the woods, but he turned, and headed to the other side of the motel, where an empty swimming pool sat.
This bastard wasn’t getting away. I picked up speed, and I flung my body forward, arms outstretched. I tackled him to the ground. We rolled across the asphalt. As we rolled, I grabbed the gun with both of my hands and flung it.
He couldn't fight me off, and the gun flew, skittering across the pavement. Thank God it didn’t discharge.
All I had to do was keep him down until the detective could get back over here.
He wasn’t well trained, but he was strong. He slammed my head against the pavement. My ears rang. My eyes watered.
He kicked me in the knee, but I didn’t let go. His arm twitched. He didn’t have a gun now, but he did have a knife.
Fuck.
I heard Thomas’s footsteps pounding on the pavement. He was yelling at this asshole to put his hands in the air. He was close. The last thing I remembered was the flash of a blade, then a searing pain.
Despite the burning agony, I wrapped my arms around his middle.
Don’t let go.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ava
I couldn’t stop looking at the clock. Tyler had been gone for two hours.
I brought out the pies I’d made, which included pecan, pumpkin and cherry cobbler. I’d made the pecan for him. I just hoped he got to eat it.
Stop it. You’re being melodramatic. He was in an actual war zone. Right now he’s in Pine Hills. It’s fine.
He’d assured me this was a normal call, not related to Christopher. Had he been telling the truth? I could hardly blame him if he lied to me.
Maybe the hormones were making me worry more. Everyone dug into the pies, chattering about how good they were. I took a slice of the pumpkin pie, mainly because I’d never had it before. And if I didn’t, everyone would notice and try to force more food on me.
That seemed to be a staple here in the south, especially at a holiday -- making sure everyone got more than enough to eat. There was no such thing as moderation at Thanksgiving.
I tried to smile along with everyone else as they groaned about being too full, but my smile felt fake even to me.
I barely tasted the pie. His mother noticed me watching the time. She put her hand on my shoulder and leaned in close. “It could be much longer before we hear from him.”
“I’m not good at waiting.”
She patted my back. “It gets easier,” she said in a soft voice.
After Thanksgiving dinner was over, Abigail took Joe, the fire chief, and his daughter into the living area to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and play Candyland.
I knew I couldn’t sit still like that. I went to the table and started picking up dishes. Tyler had vowed that he’d handle all the clean up, since I cooked. But he wasn’t here, because he was out risking his life. He could die, and I hadn’t even told him about the baby.
I hadn’t even told him he was going to be a father.
I’d deprived him of that.
I blinked hard, willing away any possible tears.
Barrett appeared next to me. He took the heavy stack of ceramic plates. “Let me clean up.”
“I need something to do.” I looked up at him. “Really.”
He shrugged. “If you say so. But I had to offer. Otherwise Tyler would kick my ass for not helping.”
Abigail appeared briefly to refill her iced tea. She jabbed Barrett in the ribs. “Yeah, because he knows you have the manners of a wild boar.”
“Is that so?” Barrett chased her into the den, where they continued to make the little girl laugh.
Finally I was alone with only Mrs. Whittaker, who’d returned with a laundry basket.
She gathered up all the cloth napkins and tossed them in, then moved on to collecting the glasses from the table. "Tyler seems so much happier since you’ve been here.”
A wave of nausea passed over me. I felt guilty, standing here with this woman who was my child’s grandmother. I made myself move, turning on the hot water and filling the sink. There were too many dishes to use the dishwasher, and besides, I wasn’t going to shove his mother’s crystal into the dishwasher to get banged up.
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find out more about him. “Was he unhappy before?”
“No. He wasn’t unhappy. But he was isolated. He was alone, here in this house. It was such a drastic