Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

“WHAT DID THE POLICE SAY?” Briggs steadied himself on the ladder. The sound of wood splitting caused him to pull back on the screwdriver he was twisting with more aggression than necessary to secure Lahela’s new security system into place. He’d called her after school, hoping to revisit their date discussion, but the second he heard her voice he knew something was wrong. When she told him about the incident at school involving a volatile custody battle and then Trevor showing up, it took every ounce of self-control to not overreact. Going out to buy the best security system on the market and installing it the second she got home from school was not overreacting at all. “You filed a report, right?”

Lahela finished sweeping her porch and leaned the broom against the railing. She looked up at him beneath dark lashes. “Trevor didn’t break any laws showing up at the school, and without a protection order there’s nothing they could do but ask him to leave.”

Briggs climbed down the ladder. He could see she was upset and that was the last thing he wanted. “I’m sorry, Lahela.” He sighed. “I’m just ticked off and worried and, well ...” He looked at the tool in his hand. “I really want to punch someone, but I’m trying to focus that urge onto something more productive and less illegal.”

He watched the edges of her lips tip into a smile before she laughed and then covered her face with her hands.

“Sorry. None of this is funny,” she said.

He set down his screwdriver, took her wrists, and gently tugged her hands down. “It’s not, but hearing you laugh and seeing your smile...” She dropped her chin, but he was quick to tip it back up with the edge of his fingers so she was looking in his eyes. “I’m glad you still have reason to do both.”

There was a battle warring inside him. He wanted to crush her in his arms and protect her until all the shadows disappeared, but he didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerable state.

Lahela stepped forward and cupped his cheek. “Thank you, Briggs, for everything.”

All restraint snapped, and in the space of a breath, he pulled her into his arms and all the tension and worry and fear quieted.

“I don’t know how you did it as a police officer.” Her words vibrated against his chest. Lahela tilted her head back and met his eyes. “Is that why you moved back here?”

“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “Putting on the uniform felt like a calling on my life and I believed it was what God wanted me to do, but”—he took a deep breath—“I couldn’t avoid the violence, pain, and suffering that comes with the job. It’s dark, and I started to withdraw, become detached, and instead of appreciating the joy of life, all I could think of was the last hard call.” He shrugged. “It took me coming home a few times to realize that I needed my people. The evil was blurring my faith, and I needed my family and friends to remind me that there’s still good in the world.” His voice became husky as he peered down at her. “Good people who are bright lights of promise for the kind of future I want.”

There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, but there was a current crackling between them, and he couldn’t help where his mind traveled when his eyes fell to her lips.

Lahela cleared her throat, and when she quickly stepped out of his hold, he worried he’d crossed a line. “We have an audience.”

He frowned and she raised her brows to something behind him. When he casually turned, he spotted Lahela’s neighbor peeking out of her window. When she saw Briggs, she dropped the curtain in place.

“See how safe I am?”

If he hadn’t heard the smile in her voice, Briggs might’ve questioned Lahela’s sanity. He remembered the tiny, elderly woman from the night of the fire, and she was about as intimidating as a newborn calf.

“What do I owe you for this?” Her focus moved to the box the security cameras came in.

“Nothing,” he said. “Though I really wish you’d consider taking me up on my offer to come out to the ranch. We have a guest house and I’d love to introduce you to my family and show you the land.”

“I appreciate the offer, Briggs, but I can’t do that.”

His need to understand measured equally with his need to do whatever it took to keep her safe. “If not at my place, then go back to Daphne’s.” He looked up at the camera he’d installed. “You’re home alone, and as much as I trust the police to do their job, if you need them, they’ll be here in minutes, but it’s the seconds that count.”

Lahela smiled. “I think you’re forgetting about Rosemary. Did you know she’s a member of the Pearls and Pistols group?”

“What is the Pearls and Pistols group?”

“I have no idea.” Lahela giggled. “But it sounds pretty and scary.”

Briggs didn’t want to think about the eighty-year-old woman wielding a pistol. “Pretty scary is more like it.”

Lahela and Briggs stood there staring at the now-empty window of Rosemary’s house for a few seconds until they both burst into laughter. The sound and sight were a sweet balm to the weariness he’d seen Lahela carrying for the last few days.

The moment was cut short by a text message that drained the color from Lahela’s face. Briggs took the cell phone from her hand and his blood ran cold at the message.

Unknown

There’s nowhere I can’t reach you. School. Festival. Home.

His fist curled around the phone and he wanted to chuck it across the lawn. Without a word, Briggs guided Lahela into her house, closing the door and locking it.

“You should go to Daphne’s—”

“I can’t. She’s in the field tonight.”

“Then come home with me.” The look on her face told him she wasn’t going to do that either. “Fine. I’ll sit in my truck and keep an eye out.”

“Briggs, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking and I’m not leaving. I will camp outside your house for as long as it takes to find this guy, but I am not leaving you.”

“Briggs...”

She swallowed, her focus lingering on the darkness outside her home for several seconds, and Briggs prepared himself for her to argue. When she found his eyes again, all he saw was resignation.

“You can stay here.”