She nodded, and Danny wondered how to address the awkwardness that had sprung up between them. Was she upset that he’d wanted to kiss her? Or had she remembered she wanted him to leave because he reminded her of a terrible incident? Or was something else bothering her? He’d been careful not to mention Nathan.

Tires crunched on gravel. Mandy startled. Danny went to the window. A police cruiser pulled into the lot. Doug Lang got out.

“What’s he doing here?”

Mandy crossed her arms over her chest. “Mom called him.”

Alarm buzzed through Danny. “Why? What happened?”

Mandy looked away. Her pretty mouth tightened in a way that made Danny want to fix everything for her, right after he kissed it. “Bill didn’t put the flowers on the porch. He didn’t tie that branch over the door either.”

Danny shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier.”

“I told you. It’s OK.” But her voice was chilly enough to keep cocktail shrimp fresh.

“No, it’s not. I had to meet the insurance guy at Reed’s house, but I had plenty of time to stop back here. I just…” don’t feel like much of a man anymore. “Needed time to think.” Christ. He’d almost spilled his girly guts. That would really make him feel more manly. Tune in at six to watch an Iraq war veteran spontaneously grow a vagina.

Danny followed her outside. Together they watched Lieutenant Lang strut across the back lawn. He climbed the three wooden steps onto the porch and stopped a few feet away from them. “OK, what’s the problem?”

Mandy pointed at the flowers and the branch over the door. “Someone left those here during the night.”

Hands on hips, the cop stared at the container of flowers. “And you think a pot of pansies is threatening?”

“My mother was concerned,” she said.

“They’re flowers,” the lieutenant scoffed. “It was probably your brother. He does weird shit all the time.”

Mandy shook her head. “He says he didn’t.”

The cop’s eyes narrowed on the kitchen window. Bill’s figure was moving around in the kitchen. “Bill!”

“Don’t yell at him,” Mandy snapped.

Bill shuffled out the door. His head hung in a way that put Danny’s protective instincts on edge. He put a hand on Bill’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Bill focused on the floorboards.

“Are you sure you didn’t put these flowers here for your sister?” The cop had lowered his voice, but his tone was short on patience.

“N-no.” Bill backed away from the cop until he was flat against the closed door. “I’d never give Mandy anything like that. It’s scary.”

The cop rolled his eyes. Bill studied his gigantic sneakers and dug a toe into the doormat.

Mandy stepped in front of her brother. “Lieutenant, I don’t appreciate—”