Reese looked over at Bri. "Are you okay?"
“Can I kick him again?” Bri asked, moving to stand next to him.
“Sorry, no,” Reese said regretfully. “At least, not while he is handcuffed. I could take them off so you could kick him again but then I would have to put them back on.”
“Sounds complicated,” Bri said with a weak smile. “I can't believe you're here. How did you know where to find me?"
"I…," Reese started to say just as two police cars pulled up to the curb in front of the house.
Reese leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He was so relieved that she had not been hurt and that Tomlinson had been caught. "Let me talk to these guys for a second and I'll be right back."
“Okay.” He looked back to see her eyeing Tomlinson who was still lying on the ground.
He pointed at her. “No kicking.”
“Fine,” Bri answered sullenly.
Later that same night, Bri was sitting on the couch, Haley and Lucas sitting on either side of her.
"Here you go," Lucas said, handing Bri a cup of tea. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No, thank you." Bri had spent several hours at the police station talking to Reese and his partner, Detective Danvers. She answered what must have been a hundred questions and had given a statement about what had happened. Haley and Lucas were hovering around her; it was comforting and maddening at the same time.
"Are you sure that you're okay?" Lucas asked.
"Yes. I'm okay." Bri assured him.
"That had to have been so scary," Haley said.
"It was,” Bri admitted. “I feel very lucky that I was able to keep thinking straight so that I could look for a way out."
"It looks like those self-defense classes really paid off," Haley told her.
Lucas reached over and tugged on Bri’s hair. "I'm proud of you, Sis, and so very glad that you're okay."
"Thanks," she sighed. "I am so glad that I can put this all behind me. It's a relief to know that Curtis is behind bars."
"Me too," Haley agreed. “Although I wish I had gotten a few swings at him myself.”
“Get in line,” Lucas told her. “I am glad that it was Reese that got to take him down.”
Bri couldn’t argue with her brother at all. It sounded corny even as she was thinking it, but watching Reese easily handle Curtis was like watching justice in action. Her final kick had been crude although immensely satisfying. Her thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. She realized that it was the first time in several months that she did not flinch at the sound.
"Who could that be?" Haley asked, getting up from the couch. She crossed the room and looked out the security eye. "Who is it?" Lucas asked as Haley open the door.
Reese walked in holding two large bags. "I brought Chinese food," he announced looking a little sheepish. "I hope that's okay."
"Oh my gosh, yes! I'm starving." It took everything she had to not jump off the couch to rip the bags from his arms.
Reese came over and set the bags on the coffee table and then moved to sit next to her on the couch. “How are you doing?”
“Better,” she said, liking that he was sitting next to her.
Once they had all started eating, Haley asked, “Reese, how did you know that Bri was in trouble?”
“Nancy Redmond called me,” Reese explained.
“Nancy?” Haley looked at Bri. “How did Nancy know?”
“I had gotten a text from Nancy,” Bri said putting Nancy in air quotes, “saying that she wanted me to meet her at the Sanders house. I tried replying but the message wouldn’t go through. So I called Nancy and left her a message on her voicemail.”
“Nancy called me in a panic,” Reese said, picking up the story. “She had gotten the call from Bri. She hadn’t sent a text and realized that something was wrong. I drove straight to the house.”
“Thank goodness,” Haley said. “We will have to bring some cookies to Nancy next week.”
“Oh my, the cookies!” Lucas suddenly exclaimed and stood up.
“What?” Bri asked with a frown.
“Oh,” Haley stood up too. “We have groceries for Stuart in the car; he specifically asked for cookies. We had just finished at the grocery store when Detective Danvers called us. The groceries are still in the car.”
“Thank goodness we didn’t get milk or frozen food.” Lucas made a face. “I better run his stuff over there before I forget again.”
“I’ll go with you,” Haley offered. She smiled at Bri. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”
“I’ll be here.” Bri was so thankful for both of them that she felt her eyes well up with tears.
“Are you sure that you are okay?” Reese asked, looking concerned.
“I am, just really grateful. I can’t thank you enough for getting to me in time.”
“You were doing pretty well when I arrived.”
Bri laughed and made a karate chop motion in the air. “I will have to go thank my self-defense instructor.”
“I will go with you.” Reese hesitated a little. “Can I call you sometime? Maybe you could show me some of your moves.”
“I would love that. Maybe I will show you one now.” She decided to give in to impulse. She leaned forward to press her lips to his. She had meant it to be a quick kiss but he leaned into her, and it turned into a long, lingering kiss that left her a little breathless. After a moment, she pulled back. “Wow.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Reese grinned. “I hope you didn’t learn that from your self-defense instructor.”
“No.” Bri shook her head. “But he did teach me that practice makes perfect.”
“I happen to agree with that myself,” he said and leaned forward to kiss her again.
THE END
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About the Author
Sophie Tucker was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia.
After graduating from university with a degree in biology, Sophie decided to take a year off to travel the world. During those travel adventures, she met a handsome young Canadian named Peter Tucker. It was love at first sight! The rest was history! They returned to Peter’s hometown in western Canada, and shortly after were married. Sophie never did put her biology degree to work! Three young children kept her very busy at home.
Sophie has always been a voracious reader and at one time she dabbled in writing children’s stories; mainly writing them for her own children. Now that she and Peter are retired, she spends the day writing, while he gardens or golfs. She’s always had an appetite for cozy mysteries, so it’s no wonder it’s the genre she specializes in. You will often find Sophie in her solarium, laptop perched on her knees, or on sunny days in the garden, writing away. Oftentimes, her two dogs, Poppy and Penny, will be at her side.
If you'd like to receive the latest news on Sophie’s releases, you will find it here. http://liriospublishing.com/books-by-sophie-tucker-cozy-mystery.html (Copy and paste the above link into your browser.)
Contact information
www.liriospublishing.com
[email protected]
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