitter or day care.”