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Just one word all across the hood—in letters so large Amalie could read it from the house.
It spelled RUN, in yellow, and from the look on the man’s face when he saw it, he was considering the suggestion. Then Sean tossed the paint can into the open hatch of his SUV, pulled out a tire iron, and turned around.
The man jerked like he’d been slapped, leaped back in the car, and spun out so fast he fishtailed sideways, clipping a neighbor’s mailbox on the way.
And Sean was still standing in the street holding the tire iron and watching the intersection until he saw the car shoot around the corner and turn toward the main highway, pausing only long enough for one car to pass before it turned east. Other than going up the mountain, it was the only way out of town. It appeared the man had chosen to heed Sean’s warning.
Amalie watched in disbelief at the calm, methodical manner in which Sean replaced the tire iron, then got arag from the back of the SUV and cleaned his hands and shut the hatch before heading back to the house.
She opened the door and burst out laughing, then threw her arms around his neck and began kissing him wildly, madly, deeply, square on the lips.
“You are my hero. Then. Now. Forever. Always. This was better than bubble gum,” she said.
Sean wasn’t even smiling as he cupped the side of her face. “I already made a promise to God and your daddy that you would never be afraid again, and I intend to keep it.”
The smile slid off her lips. “To GodandDaddy?”
“I’m not joking. Anybody messes with you will go through me to do it. You suffer no more on my watch.”
He slid his hands beneath her hair and pulled her toward him, and this time he was the one doing the kissing, and nobody was laughing when it was over.
“You ready to go home with me, darlin’?”
She nodded.
“Then get your coat. It’s still nippy up the hill.”
She put on the coat as he picked up her bag. She locked the door and followed him down the drive to his car and got in as he loaded her bag into the back seat.
“Thought I’d better put your bag here, rather than the back, just in case there’s yellow paint somewhere. I did kind of give it a toss.”
She choked on a giggle and buckled up, but by the time he was driving away, she was laughing and bragging about the uniqueness of his wrath and the ingenuity of using yellow—the mark of a coward.
She finally had Sean grinning.
“In all honesty, the yellow part was just a fluke because I knew the white can was empty.”
She started laughing all over again.
When they pulled up to the house, Sean reached for her hand.
“Let’s don’t mention this to anyone.”
She leaned over the console and kissed him.
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
Sean stowed her bag in his room, then gave her a tour of the renovations in progress before they joined Shirley in the kitchen. Sometime later, she was sitting out on the back porch with a barn cat winding around her ankles and dreaming of the day when this would be her norm.
Sean was on tall-man duty, pulling down baking pans stored too high for Shirley to reach and putting others back up, and she could hear them talking and laughing. Being in this family was healing her in ways she’d never known were undone, when she heard a voice.
You’re coming out of the dark. It is a blessed place to be.
At that moment, her phone signaled a text. She pulled it out of her pocket to see who it was from. It was Wolf.
Both Bullocks talked. They are going to prison. They will die there. Thirteen other people also being charged for abetting in various ways. Doubtthere will be a trial. Looks like you’re off the hook as to testifying. If you want to be in court the day they’re sentenced, I will make that happen for you. Happy Easter, little girl. I wish I could have been the daddy who hid the eggs. I will settle for getting to walk you down the aisle. Your mother would be so proud of the woman you have become. I know I am.
Love, Dad
