All the little discomforts were worth it, in seeing Nettie smile at him like that. Malachi returned the hug without hesitation, and nodded his encouragement once she'd stepped away.

Once she had gone back inside, he turned his head to meet the constable's gaze.

"It's just what we were looking for," he assured with a smile of his own, small and polite. Malachi took a few steps closer to the constable, hands returned to their loose hold behind his back, and stood beside him as he looked over the boarding house again.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me to have her here, and in a safe place."