Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

Isla

Sitting in church with the whole Armstrong family, I felt like I was finally home. I remembered feeling this way when I used to hang out with him and his family while we were growing up. I remembered how their house was the only place where I’d felt safe and happy.

The pastor got to the stand and looked around the congregation. His expression was serious. “Freedom,” he began. “On this July Fourth day, we all have freedom in our minds and in our hearts. We are so blessed to live in a land of freedom. Freedom from persecution, freedom to worship any way we please. This was something very important to the founding fathers of our country. This is something many in our congregation have fought for. We are so very grateful to all of them.”

I noticed he glanced at the Armstrong family when he said that part. All of them had served. Damon hadn’t officially served, but he was now serving as police chief.

“Jesus Christ freed us from bondage in so many ways. He took our sins upon Him. He died for us, to give us the freedom to be able to be redeemed. To go back into the presence of our Lord. I stand before you today so grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and His atonement.”

A chill washed over me, and I felt something I hadn’t felt for a long time. Yes, I felt the spirit in my life. I felt it when I prayed, and I felt it when I needed help. But I had this intense feeling that this was where I needed to be. Right now. In this town. With Damon.

As if he could feel it too, Damon reached over and took my hand. The boys were sitting on his other side, sandwiched between him and Kayla. All the Armstrongs were here in church, and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed that they were such an amazing family.

The pastor went on. “I want all of you to ponder today what sacrifice you could make to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. Maybe that’s to have more charity in your heart. Maybe it’s to cling to Him and His word more. Whatever it is, I would challenge you to pray about it. Ask what you can do on this day of freedom to give yourself more faith like our Savior. The greatest example.”

His sermon continued, but his words bored into my soul. What could I do to be more like Jesus Christ? Damon had been praising me for praying the other day, but I realized I hadn’t read my scriptures that much, and I wanted to serve more people. I wanted to give more. I wanted to be like Wendy and Willow, who had given me food and an opportunity to live somewhere with charity in their hearts. I wanted to be like the Armstrong family.

I didn’t realize I had been thinking so much until the pastor announced it was time for the closing hymn and prayer. I sang out “Amazing Grace” and felt such warmth, I knew I wanted to be right here in this place the rest of my life.

I looked at Damon, and he caught my eye. I felt so many things for this man. Already I loved his children, and I just hoped that I could ever be good enough for him.

After church, we drove back to Damon’s parents’ house. Damon told me to wait a second because he wanted to take me for a drive, but he wanted to settle the boys first. Jason and Trent were already out the door and barreling into his parents’ home.

While I waited, some of the other siblings drove up. Kayla knocked on the window, so I rolled it down. “Damon told me to wait,” I explained to her. “He wants to take me for a drive.” I shrugged.

Kayla reached her hand into the car, resting it on mine. “All I can say is that it’s really great to have you back. Damon should’ve married you the first time.”

I couldn’t help but smile and feel a little out of sorts. “Well, thank you, but I had some issues.”

Kayla winked at me. “I know. I know all about it.”

One thing that I loved and hated about Kayla was that she was very honest. “I’m sure you do.”

We both laughed, and she walked away.

Canyon pulled up in his truck and got out. He frowned. “Where’s Damon?”

“He’s just getting the boys settled, and then he wants to take me for a drive.”

Canyon offered me a small grin and kept walking. “Don’t be gone too long, or you’ll miss being in my presence.” He winked at me.

“For sure.” I laughed. If I’d had brothers, I’d hope they’d be just like the Armstrong men.

Damon came out of the house just as McCrae pulled up. McCrae waved at Damon, gesturing for him to come over. Damon paused, and I realized Damon was holding two guns in his hands. That was interesting. Not that he wouldn’t have guns. He was the police chief.

McCrae whispered something to him, and immediately I worried. Had there been more break-ins? McCrae wasn’t working today, but that didn’t mean he didn’t hear things.

They didn’t talk for long, Damon patted him on the back and moved toward me. He lifted his brows as he got into the SUV. “All ready. My mom says be back in an hour.”

I was concerned. “What did McCrae say?”

Damon handed me the guns. “If you don’t mind holding these for a second …”

Gingerly, I took them from him. “You act like I hold guns every day.”

He snorted. “Those belong to my dad. I just wanted to go shooting.”

Worry gripped my gut. “Why?”

He focused on backing out and then heading down the long driveway. “Because you should be able to protect yourself, and I think it’s time you register and take a gun class. But we’ll get you started.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “I have thought about getting a gun in the past, after everything with Kyle. And, I’ll admit, I have thought about it lately, too. I guess I just haven’t seriously considered the process. I honestly thought I would buy one out of a pawn shop.”

Damon turned to me with a frown. “You have to register the gun.”

I shrugged and felt defensive. “Sorry, Mr. Police Chief. I don’t know the ins and outs of gun ownership.”

