Page 54 of Small Town Sizzle

I study him for a moment, his quiet strength, the way he doesn’t press for more than I’m willing to give. “Thank you.”

He nods, his eyes softening just a fraction. “Anytime. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Same here,” Ethan adds. “Don’t think you’re a burden, okay? Laura would gladly kick me to the guest room for the two of you to have a sleepover.”

I smile softly and nod. “That actually sounds like heaven, but I want nothing more than to fall into my own bed tonight.”

“I heard about the Siefers,” Ethan says as he hugs me.

Leti is right behind him, wrapping me in her arms, too. “It’s been a rough day. Go home and take care of yourself. We’re all a phone call away.”

I nod, and my eyes flit to Garrett’s. There’s so much I want to say and do, but I can’t. Not in this moment.

I wish that he would hug me, but I know I can’t trust the desire to fall into his arms. If today has shown me anything, it’s that I need to stay as far away from Garrett McAllister as possible. My life is too messy, and my bad habits are still too present for me to even contemplate getting into a relationship with him.

Chapter Nineteen

Garrett

Itake a step forward, wanting to follow her out the door, but I feel my brother’s hand on my shoulder.

“It won’t do you any good to follow her right now,” Ethan offers. “She needs space to process everything.”

“I’m not…” I start.

I shake my head before blowing out a long breath. My protective side is trying to take over, and I know that I have to put a leash on it for the time being. I watch out the glass door as Maya climbs into her battered SUV and then leaves the parking lot a minute later.

“She was on the phone with Carolyn when it happened,” Leti whispers as she wraps herself in a hug.

“Shit,” Ethan sighs.

“Care to tell me what that means?” I ask.

“Carolyn and John Siefer. Known addicts, very toxic marriage. Cops are out there once a week, probably. Carolyn has gotten clean numerous times and left John even more times, but she always ends up right back with him. Maya has tried tohelp Carolyn and their twin daughters more than any of us really know, I’m sure. John killed Carolyn today, then shot himself,” Ethan explains.

“While the twins were hiding in the bathroom. They saw and heard it all,” Leti adds. “And Maya heard it all through the phone.”

I suck in a breath, my stomach clenching. My need to go to Maya, to pull her into my arms and never let her go, is even stronger now. Desperate, even.

“What about that Devon guy?”

“Maya’s ex-boyfriend. The last time he was here, Jazlyn came home from school to see him beating the shit out of Maya a week after Megs died. Maya’s dad had brought Jaz home that day, and your mom hadn’t been able to get a hold of her all day, so she went to the house to check on her. If they hadn’t both walked in at the same time, there’s no telling what would have happened. Maya says it was the first time he’d gotten physical, but I have my doubts,” Leti explains. “I’m only telling you that so you understand the dangers.”

“Why isn’t he in prison?”

“He ran,” Ethan replies. “Maya pressed charges, so did the state. She filed an order of protection, too. He was served that, arrested for the pending charges, but he escaped the police car somehow, and no one has seen him since.”

I stare back at my brother in shock. This man has been on the loose, hiding out for this long, and has only now resurfaced? Why is that? Maybe we should have called the police and held him here.

“What can I do?”

“She doesn’t need to be saved. She needs to feel safe and supported.”

I nod, not really knowing how to respond to that.

“Sheriff Clark says he’ll do extra patrols around her house,” Ethan adds. “She’s got a FOID card, and her house has cameras and an alarm system.”

“She’s thorough.”