Page 80 of His Loving Wife

“We’re just happy she came home safe,” I say. “It seems like our daughter was in good hands.”

Our daughter. Safe. I’m hoping these reminders will trigger something in Andrew and prevent him from doing whatever it is he has planned.

“Really, Dan, Willow is the one who should be apologizing to you. Come in and I’ll let you speak with her.”

“That’s not necessary,” Dan says. He seems embarrassed to be put on the spot, but I need to keep him here as long as possible. The minute he leaves, we’ll be back in danger.

“Maybe it’s not best to keep dragging this out,” Andrew says, his voice a warning.

I ignore him. “Willow? Come here, please.”

She slowly walks to meet us at the door, her eyes cutting across the kitchen at Vincent. She’s picked up on the fact I’m agitated, that something is brewing beneath the surface.

“Do you remember Dan?” I ask.

“Yes.” She looks down in shame.

“He came over to apologize about the other night. I told him you’re the one who should be sorry.”

“I am sorry,” she says sheepishly, looking at me with questions in her eyes.

Andrew, still gripping the front door, looks like he’s beginning to sweat. He’s impatient. I can only drag this out for so much longer.

“We’ll be heading home soon,” I say. “Maybe Willow could come over and say goodbye to the girls?” If I can only get her out of the house, she’ll remember what I told her earlier, and I trust she’ll get someone else involved.

Andrew takes a step forward, creating a barrier between us and Dan. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We were just about to sit down for dinner.”

Dan looks at Andrew uneasily. “Right. Probably best not to get out in this mess anyway. I’m about to go home and call it a night.”

Inside, the flame of hope is dwindling. We can’t be left alone with Vincent and Andrew.

“It looks pretty dark in there,” Dan says, moving his head to look beyond us.

“The power is out,” says Andrew.

“Yeah, it gets tricky when these storms roll in. Say, I could probably look at your fuse box. I’ve picked up a few tricks over the years that might help.”

“That’s not—”

“That would be wonderful,” I say, interrupting Andrew before he can finish. I place an arm on his shoulder and shove him out of the doorway. “Come on in.”

Andrew, defeated, steps back so Dan can walk inside. He stands there a moment before closing the door. Noah is still seated at the table. Dan gives him a friendly wave. As we turn the corner, he catches sight of Vincent in the kitchen.

“Hello,” Dan says. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“Not a problem.” Vincent marches over and gives Dan a handshake. He smiles. “I’m trying my best to prepare dinner, without the luxury of electricity at the moment.”

“I’d say that’s a struggle. Hopefully I can help you with that.” He starts to walk forward, then turns back. “Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“Are you local?”

“Yes. My wife and I both work at the hospital. Maybe I know you from there?”

“He used to be a cop,” Noah says from the table.

“Could have been that then. You look so familiar.”

“I moved to the area about six months ago. Maybe we’ve crossed paths before,” Vincent says.