He propped his head up on his arm and reached for her. “Or we could just stay in and I’ll get doughnuts delivered.”

She smacked his hand lightly, fending off his advance. “No, sir. No touching and stop looking so hot and sleep-rumpled. It’s distracting. Some of us have to work around here. Plus, hungry trumps horny for me. You can make a note of that in your Kincaid file.”

He laughed and sat up. “Noted. Feed the lady first. Stock snacks.”

She bent down, giving him a quick kiss. “Go shower and make yourself pretty for me. Then I’ll buy you breakfast.”

“I feel so objectified.” He collapsed back onto his pillow with an exaggerated huff.

She smirked and climbed over him to get off the bed, giving him just enough of a peek beneath her dress to drive him wild.

“Vicious tease.”

She looked over her shoulder and winked. “I have a name tag with that on it.”

An hour later, they’d filled their bellies at the diner and were driving into familiar territory. Ash glanced around the neighborhood he used to call home, his stomach knotting with old anxiety. His parents didn’t live here anymore. A couple of years after the shooting, they had gotten a big piece of a settlement in a class-action suit against local law enforcement, a suit that claimed many more lives could’ve been saved if they’d handled the crisis differently. His parents had used some of that money to buy a nicer house on the other side of town. He’d never been to that house, wasn’t welcome there, but his mom had emailed him photos of the place. That was the only way they communicated these days. In secret. Online.

“The neighborhood hasn’t changed much,” he said, breaking the silence and shutting down his dark thoughts. “The trees are a lot bigger.”

Kincaid glanced over from the driver’s seat. “It’s still a good place to live. A lot of the houses have been remodeled, and it’s a quiet neighborhood. Plus, because the houses are older, first-time home buyers have a shot at getting a deal out here.” She turned onto his old street. “The Gomezes, the family I’m bringing the keys to, are buying that blue house a few doors down from your old place.”

“The Brownfields’ house?”

“Yep. It’s been fully redone and is going to make a great first house for this family. I’m really excited for them.” She slowed in front of Ash’s childhood home, letting him take a look. The paint color had changed and the garden had statues in it, but other than that, it looked the same.

Goose bumps prickled his arms, some sort of nostalgia mixing in with bad memories. He stared out the window. “It’s like looking back in time.”

“Same here.” She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. “It used to hurt a little every time I passed it.”

He turned his head to look at her. “Why?”

She stared past him toward the house. “It’s going to sound weird because I know your memories there aren’t the happiest, but my memories of that house aren’t all bad. That’s the house where I snuck in and slept next to you all those nights. You made the world feel not as scary or lonely. It was my safe place.”