Page 39 of A Moon Lake Christmas Hero

“Hey.” Bailey, Jackson and Peter joined us—three Navy Seals who’d never met each other while in the teams. Jackson was our newest addition in town, and for the longest time, nobody even knew he’d been in the teams. Not until Lucas, a former teammate of Blake and Peter, positively ID’d him.

More and more of Carter and Hawk’s guys joined our circle.

I shook hands with Goofy and Peaches, and then turned around when Jake and Ryan stepped up.

They were twins, and both worked as EMTs in Whitebrook but were also members of the local SAR team. I’d invited them and hoped we would get some good information about the merit of our central-emergency-response-team idea.

The two females who joined us today were Tara Patterson, a kickass woman who owned a construction business in Stone Valley, which was just a town over, and one of her friends, whom I’d seen around but didn’t know by name.

I welcomed everyone, and we settled around the two pool tables Blake had in the back. Soon, there was a lively discussion going on about whether this was a viable idea and how everyone could contribute. Maybe it was the holiday season but everyone was more than eager to help our community.

As it turned out, Max was en route to become a certified EMT instructor, and Bailey had been a member of a volunteer SAR team before joining the Navy.

I was deep in conversation with Blake when Sharon, Blake’s waitress, hovered next to us.

Sharon was a lovely young woman. She was wearing a festive sweater with snowflakes, which made her look even younger, almost too young to be a single mom. She had the kind of natural beauty that paired with an endearing shyness, made your protective instincts soar.

Most of all, Lucas’s protective instincts.

Just one look across the room confirmed it. Lucas was acutely aware of her presence—not unlike I was every time I was around Erin.

“Sorry for the interruption, but Blake, could I talk to you for a sec?”

The Christmas music playing softly in the background almost made me miss her worried tone. Almost. I zeroed back on her, studied the worried expression on her face.

Blake nodded. “Sure thing.” He looked at me and back at her. “Alone?”

Sharon shook her head. “No, it’s just…there was some guy who asked about Erin earlier.” She shuffled her feet.

My stomach clenched as soon as she said Erin’s name, and I had to use all the self-control I could muster not to interrupt her.

“The oldies told him he could find her at Alan’s. I just…” She sighed.

“What is it?”

“Something was off, and the more I think about it, the more nervous I get. Something in the way he looked…”

I’d heard enough and was on the move. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. She’d told me there was nobody in her life. No lover, no family. But there was an ex. And someone had tinkered with her car, and I wouldn’t sit here and wait to see if that someone was a threat to her or not.

I was out of the bar and hightailing it out of the parking lot in under ten seconds.

At least the girls were with my mother and father.

The snow-covered roads made the drive even more treacherous, but I pressed on, knowing every second counted.

The Christmas lights strung along Main Street blurred past as I accelerated.

My phone rang, and I pushed the button to connect with the caller.

“Yo, what the hell happened?” It was Richard. But I was on speaker.

“Bailey, you there?” I asked.

“Yes, we all are.”

“Remember the brakes on Erin’s car?”

“Tampered with. Of course, I remember.”

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