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An image of Tyson on the floor came to her, blood pooling around his body. Even though it hadn’t happened that way, the mere thought of him lying there, lifeless, made her stomach churn.
Haylee shouldered her way through the crowd and walked toward Officer Henry Benson, a longtime friend of the family, who had been the one to interview her.
She tried to pull herself together, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands before she stopped in front of him.
He turned and gave her a gentle smile. “How’re you holding up, Haylee?”
She swallowed back the lump that had been lodged in her throat. “I’m just glad everyone is okay.”
Benson scratched the top of his head. “Tyson’s quick thinking and actions ended the situation without anyone getting hurt.”
Yes, that was true, and she knew it. But the stubborn thought in her head was that Tyson could have gotten himself killed by his actions.
Benson said, “His training as a Military Police Officer in the service made the difference.”
She tried for a smile but knew she failed miserably. “Am I free to go?” All she wanted was to be alone, to be far away from everything about this whole ordeal.
He patted her shoulder. “Go home and take it easy, Haylee.”
She nodded and headed for the revolving glass doors and saw that there was no longer a downpour. As she stepped outside, she breathed in the cool, rain-washed air, trying to calm herself.
Was she being unreasonable? Maybe. But she couldn’t help feeling like her world had come crashing down—the thought of losing Tyson, of losing the man she had let inside her heart, scared her more than anything.
Instead of going to her truck, she headed to the park across and down the street from the bank. She needed to be alone with her thoughts.
Wind gusted in her face, blowing the long strands around her cheeks. Her shoes hit the sidewalk with soft pats, and one heel squeaked. The earlier surge of adrenaline had dissipated, and she was coming down from it.
A dog barked in the distance as Haylee reached the park and walked over the still-green grass. It wouldn’t go brown until later in the fall, and then it would be seeded with winter grass that would keep it looking nice until the spring when the lawn came back from bleaker days.
What would her life be like without Tyson being in it? Her chest ached with the feeling of loneliness that slid through her.
She passed by a stand of trees and heard the leaves rustle in the wind. The sun peeked between the rain clouds and through the tree leaves, its light dappling the muddy ground.
Her pulse throbbed rapidly in her veins. She shuffled to the park bench and plopped down. The cold metal bit her skin through her jeans, and she hugged her arms around her.
The fresh air brought the scent of fall, and she caught the scent of wood burning in hearths from the chimneys of nearby homes. The breeze chilled her, and she regretted not having a jacket.
“Is this seat taken?” The low male voice she recognized at once startled her, and she looked up to see Tyson looking down at her, his face etched with concern.
Haylee caught her breath, at a loss for words. Her blood rushed in her veins from him being so close again. She’d thought she’d have time to pull herself together before seeing him again.
He eased onto the bench beside her, not waiting for an invitation. His scent, warm, earthy, and masculine, swept over her.
She tasted the coolness of the air as she tried to keep her voice steady. “You followed me.”
He gave a slow nod. “I need to talk with you. I couldn’t let you leave, upset and hurting.”
“Why do you think I feel that way?” Haylee stiffened. “You make a habit of putting yourself in danger, just like you did the night you got in the middle of that couple’s fight. You could have been killed then, and you could have been killed in the bank. My heart can’t take that kind of stress.”
Tyson raised his hand as if to reach for her, then thought better of it and rested his palm on the bench seat between them, his expression serious. “When I was a boy, and my mom died from cancer, I made a promise to help others because I hadn’t been able to help her.” He sighed. “So, I feel a tremendous sense of duty and the desire to protect others, especially those I care about. That includes you more than anyone else in the world.”
Her chest seized at his words, the pain of his mother’s death and the depth of his concern for her clear in his voice.
She spread her hands on her lap, staring at the pink polish on her nails. “You scare me, Tyson.”
“Tell me what happened,” he said quietly. “What happened that makes all of this worse for you?”
The night she’d learned of her boyfriend’s death came rushing back to her, and her words trembled. “His name was Danny. He was a Phoenix firefighter I met at an event I put on in that city. We dated for several months, and I cared for him—I was starting to fall for him hard.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “One night, he died in a fire while rescuing people trapped in the house.”
