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that rolled through her. “I know.”
    “Give Wyn a month,” Devlin said. “Let him move in, let him do his thing, and if he doesn’t figure out who has been coming into this house uninvited, then you kick him back to the curb and nobody can say you didn’t give him a chance.”
    “One week,” Maddie conceded, even as the intimidating image of Wyn and his striking presence filled her vision. Her throat tightened and her stomach plunged toward her feet, leaving her nauseous. “That’s all I will do.”
    “Split the difference and give me two. Two weeks. If you refuse Wyn, you’ll get me and Aidan, and who knows how long he’ll dig in for. Could turn into two months, or even more.”
    A cold sweat broke out on the back of Maddie’s neck. “I hate this.”
    “I know you do.” His gaze too knowing—even though he didn’t know anything—Devlin squeezed Maddie’s hand again. “I know this is hard for you to do at all, but particularly because it’s him. I’ve seen your hurt; I know it’s real.”
    Unbearably uncomfortable, Maddie withdrew her hand and pushed to her feet. Without looking at Devlin—she couldn’t stand for him to see her weakness—she told him, “Two weeks. Not a day more. Tell him if you want. I’m going back to work.”
    With that, Maddie got the hell out of Dodge. Forget a possible squatter or even a ghost, Wyn was now the most dangerous and uncertain part of Maddie’s home. And in less than five hours she had to come back.
    For the first time in her life, Maddie was well and properly fucked.

Chapter 2
    Seven hours later—Maddie had not delayed her evening on purpose, she’d had an emergency situation with a regular customer and had gone out on a road call—Maddie trotted up to her porch, her pulse already humming faster than it had all day. The thumping had begun the moment she’d spotted Wyn swaying on the porch swing from halfway across the field. It’s just going to be him and me, alone, for two weeks straight. Maddie exhaled and tried to bring her heart rate back in order.
    By the time she reached the top of the steps, Wyn was on his feet, at the door, bag in hand. Still in uniform, he leaned against the doorframe, too incredibly close already, and Maddie averted her eyes before she got caught staring.
    As she unlocked the door, Wyn said, “Your porch lights automatically come on in the evening. That’s smart.”
    “Thank you.” Still facing forward, she unlocked the door and let them inside.
    Wyn followed, and added, “I’m grateful that you came around to the idea of letting me stay here for a while.”
    Nice and easy, in and out breaths. “You’re welcome.” A standard part of her routine, Maddie walked into the living room, dropped her keys in a bowl on the coffee table, kicked off her shoes, and then kept moving, rounding a short corridor into the kitchen.
    Wyn followed. “I’ve never properly congratulated you on taking partial ownership of the garage and on owning your first home. Both are a big deal, and you’ve worked hard for a long time and deserve both.”
    “Thank you.” Her stomach too knotted to eat, Maddie still opened the refrigerator door. She stood there looking in, determined to maintain normalcy and cook something, even if it was just leftovers.
    With just a few steps, Wyn settled against the counter next to her, his legs and arms casually crossed. “I sent the candy wrappers to Portland,” he shared. “A guy I know who works in the crime lab there is going to check them out off the record.” He dipped down briefly, deliberately, and she couldn’t avoid the empathy—kindness she didn’t want to see—in his gaze. “I’m guessing part of your resistance to all of this is that you don’t want any attention on yourself. I know you’re a private person. I want to respect that as much as I possibly can, while still trying to help you.”
    Shaking a tremble out of her hand, Maddie pulled her attention away and grabbed some leftover