Page 69 of Refuge for Cherilyn

He was so thankful for his parents. Leslie and Johnny had welcomed Cherilyn and her girls with open arms, and they’d been great for helping keep Candace moving forward. She was still unhappy about going to school, but Leslie had offered to pick her and Maya up a couple of days a week and take them somewhere fun, so that helped.

When dinner was finished and Cherilyn had helped Leslie clean up, they all headed home. They’d no more than walked in the front door when Shaw’s phone rang. “Hey!”

“Hey there. Wanted you to know… Looks like Talbot may be on the move,” the Texas FBI agent said.

“To here?”

“We’re not sure. Somebody caught him on camera at a rest stop near the Tennessee state line outside Bowling Green. Since we have no idea where he might be going, I wanted to give you a heads up.”

“Yeah, thanks. Talked to Aaron?”

“Dax is talking to him right now. And Shaw?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful. This guy is dangerous.”

“Roger that. Thanks, Cruz.”

“You’re welcome. Call me if you hear or see anything.”

“Will do. Bye.” Shaw stood there, phone still in his hand. Now what? His phone rang again and he hit the button. “Cruz just called me.”

“I’m asking Carly to put somebody on your house again. I just think it’s a good idea.”

“I’d appreciate that. Please tell her thanks in advance from me.”

“Will do. By the way, Maisey said the girls had fun today.”

“I think they did. I know mine came back looking like a whole new woman! And I’m not complaining. She looked great before, and she looks great now.” There wasn’t another soul around and Shaw was still grinning like a loon. “Please tell Maisey that I said thanks for being such a good friend to Cherilyn. I really appreciate it.”

“Maisey’s glad to have a friend, and Cherilyn’s a good one. You found the right woman, buddy. You’re a lucky man.”

“Thanks. Oh, I’m getting her a car! She doesn’t know it yet, so I’m guessing we’ll be seeing you soon for dinner. She’ll want to show it off.”

“Good deal! Sounds good. Take care, and if you need anything, just call.”

“Will do, bud. Thanks again. Later.”

He spun to find Cherilyn staring at him. “Is something wrong?”

“Uh, no. Not really. Just Aaron and Cruz, checking in. Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good. I bought some ice cream. Want some before bedtime?”

“Yes, ma’am. Sounds good. I forgot something in my truck. Be right back.” Shaw headed out the back door and didn’t look back.

Thoughts were zipping through his mind so fast that he was almost dizzy, and when he reached his truck, he leaned against it and sighed. Talbot was moving around somewhere, and that had him worried. If they could just get a jump on him, Shaw could stop worrying about the situation. He wanted to talk to Cherilyn about making their relationship permanent, but not until that was behind them. Would it ever be?

Once the house was dark and quiet, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in against him, listening to her sigh and feeling her relax against him. Their lovemaking had gone from something frantic and wild to something that made him feel whole and loved. It was intense and passionate, but there was an element of sweetness to it that was beyond anything he’d ever had with Morgan. When he was inside her, he felt like the luckiest man alive.

Fuck WarrenTalbot. There was no way Shaw was going to allow that motherfucker to take away what he’d found in Cherilyn’s arms.

CHAPTER10

He was packinghis travel mugs into his bag when the phone rang three days later, and when he saw the number, he grabbed it and hit ACCEPT. “Yeah.”

“We’ve got a problem.” Shaw could feel his blood turning icy at Aaron’s words. “Cruz and Dax are on their way here. Got a call earlier. MarlonTravis.”

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