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“Macomb! What the hell are you doing?” Matthew shouted, startling Libby again.

When she began to wail, Katherine jumped up and tried to take her out of the high chair, but her hands were shaking so much that it was a struggle to unclip the safety harness. “It’s okay, sweet girl, don’t cry.”

But it did little to soothe Libby and once she was in Katherine’s arms, she latched on to handfuls of the polka dot pajamas, burying her face in Katherine’s hair.

“Officer Macomb! What the devil are you doin’?”

Hearing her father’s voice, Katherine’s head shot up, and her heart started to pound twice as hard. Then she watched in stunned silence as her dad entered the open back door, panting and out of breath from chasing after Justin.

“You can’t just pull out your gun and run off like some trigger-happy rookie,” Chief Bennett said. “Explain yourself!”

“Umm… well…” Justin stammered, jamming his firearm back in its holster. “When I knocked on the front door, I heard a whole lotta loud noises that led me to believe there was somethin’ wrong.”

“Well, there’s something wrong now!” Matthew shouted. He was so angry that he didn’t realize his raised voice was just as frightening to Libby as Justin kicking the door in. “Look what you’ve done!”

Justin glanced nervously back and forth between Matthew and Katherine. Then, his eyes darted toward the Chief as if to alert them Katherine’s father was in the room.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Matthew demanded.

“We were comin’ by to see if you wanted to join us for breakfast at The Copperwall,” Justin explained, looking more remorseful by the second. “Callie offered to take Libby early so you could get out of the house for some grown-up time.”

“Grown-up time?”

“Hey, man, not my words.” Justin threw his hands up. “That’s what the wife calls it.”

Distracted by his officers shouting at one another, Chief Bennett finally turned to apologize to the woman holding Officer Brandon’s daughter. That’s when he realized it was his own daughter not ten feet away from him.

“Baby girl?” he questioned, surprised to see Katherine there, holding the man’s baby and wearing his pajamas.

“Hi, Daddy!” Katherine called out over Libby’s wailing as she bounced her up and down. “You’re welcome to join us if you like. I made pancakes. There’s more in the oven, and I can warm up the syrup just the way you like it. Or I can put some peanut butter and chocolate chips on them if that sounds better.”

Jerome Bennett remained silent as he watched his daughter blather on about breakfast food.

“We’ve got plenty of bacon, too. And you know I always give you extra and not tell Mom.”

As Jerome’s brows lifted, he had to set his jaw against an emerging grin. He’d never seen his baby girl flustered like this before.

“How about you, Justin? You like pancakes. We’ve got plenty to spare,” Katherine insisted, shifting Libby to one hip, still soothing her, as she hurried over to open cupboards and drawers, pulling out extra plates, glasses, and silverware.

Jerome watched, noticing how naturally Katherine moved through Matthew’s kitchen with his toddler attached to her hip, and he got the feeling that he and Justin were intruding on something more than just breakfast.

“We should go,” he told Justin. “Matthew doesn’t need any more company.”

As Katherine let out a soft gasp, her face colored in shame. “It’s not what you think, Daddy,” she said, passing Libby off to Matthew. “Nothing happened.”

Libby’s whimpers turned back into howling cries as Katherine pushed past Justin and her dad and dashed out the back door.

“Katie, wait!” Matthew called out, but she kept on running.

** *

Desperate to be back inside the safety of her own home, Katherine stumbled on her way past the overgrown rhododendron in the back corner of Matthew’s yard, and her long curls caught on its branches. The pain of her hair being pulled was the last straw as the tears that filled her eyes in Matthew’s kitchen ran down her cheeks.

Deep in her heart, she understood that all of them were trying to process the circumstances they found themselves in. But now that her father and Justin knew about her and Matthew, she wondered how long it would be before her mother, sisters, and heaven-only-knew who else would find out.

She’d been too wrapped up in their connection to even consider that maybe their relationship would be revealed by forces or situations beyond their control. And now, before they were ready to face the world, her resolve and strength were being tested.

“Stop analyzing it,” she demanded of her reflection in an attempt to steel herself against the growing flood of emotions. But as she rushed to get ready for work, she couldn’t help wondering if she’d ruined things with Matthew. She prayed that she hadn’t.