Yuletide Protector (Love Inspired Suspense) by Lisa Mondello

made today from sheer distraction over this stupid vase of flowers had her fed up about the entire ridiculous situation. She didn’t want to think about George or these flowers anymore. She wanted it to be three days ago before Kevin had that stupid meeting with George at the salvage yard. When her life was normal and she could happily work on her house and do her job without distraction.
    “You’re not making this easy, Daria.”
    “It isn’t easy any way you look at it.”
    “If you don’t care about your own safety, how can you expect the police to keep you safe? Didn’t you hear anything I told you yesterday?”
    “More than you realize.”
    She thought she’d said the words under her breath, but the immediate reaction that registered in Kevin’s expression told her otherwise.
    “Look, I heard everything you said. And I’ve worked the situation backward and forward and every other way I could. I did it last night and then again at the office. The bottom line is, I can’t leave even if I want to. I need my paycheck to get by. I don’t have any money in savings. At least nothing that will last more than a few days. I have no place to go. No one to go to now thatmy parents are in Mexico. I’m stuck here whether you and I like it or not.”
    After Kevin left her yesterday, she’d spent the day second-guessing her decision to stay in the house. So much so that her head hurt. But there was nothing she could do. She had no extra money in the bank and only enough room on her credit card to pay for about a week’s stay at a hotel. And not even a good hotel.
    She’d used up all her vacation time over the summer working on the house’s plumbing and she wasn’t going to get any more vacation pay until January first—nearly four more weeks until she could arrange vacation leave. Even then, she only had three weeks’ worth of vacation time each year before she’d have to take unpaid time.
    She blew out a breath of frustration and felt the tears that she’d held back most of the day push to the surface. Admitting her true situation out loud to Kevin had been harder than she’d imagined. She was stuck and it was her desire to finally own a home of her own that had put her there.
    A sudden chill invaded her body. Looking at him squarely, she pushed the car door shut and held up the flowers. “I need to get rid of these. I don’t want them in my house.”
    With a little extra effort, Daria walked up the path, her heart pounding in her chest. She’d half thought of keeping these flowers at work, giving them to a coworker. They were beautiful, and it seemed a shame to just throw them out. But every time she’d looked at them, it was like George was right there in the office with her.
    She’d found herself on the phone with clients staring at the enormous, colorful bouquet and picturing herself lying on the ground in some dark alley,bleeding to death. She’d nearly jumped half a mile high when Marla had walked into her office and tapped on her shoulder.
    Bringing the flowers home and dumping them into her compost pile seemed like the best solution. If she’d dumped them at work, people would talk. Marla certainly would ask questions. The last thing she needed was for people to start gossiping at work.
    “He was in your office, Daria.”
    “Yes, he was. But like I said, I didn’t see him. He came and left before I even arrived at work.”
    “He left you a card? Is that how you knew these were from him?”
    “There was an unsigned card. But I knew it was him. My assistant saw him leaving the building. And anyway, he always bought me bird-of-paradise bouquets.”
    Not wanting to discuss it anymore, she walked past him. He followed on her heels to the end of the driveway.
    “Look, I’m tired,” she said. “It was a long day.”
    Kevin didn’t say anything more, but the questions were there in his expression. He slipped his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans and stood in the driveway watching her as