Hadley was still a little snotty and tired, but her fever was gone also. She was still cuddly and very tired, so I knew it would be another day of sleeping for her. I made her a bottle and laid her down in her playpen with her favorite blanket, watching her as she drank. I rubbed her back and watched her eyes flutter shut, smiling down upon the sick little girl as Liam asked for more juice.
They were both on the mend which warmed my heart, but every time I looked over at Evan I would tense up again.
He was keeping one eye out the window at all times, no matter what he was doing. His shotgun was locked and loaded next to him, and his face was stern. He was taking his role as protector very seriously, and I had zero doubt that he would kill to save us if it came down to that. The thought of it, though, made my stomach ache. The thought of this sweet man who’d been through so much of his own heartache, having to make the choice to end another human being’s life – even if that person didn’t deserve to live – made me sad.
What had I done to him? What had I brought into his life. Here he was, just trying to figure out how to raise two kids, and I show up with my shitstorm of a life on his doorstep. And what if it did come down to Evan having to defend us? Would he go jail?
The idea of losing Evan shook my body physically as well as mentally, and I tried to push the thought from my mind as he continued to stare out the window.
“How’d you sleep?” Evan asked.
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Yeah. I slept about the same,” he said. “Heard you get up a few times.”
“Nightmares,” I said. “Did you sleep out here all night?”
“Not all night. Came back after you got up a couple of times. But some noises outside pulled me back out.”
“So, you heard them, too?” I asked.
“I did.”
His body was tense and his shoulders were rolled back. He was sitting back in his chair with the butt of the shotgun between his legs. Hadley was already asleep and Liam was clamoring for another apple. The little boy was very hungry after three days of nothing but soup, and I didn’t blame him.
If I hadn’t been so scared, I would’ve been starving.
“The kids are doing better. I don’t think we’ll need to take them in to see a doctor.”
“That’s good.”
“What would you like for breakfast?” I asked.
“Not hungry.”
“Well, you’re going to eat something.”
“Whatever you cook the kids is fine.”
“Peanuh-butter toast!” Liam exclaimed.
“I can definitely make that for you, handsome,” I said, grinning. I was trying my best not to show the kids that I was afraid. I needed to make sure that they always felt safe.
I set out to make breakfast just before my phone rang. I lunged for it, desperate to pick it up when I saw my father’s name on the screen. I answered it and held the phone to my ear as Evan watched me closely, and tears rose to my eyes as he began to talk.
“They got him, sweetheart. The police have him in custody.”
“Are you serious? You’re absolutely sure? When did they find him?” I asked.
Evan got out of his seat and walked toward me with a look of relief on his face.
“About an hour ago. He was twenty minutes outside of Bozeman. They chased him down from the mountain and found him in a cheap motel. It’s over, baby girl,” my father said.
Tears of happiness brewed in my eyes as I turned my back to the kids.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“He’ll be put into a maximum-security prison somewhere in Kansas. Tossed into a solitary hole where he’ll never see the light of day again. You won’t ever have to think about him another day in your life.”
I sank to my knees as relief cascaded over my body. I felt Evan dip down and wrap his arms around me, and I cried with my father still on the phone. I could tell he was crying as well, his voice trembling as he continued to talk. But I wasn’t paying attention to a word he was saying anymore.
All I was doing was rejoicing as I pressed myself into Evan’s body.
“Thank you for letting me know, Dad. I’ll talk with you later,” I said.
“I love you, Mel,” he said.
“Love you, too.”
Evan helped me off the floor and cleaned up my teary eyes, then he guided me over to the couch so I could sit.
“Let me handle breakfast. You just sit and rest,” he said.
Sitting and resting turned into a nap and, once I woke up, the kids were down for theirs. I slept through breakfast and lunch, and as I craned my neck over the couch I saw Evan putting away clean dishes.