Page 111 of Small Town Sizzle

I take a shaky breath, the reality of the situation crashing over me like a tidal wave. “Devon came back,” I whisper, the words barely audible. “He… he tried to kill us.”

Ethan’s face hardens, his jaw clenching as he glances at Garrett. “Is he…?”

“He’s dead,” Alex says. “Aunt Maya shot him.”

He’s so calm as he says it. Like it’s just an everyday occurrence in his life. The thought slams into me, and I shake my head in disbelief.

Hearing it out loud makes it feel real in a way it didn’t before. My knees give out, and Garrett’s arms are back around me, holding me upright as I collapse against his chest.

“I killed him,” I sob, the weight of it all finally breaking through. “I killed him.”

Garrett tightens his hold on me, his hand smoothing over my hair as I cry into his chest. “You did what you had to do,” he says softly. “You protected yourself. You protected the kids. You’re safe now, Maya. You’re safe.”

But as I cling to him, my tears soaking into his shirt, I finally feel free. Devon is gone, and he’s never coming back. I can finally feel safe in Garrett’s arms.

“You guys can stay at our house,” Laura says.

“No,” I murmur.

“You can stay with me or at the cabin if that’s too much. You’re not going back in that house,” Garrett interjects, clearly feeling overprotective.

“Mom and dad,” I mumble.

“We’ll figure it out,” Garrett says as he holds me tightly. “I’m here now, let me take care of it.”

His words make my tears fall even harder. I don’t want him to let go of me ever.

I just want to fall asleep and forget any of this ever happened.

Chapter Forty-One

Garrett

“Let me go inside and get anything you need. Jazlyn, is there anything…” I say.

“Bro, we can buy them new stuff. You don’t need to go in there,” Ethan interjects.

“He’s right,” Laura says. “You can all come to the house, and Ethan and I will run to the store. Whatever they need. It’s not a big deal.”

“No, we’ll stay with my mom and dad. I can’t…I can’t put you guys out like that and…I’m sure it was scary for Mom and…” Maya says.

Is she serious right now? She’s worried about her mom.

My gut reaction is to tell her no, to insist that they stay with me or at least at the cabin. Somewhere I can protect them, somewhere I can keep them in my sight. But I can see it in her eyes—the weight of what happened. As much as I want to fix this for her, I have to listen to the advice Ethan had given me about Alex. I have to show up for her, but I can’t fix this for her.

She’s not about to budge on this. I can tell that she’s going through the motions.

“Maya,” I say.

“No. We’re staying with my parents. The kids need to be there, in the familiar.”

What does Maya need, though? I think to myself.

The words fight to come out, but I swallow them. She’s going to put the kids first, always, especially in this moment and, right now, I have to be okay with that.

Maya’s parents come scrambling around the back of the house. Her mother grabs Maya in a bear hug, the two of them sobbing into each other. Her father is more reserved, but he grabs Alex and Jazlyn in hugs, too. I can see that he’s trembling—he’s holding on to Jazlyn to mask it.

I can’t imagine the fear they felt when they heard there was a shooting at their daughter’s house. They’ve lost one daughter. The thought of losing another one would be debilitating.