Stronger By Your Side (Great Love Book 2)

by Hart, A.

  “Nice dog.” I smiled. “Chase, yeah, he’s alright. He likes to show off for company so he’ll be running those circles for a while.” I laughed and everyone quietly joined me.

  Cal and Travis asked a couple of questions about the break-in at Megan’s and she answered them vaguely. Emerson and Sarah told Megan how sorry they were and how scary that must have been. Megan just smiled politely and agreed. After everyone gave her a demanded hug, she cleared her throat. She never liked being the center of attention or pitied. It just wasn’t her cup of tea. “Ladies, follow me,” Megan stated. Sarah winked at me, then grabbed the other twin from Cal. I laughed.

  “See ya later, boys,” Sarah purred.

  The girls walked inside, giggling and whispering. When they were finally in the door, Cal turned to Travis. “Trouble, that one is, I’m telling ya’.”

  Travis sighed and took a long pull of his beer. “Not my problem.”

  Cal and I laughed and then in unison, huffed, “Yet.”

  I turned the meat again and fell into an easy conversation with the guys about the fire and Travis’s week coming up. I could get used to this. Good food, easy conversations, genuine friends, a sweet girl to come home to . . . Maybe, just maybe.

  Megan

  I managed to set up the play yard Cal had hauled into the living room all by myself while Sarah and Emerson wrangled the twins. Charlotte was older and a little less rambunctious, so she just sat and watched me in confusion. As soon as it was all good to go, we placed all three kids into the play yard in front of the large-screen TV and then put the toys inside with them. Thankfully, Charlotte didn’t mind being trapped in the play yard with the twins, because it made it easier for no one to be free.

  As soon as our arms were free, all three of us huffed and then laughed in unison. “This way, girls.” I led them into the kitchen, which was open and had a great view of the girls. I grabbed a bottle of wine that Sawyer had picked up and three mason jars. The girls laughed at the glasses and then said that it was actually really sweet. I tried not to blush when they said anything referring to Sawyer, but I was bad at hiding my emotions—always had been.

  “So spill!” Sarah shouted. Her sudden, loud voice startled me, and my cup sloshed in my hand. “Not literally,” Sarah said deadpan, and I laughed.

  Emerson grabbed a dish towel close by and wiped up the drop of white wine that had splashed on the counter. “Thanks, Em.” Emerson Nodded with a smile and I continued, “Spill what, crazy?” I asked Sarah.

  She laughed. “You. Here. Sawyer. Go.” I laughed. “I told you.”

  Sarah looked at Emerson and then at me. She waved her hand as she spoke, “So, someone broke into your place. They didn’t find the bad guy, you can’t stay there, yada yada.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, so . . . spill what?”

  Emerson chuckled and took a sip of her wine. “Yum.” I smiled at her, but Sarah cut me off.

  “I’m serious. You and SJ. I want the deets.”

  I laughed again and joined Emerson in sipping wine as well. “Sarah, there are no deets. He is my long lost best friend, I needed a place to stay, he offered, I said yes. We are friends.”

  She huffed. “Ugh, fine, don’t tell me, whatever.”

  I lifted her drink to her face. “Just drink, okay?”

  She smiled. “Don’t have to tell me twice!” We all laughed, and then Sarah put her drink in the air in a cheers motion and in a sing-song voice said, “To sisters!”

  We all toasted our glasses, and Emerson and I repeated in mocking voices, “To sisters!”

  After our glass of wine, we sat on the couch and watched the girls play for a while and just chatted about life in general. When Travis tucked his head in to tell us the food was ready, we got the girls ready to eat and we all grabbed our plates. Sawyer had set up the sides in the kitchen along the counter. After everyone had their food, we sat on the deck. The three toddler girls sat on the floor on a towel and surprisingly, the girls actually ate their food instead of running off.

  “Sky’s starting to look pretty nasty,” Travis stated, and after nodding her head, Emerson asked,

  “So, are you on call too, Sawyer?” I furrowed my brow and looked over at him with a questioning look. He hadn’t mentioned anything about that.

  He nodded with a full mouth and then, after he chewed, he spoke. “Yeah. It’s looking like we will have to head in tomorrow if things don’t settle.”

