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without him coming right out to ask.
    After a moment she blurted softly, “I just couldn’t go home.” Axel sat forward on the couch, then he heard her add in a whisper. “Not to his bed.”
    Axel nodded, then realized Liv couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I get that one hundred percent.” He felt relieved and an odd bit of excitement that Liv hadn’t gone back to the bastard. “You’re not going to believe this,” he said, trying to keep the weird emotions he was having out of his voice. “I didn’t go home either.”
    “Not yet, huh,” Liv responded.
    “No, I mean I’m not going to. I’m at my aunt’s old house.”
    He heard Liv laugh lightly. “It must be a sign that it’s right,” she said. He thought it must be too, but he thought to add, “I do need to call her. Not sure what I will say.”
    “Lie,” Liv stated firmly. “They don’t deserve any better. I don’t have to call my asshole. He wasn’t supposed to be home for another day. Let him find me.” She sounded so sure of herself and he admired her that clarity. “But I won’t tell him I know,” she reassured him. “I’ll just tell him I’m not happy with him being gone all the time, or something like that.”
    “Yes, I think I will use an excuse with Kiki too,” he responded, then he added. “I have my man set up to watch them.”
    “I can’t imagine there is anyone like that in our small town,” she said.
    “It’s a friend from the military who works as a P.I. in Grandhaven, but he will come out this far for me.” He paused, pressing his elbows to his knees as he talked. “I took a week off from the shop so if you ever, I don’t know, thought to stop in there looking for me. I just wanted you to know.”
    “We are kind of in this together,” she said sounding compassionate, and once again he noticed the stark contrast between Liv and Kiki. Kiki would have remarked negatively if he’d sounded so unsure or hesitant about something, while Liv reacted with empathy.
    “We are,” he agreed, feeling like he could tell her a lot and she wouldn’t judge him or think less of him.
    “Darn, it’s kind of cold here,” she muttered, almost sounding as if she were talking to herself. Then she said, “So I suppose we are both sitting in our respective hideaways with just the clothes on our backs.”
    Her comment brought a chuckle to him. “Where are you?” he asked. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
    “I don’t mind. I’m at my grandmother’s house here where you dropped me off at my rose farm. It’s seen better days.”
    “My aunt’s place is like that too. Needs work.” He looked around. “It’s kind of dusty. I guess I took more time keeping the yard up than I did the inside, since she went into the home.”
    “So do you have electricity there?” she asked, sounding distracted with background noises as if she were opening drawers or cabinets.
    “You don’t?” he responded, immediately thinking how cold it was getting outside, besides there being no lights. “And yes, I never turned the electric off here. I use it outside, and just never did.”
    “Oh that’s good,” she replied, still sounding distracted. Then a loud bang sounded on her end.
    “Liv?” He stood and started pacing.
    “I’m all right.” Her voice was soft and reassuring, not panicked. “I was just looking for the propane heater we use in the office sometimes. But I dropped the flashlight. Just a second, Axel, I need to put down my cell. Okay?”
    She didn’t seem to wait for him to answer, but he said, “Okay.” He continued to pace, thinking about her alone out in that dark and cold farmhouse. It was crazy. Even a hotel room would be better, and he decided to try to talk her into one when she returned to her cell.
    He heard her voice mumble that she was back, but she still sounded preoccupied. “Liv, Why don’t you come over here. There’s extra room. I could get a pizza.” The words were out of his mouth before he knew where