Damon let out a sardonic laugh. “Well, today we will start with the basics of how to shoot a gun.”

I was confused. “Why do I need to shoot a gun if I don’t have a gun?”

He nodded to me. “Your na?veté is the exact reason you need to learn how to shoot one.”

I laughed, feeling confused. Then I thought of McCrae. “You didn’t answer me. What did McCrae say?”

Damon kept his eyes on the road. “Nothing. He was just updating me on a police thing.”

“Are you sure?”

Damon reached across and patted my leg. “I’m sure. It was just some parade cleanup that wasn’t being done.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but I could tell he didn’t want to talk about whatever it was.

Damon slowed us down, and he paused in front of a new house. “This is Noah’s new house.”

I was amazed. “Wow. This is awesome.”

He nodded, putting the car in drive again. “He has land out here and doesn’t care if we shoot on it. And there’s no one around. So I thought we’d come.”

My fingers prodded at the guns. “I’ve never shot a gun before. Of course, Kyle always had his gun, but we never went shooting.”

Damon turned to me, looking interested. “Did you want to go shooting?”

“I don’t know.” I thought about it for a little bit. “The truth is, I was too busy trying to just make ends meet and make sure I wasn’t ticking off Kyle. I didn’t really think about that.”

Damon’s jaw tightened. “Why did you stay with Kyle so long?”

“What was I supposed to do, Damon? I didn’t have a home to come home to. My dad was in prison. My mom is … terrible; working in the bar and drunk most of the time.” I threw up a hand, getting more upset. “You saw her at the carnival the other night. She’s never been a mother.”

He reached out and took my hand. “I’m sorry. You’re right. There’s so much I wish I could change. So many things I wish I could do differently.”

I stared at this beautiful man. His blond hair was tumbling down his face, and worry marks were etched around the edges of his eyes. I thought about all that he’d been through. I wanted to know more. “Tell me more about Missy.”

He shook his head. “Finish what you’re telling me about Kyle. He pushed you around. In the last two years, he left dead animals on your porch.”

I winced. “I should’ve left sooner. I kept convincing myself I could work these jobs at little grocery stores or waitress and make enough money to cover my expenses and go to college. But something would come up. I would need new tires, or I would have to go to the doctor or a million other things.” I bit my lip and tried not to cry. “Ultimately—I’m not going lie to you—I saw a post on Instagram that McCrae put up. He said something about how he was really proud of his brother for being police chief. I decided to stalk you a little bit and realized that you weren’t married anymore. I told myself that it didn’t matter. But then, when he left that dead dog on my porch, it was like I was just on autopilot and I came here. To Refuge Falls. Back to you, in a way. I guess I was coming back to you. Even though I didn’t really admit that to myself.”

Damon squeezed my hand. “I’m glad you did.”

I nodded. “Tell me more about when Missy left.”

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Like I told you, she always did community theater, and then she would spend hours at the gym and put our kids in daycare. Which is fine, but it was like she really didn’t want to be a mom. Honestly, when she told me that she was leaving and she had the divorce papers for me, I felt like I was on autopilot. I just signed the papers. I honestly didn’t feel anything. Maybe that’s sad, but that’s the truth.”

I’d met Missy, so I could see how she was like that. It made me sad for him. “I’m sorry.”

He gave me a little smile. “It’s okay. Maybe we had to go through all we went through to get back to each other.”

Warmth flooded me, and I wanted to say so many things to this man. “Like we had to get wrecked to find our way back to each other.”

He pulled up to the land and parked. “I think so.”

We got out of the vehicle. I could see what looked like a put-together gun range. Some cans were set up on rocks. I was nervous to be holding the guns.

Damon seemed to sense that I was nervous, so he took the guns and put one in the back of his pants, then showed me the gun he was still holding. “This is a pistol thirty-eight revolver. When you shoot, I want you to hold it up in your dominant hand. That’s your right hand. And then you can look through either your left eye or your right eye and line those up—” He pointed to the end of the gun. “—and then find your target line. There are some cans set up. Let’s see if we can hit those.”

I gestured to him. “Show me.”

He held up the pistol, squinted, and fired, hitting the can. Then he hit the next can, and the one after that.

I laughed. “Of course you can do that on the first try.”

Damon grinned at me. “I’ve been doing this a long time. Let’s get you started. Take the gun.”

I mimicked how he held the gun, supporting my right hand with my left, and then I squinted, trying to line up the barrel with a can.

Damon got behind me and showed me how to hold it so I wouldn’t get kickback. “I usually take a deep breath and then exhale and pull the trigger.”

I did what he said and pulled the trigger. I was shocked at how much kickback the gun gave me, and my bullet did not hit the can. “Well, that stank.”