  Emerson stilled a little and then looked over at her husband. “You?” Cal nodded solemnly and then winked at his wife. She nodded back and continued eating.

  Sensing the uneasiness in the air, Sarah spoke, “Sawyer you have a horse? I see your stable down there.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, Old Buck.” Chase, who had been laying quietly under the table the entire time, barked at the sound of his old pal’s name. I laughed.

  Sarah smiled. “Cal and Em have two horses. I enjoy riding them from time to time. Love to have one of my own one day. Mind if I go check out Mr. Buck?”

  Sawyer shook his head. “Go for it.”

  I finished my food, then grabbed Charlotte, who was starting to play with her food. “I’ll take you down, Sarah.”

  She smiled at me. “Sweet, you ready?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, give me a minute.” She nodded and we cleaned up our plates.

  Emerson cleaned up the twins then placed them back in the play yard. “I’m going to hang out here.”

  I nodded. “Sounds good, be right back.” She smiled and then shooed me with her hand. I walked out to the deck to find Charlotte already in Sarah’s arms. The sun was starting to sink low over the mountains. “Alright, let’s go before it gets dark.”

  Sarah smiled. “Come on, Princess.” Charlotte smiled at Sarah and we began walking down towards Buck’s enclosure.

  Chase followed close behind, anxious to be near Buck. I walked up to the small, wooden building and opened the door. “Hey, boy,” I cooed to Buck. Charlotte clapped and Chase barked.

  Sarah Smiled. “Aww, hi, boy.” We all rubbed his nose, and then I reached into my pocket and grabbed out the three treats I’d grabbed before walking down. We all gave him one and after a couple of minutes said goodbye. The sun was just starting to disappear and the light was beginning to fade. From the distance, I saw Sawyer’s deck light come on and could just see the silhouettes of everyone. Chase took off running towards the deck as Charlotte walked in between Sarah and me, holding our hands.

  We didn’t make it fifteen feet from Buck’s enclosure when I spotted something in the right side of my eyes. I stilled, somehow recognizing the danger, and let go of Charlotte’s hand. Sarah raised her brow at me, but I put my finger over my mouth signaling her to be quiet.

  Looking at the large tree that was cast in shadows to our left, I whispered to Sarah, “Take her, go around the tree, run through the brush, stay low, get help.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened, recognizing fear in my eyes, and then she nodded. She picked up Charlotte with a sweet smile and a finger over her mouth. Charlotte just smiled back, and I was grateful for my somewhat obedient child in that moment. Next, they quietly slinked behind the tree and then disappeared around the corner into the brush. Whatever I was about to face, I didn’t want my daughter anywhere near it. It was a vow I’d made when I became a mom. I would never let the demons I knew well near my child.

  Grateful that I could make out the silhouettes of the people I loved not far, I took a deep breath. I slowly shifted my body to the right where I saw what I thought I saw. Then I heard a snap behind me. I turned suddenly, and my eyes confirmed my worst fear, one that I had let go of long ago. One that I never thought would come back. Stew stood leaning against Buck’s enclosure. Buck neighed quietly, but because he was old, his once intimidating sounds were hushed. I squared my shoulders and swallowed down my panic.

  “Hey Girl. Looking good.”

  My skin crawled and I couldn’t speak. The fear was paralyzing, but I couldn’t let it be. I cou
ldn’t let him win. I took a long, deep breath, willing myself to be stronger than I was. It took all my power and concentration to speak. “I take it I owe you for my window visit the other day.”

  His yellow grin was shadowed by the receding sun, but its chill factor was still very effective. “Bingo, Girly.”

  I cleared my throat. “What are you doing? And you do realize that we’re on SJ’s land?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, no shit.”

  I bit my lip. “Stop playing whatever game this is and just come out with it.”

  He laughed that nauseating laugh again and my stomach churned. “Don’t ya’ know how much I like playing’ with you though, girl?” I gritted my teeth. “Now come over here or the horse gets it.” My eyes widened to see Stew with a shotgun pointed at Buck.

  I blurted out in fear, “No, no. I’m coming.” I looked back to see the shadows on the deck gone and prayed that Sarah and Charlotte had made it. Unless Stew wasn’t alone, they would have. “Wait, is it just you, Stew?”

