The Staying Kind by Cerian Hebert

to pause. She couldn’t summon much emotion when it came to her sister. Storm was another matter entirely. “I also have a younger brother. Storm. Two days before I left, he was removed from our home. I’d rather not discuss why. I couldn’t take care of him, and I regret it every day.”
    Rio paused and let him digest that bit of information. Not too heavy on the details. She hoped he wouldn’t push her for more. She hadn’t ever told anyone about them. Ever .
    “Since leaving,” she continued so he wouldn’t have a chance to ask, “I’ve travelled around, stopping when I feel like it, working here and there for whomever will give me a job. I don’t like staying in one place longer than a few weeks because if I stay longer, then people tend to start prying into my past.”
    “So what has kept you here for so long?”
    “Your aunt. She was kind to me, believed in me and didn’t push me to talk about my past. I felt safe with her.”
    “She’s all that,” Travis agreed quietly. “She’s a good woman.”
    “I don’t plan on hurting her. I would never do anything to cause her pain. My mother was a horrible person, and I’m not sorry about saying it. I promised myself I wouldn’t be like her. I can’t imagine wasting everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve put myself through, by being like her.”
    “You’ve had quite a life.” Travis studied his coffee as well, suddenly sober.
    “I will tell you one thing.” Rio kept her voice strong enough for Travis to glance up and study her again. “Until I broke into your cabin I’ve never done anything like that. Nothing. Some minor things. Small things, only because I had to. Nothing on the lines of breaking and entering. I don’t do drugs. I don’t smoke or drink. My mother did all that and more. I couldn’t stand the thought of walking in her footsteps. You can do all the searches you want for a record on me. You won’t find a thing. I’ve always paid my own way and I don’t intend to change. I don’t like asking for help.”
    “Sometimes you have to, Rio.”

Chapter 7
    Travis kept his attention fixed on Rio despite her obvious discomfort. She’d told him more than he’d expected. He could tell it put her on the defensive and he might have pushed her further away.
    He had to appreciate the irony of his situation. Under his roof were two females he wanted to help. Both were busy building walls to keep him out.
    As if she read his mind, Rio directed the subject away from herself. “About your daughter. Don’t give up on her. Ever. I don’t know her story or yours, but you seem like a good father. Believe me, she’ll appreciate it again.”
    With that, Rio stood and carried her cup to the sink. She paused, and stared out the window for a long, silent moment.
    Travis wondered what she saw out there in the darkness. Then she turned to him, the curtain of doubt drawn snugly, uncertainty evident in her gaze, though she’d relaxed slightly.
    “If there’s anything out of place at the cabin, let me know. I’ll put it right. Like I said, I’m not in the habit of breaking the law. I don’t want to start now. Night.”
    Travis didn’t move from the table. He sipped his now lukewarm coffee. Rio’s story stuck tight in his head. It was a foregone conclusion he’d check her out. He had a duty to see if she’d been telling the truth about her past.
    “Kind of like locking the henhouse after the fox has been invited in,” he murmured to himself.
    His gut told him to believe her. He always thought he could judge a person pretty well, almost as well as Sadie. He figured the information Rio had disclosed would be exactly what he’d find if he started digging.
    Finally, Travis put his mug in the dishwasher, and left the kitchen. The living room was empty and dark. Jessa must’ve gone to her room to finish her homework. How ironic that he had more of an idea of how to handle the situation with Rio than the one with his own daughter.
    Maybe