Damon let out a light laugh. “It’s your first time. Listen, make sure that the supporting hand holds the gun steady. Of course, if you were to be shooting a gun at someone coming at you, you would just fire over and over until the gun is out of bullets. Because you don’t have time for breathing or thinking. You just aim and fire.”

My heart raced, and I thought about Kyle. Hopefully I would never have to do that.

We moved to the next section, where more cans were lined up. I marveled at it. “You guys line up a lot of cans for the next people.”

Damon nodded. “It’s just a courtesy. We will do it when we’re finished.”

I took the stance and then squinted, released a breath, and fired. I still didn’t hit anything.

“That’s okay. Your form looks good. Let’s go to the next one and try again.”

This time, I did what he said as he got behind me and corrected me a little bit with my positioning.

Damon took a step back and said, “Go ahead.”

I sucked in a long breath and then let it out slowly. I fired. This time I hit the can. I let out a little squeal.

He laughed and hugged me. “You did it!”

“I can’t believe it.” I pulled away and was ready to try again.

Damon lifted up the other gun. “Try this one. Each gun is a little bit different. But first I’m going to go set up the cans again.” He began walking away, and then he paused. “Remember, never let the gun stay up. You always point it down when you’re not firing it. I will go set up cans, and you can practice getting your position right.”

I did what he said, trying to point at a spot on the ground and practice lining it up with my eye.

It wasn’t long until Damon was back. “Let’s go.”

This time, I went into the stance and then fired. I didn’t hit anything.

“Go to the next one.” Damon ordered.

I moved down the line, pointing at each target and firing. I hit two of the cans out of six.

At the end, I grinned at him. “I’m just glad I could do it at all.”

Damon pulled out his phone and looked at it. “Mom says dinner is ready.” He reached out for the guns, and I was happy to give them to him. “We’ll have to come back another time, but you did great for this first time.”

On impulse, I threw my arms around his shoulders and stared into his blue eyes. “Thank you for teaching me. I will file the paperwork to get my own gun.”

He smiled and then bent and kissed me. Before long, his hands wrapped tighter around my waist and pulled me against him. I was lost, feeling like I was flying.

He laughed and pulled back. “We can’t be late for dinner. We have to go, even if I do want to keep kissing you.”

I pulled back and grinned at him. “Race you to the car.” I took off without warning.

He followed me, grumbling. “That wasn’t a fair start.”

We got back to his parents’ house and slipped inside. I smiled as he shut the door behind me. I wondered how I was lucky enough to date this man. He treated me so well. I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but I could honestly say I was grateful I had come back to Refuge Falls, if only to have a second chance with Damon.

When we got back to the house, everyone was busy, so I looked for his mom. I wanted to find out what I could do to help.

His mother came out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl full of rolls, and she said to Damon, “The boys are out back, and they’re all dirty. Will you round them up and clean them up?”

“You bet.” He squeezed my hand. “I’ll be right back.”

I was going to follow him and ask him if he needed help when Damon’s father appeared. “Psst,” he said. “Isla, can I speak to you for a second?”

I was a little bit taken back. “Sure.”

His father led me to a room in the back, and I realized it was his den. “Just for a minute.” He shut the door behind him, turned toward the closet, and pulled out what I now recognized as a thirty-eight pistol. He held it out to me.

I was confused. “What’s this for?”

He smiled grimly at me. “Take it. I want you to have it. Damon is police chief, and he can’t know about this. But I know he taught you to shoot tonight. I worry about your safety out at that ranch. Please just take this gun for your protection.”

I took it, and my hands were shaking. “I was going to register and get a gun the official way.”

His father shook his head. “I hope you know we have all been concerned about this ex of yours. And as far as I’m concerned, you belong to the Armstrong family now. I’m asking you to do something you won’t want to do: keep this gun for your protection. And don’t tell my son. He likes to do things the official way, and there’s a time and place for that. I like to do things that need to be done.”

I stared at the gun, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable with that.”

His father gave me a pointed look. “You need to put your safety first.”

“I want to.”

“I’m going to give you the gun when you leave, and you’re going to keep it at the ranch with you and not tell my son. At least, that is the official line that you say if anyone asks you.” He must have seen that I was still confused, because he put his hand on my shoulder. “That doesn’t mean you can’t tell anyone. It means that if you are ever asked how you got the gun, you tell them that I asked you to take it and not tell my son. That’s important if you ever go to court. You tell them what I officially asked you to do. Do you understand?”

Finally, I got it. “Yes.”

He nodded. “Let’s get in and have dinner—but I need you to remember one thing about shooting a gun.”

“What’s that?”

“If you shoot at someone, you be prepared to kill them.”

My heart raced. “I don’t understand.” Or I didn’t want to understand.

He squeezed my shoulder. “If someone is putting your life in danger, you kill them.”

I nodded, thinking about how Kyle might try to hurt me again. Determination pulsed through me. “I understand.”