  He laughed again and re-adjusted the gun’s aim at Buck. “Like I would tell you that. Now get.”

  I gritted my teeth again. “I’m coming.”

  As soon as I was in reach, Stew grabbed my arm tight and snagged me towards him. I grunted at the rough pull up against his body. Buck kicked and neighed, attempting to free himself. I admired his attempt, but I didn’t want him to get hurt as well. “It’s okay, boy. Shh. It’s all okay.” Buck slowly wound down and then continued to complain, but much more softly and less stressed. “Good boy, that’s it. Shh.”

  Stew laughed. “Nothing’s okay for you, girl, now let’s get going.” I thought for a moment about my options and then, as he roughly pulled me back with him towards the beat-up truck I spotted in the distance, I made my choice.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sawyer

  Travis, Cal and I were laughing about something stupid that Travis had said, when I heard a noise on the side of the house. I stood up and walked over, concerned when Sarah came flying around the bushes. She was smiling at Charlotte, who was also laughing and singing to her. However, something on Sarah’s face alarmed me. It was a face I had seen parents and loved ones make before. A face that I, as a firefighter, had used with children before. A face used when nothing was okay, but children didn’t need to know. The hair stood up on the back of my neck and a chill ran over my spine. Then I noticed that Megan was nowhere to be seen. I looked down at where they had been and couldn’t make out anything due to a tree that was slightly blocking my view.

  Sarah placed Charlotte down and smiled at her. “Hurry, go inside with Auntie Em and watch Princess Sophia, I’ll be in to give you candy in a minute!”

  Charlotte smiled up at her. “Yay!” Then she did as she was told.

  As soon as Charlotte was in the house, Sarah closed the door and looked at us. All three of us men were already on alert and standing around her with concerned looks. “Sarah—” I began, she put her hand up, took a breath, and then huffed out in between panting breaths,

  “Megan. Is. In. Trouble.”

  I rolled my shoulders. “Trouble how? What happened?”

  She took another breath. “She saw something, I don’t know what, and she gave me Lotte and told me to go around the brush to get help, so I wouldn’t be seen.” Cal grabbed his phone and began calling 911.

  Travis stared down to where the girls had been. I took a deep breath and then focused. “If it was nothing, she would be on her way up now.”

  We all knew that whoever broke into her place was most likely behind this. That realization made my stomach feel weak. Cal nodded and then began talking to dispatch. He gave the phone to Travis.

  “Take Sarah inside. Lock all the doors, close the blinds, no one comes or goes. You keep all the girls safe, no matter what you have to do, Trav. I’ll call you when it’s clear, and don’t let the kids get wind. Talk in code to Em or write it down.”

  Both Sarah and Travis nodded, and then once they were inside, Cal turned to me. “You okay to help me?”

  I nodded. “I’m not a trained bad ass like you, but I’ll try.” Cal nodded and then quickly walked me through the plan. As we initiated it, my heart was beating through my chest and I could hear everything around me. A pain was in my chest, and I couldn’t think about anything other than getting Megan back in my arms and keeping her there, keeping her safe.

  Megan

  I’m not going anywhere with this dirt bag. Over my dead body. On that thought, almost using it as my determination, I yanked my head back into his nose. Like the idiot he was, he reached up with both hands to grovel at his pain. In a swift movement, I picked up his gun and pointed it at him. We were now halfway in between the truck and Buck’s stall. “Seems you’ve gotten rusty with old age. Isn’t as fun when I can fight back, huh? Why are you here, Stew?”

  He grunted. “You bitch.” I clicked the gun back, and in response, he shouted.

  “Answer the damn question.”

  Stew stuttered, “To g-g-get my money is all.”

  I shook my head. “What money, Stew?”

  He laughed. “You know I never understood why your mom was so attached to you, then when you left I found out, you were her fucking meal ticket! And that big check she was supposed to get? Well, it wasn’t from the damned government. It was from your baby daddy for your eighteenth birthday! It was your damned inheritance.”

  I swallowed hard and repositioned the gun on my shoulder, keeping my eye on him. This made no sense. “What?” I yelled. “You think I’m an idiot . . . why would it be your money? Why the hell are you here?”

  Stew laughed. “You think I’m going to tell you anything, bitch? You ain’t nothing!”

  I laughed that sneer of a laugh back at him. “You think so, huh?”

  He spit his blood towards me. “That’s right. You ain’t going to shoot me, I should just come over there and—”

  I cut him off with a shot to the ground next to him. I had shot a shotgun before with Charles, but nothing prepared me for the giant kick. It felt like it may have broken my shoulder, but I could also be slightly dramatic at times.

  I just rolled my shoulder and took a ragged breath. I enjoyed the way the loud boom and burst of dirt next to his feet had made Stew jump, then scream, “What the fuck!”

  I couldn’t help the snort that left my mouth. “Just tell me why you’re here, Stew, or I will shoot you.”

  He shook with fear. “I told you! Money! I was just going to use you as ransom for pretty boy, rough you up a little maybe, that was all I swear!”

  I huffed. “Sure, Stew, I believe you.”

  He squealed. “I swear it, I swear it! If you tell me who your dad is I can blackmail him, but if not then this is what I got to do girl! I need money! You don’t understand!”

  I snorted. “I don’t have a dad, you asshole, I know nothing about him or a freaking inheritance, and you are not taking me anywhere or getting a goddamn dime from SJ! You hear me? You will not do this to me anymore!”

  I cocked the gun again, causing Stew to jump up and squeal again. “No, stop, please stop! I’m sorry, okay, I’m bad but please! God please don’t! I’m not as bad as your mom okay? I swear I didn’t want to do it that night. I swear, she’s the one who said it would be okay, she said they would just go to the hospital, I didn’t know they would die I swear! I fucking swear it!”

  I swallowed hard as my heart dropped and it felt like I couldn’t breathe. “What?” I huffed out.

  Stew shook his head, looking confused. “I thought he told you, I thought that’s why you were so angry with me.”

  I laughed again. “Are you fucking kidding me, Stew? You molest me for years, beat me, threaten me, come back here and try to kidnap me, and that isn’t enough reason to want to kill you?!”

  He sighed and put up his hands again. “Okay okay just please!”

  I sighed and tried to stay focused, even though my heart felt like it was physically bleeding. “Stew,
who did you kill?”

  He just shook his head at me with his hands up in defense. I narrowed at the gun. I needed to hear it. “Say it, Stew! Fucking say it!”

  He yelled, “I didn’t kill them I swear! She did, your moms did, she killed them!”

  I yelled back, “Who?”

  He squealed out, “The Prescotts!”

  I knew it. From the second he brought it up, I knew who he was talking about, but I needed to hear it from his mouth. I needed him to confirm it. Now that he did, I couldn’t breathe. His words hit my ears and traveled through my body like a wave until I felt my heart stop—literally stop beating—in my chest. For a split second, it stopped, and then it began beating faster than it ever had. My whole body felt like it was going to drop onto the brush in front of me. It took all my strength to pull the air in and out of my chest, to keep my eyes open and fixed on Stew. He was talking but I couldn’t hear him, I couldn’t hear anything. I could see his mouth opening and shutting and his arms waiving, but nothing else seemed to process. Rage started pulsing through my body and I narrowed my eyes hard on him. The tears that were pushing at the back of my eyes turned into fuel for my anger, and I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw something, shoot something. This man, the man who tortured me for years and made me leave Sawyer, he killed the only family I had ever known.

  The man in front of me, the awful, sick, terrible man in front of me, killed the only parents that loved me. The parents I loved. Worse, he took that from Sawyer. He took Sawyer’s whole world from him. Everything he had ever had was gone in the blink of an eye, and it was all this man and Missy’s fault. Whatever they did, why ever they did it, I didn’t care, I would never care. Just as I was seething, Stew made a mistake and opened his mouth again. This time my rage was making the fog in my mind clear, and I could make out his words.

  With a snarly smile he slurred, “Pretty little girl you had there, girly.” My eyes darted up to him and narrowed. Big mistake. I felt something in my chest, something more powerful and angry than I had ever felt. My body surged with rage and it pulsed down to my finger. It hovered over the trigger, and just as the anger released from my finger, pulling the trigger, I was thrown to the side. My head snagged in the opposite direction, and as the landscape flew before my eyes, the sound of a loud boom followed by rapid barking filled the air.