Page 31 of Clara's Secure Hideaway

“So you haven’t slept?”

He shook his head and hoisted the mug in the air. “Running on adrenaline and caffeine. Though both are about gone.”

She smiled then winced and pressed her fingertips to her split lip.

Heath set his coffee on the little stand beside the chair and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I agreed with what you said last night about staying here. Mrs. Collins and the rest of the volunteers are equipped to deal with a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean they should have to. Add to that Mitch’s desperation, and I think it’s best for you and the kids to stay somewhere else.”

A tightness in her chest had her running the heel of her palm over her heart. He was right, hell, she’d known it was true the moment the words had left her mouth the night before, but that didn’t make leaving the shelter any easier. She had no family, her home wasn’t safe, and she didn’t have enough money to stay anywhere for more than a night or two. Her options were limited, and stepping away from the one place that had brought her a sense of peace and safety would be like a dying man walking away from salvation.

“I’ll figure something out,” she said. “Hell, I’ll borrow a tent and take the kids camping for a while if that’s what it takes.”

“Although I’m sure the kids would love that, why don’t we save that for a fun weekend sometime instead of a scenario ripped from an 80s horror film?”

She snorted out a laugh at the ridiculousness of her thought. “Okay, so hiding alone in the middle of the woods might not be the best idea but I don’t have many other options.”

“First off, you won’t be alone. Not if you don’t want to be.” He rubbed his palms together as he stared at her, the deep ravines across his forehead broadcasting his concern.

Tingles of awareness tap danced up her spine. “I won’t?”

The side of his mouth lifted, making her stomach dip. “I already told you, I’m here with you.”

As much as she wanted that, craved his nearness, she couldn’t ask him to babysit her and her kids. Besides, he had a job to do. “As much as I appreciate that, and I know you mean it, you can’t be with me every second of every day until Mitch is caught.”

“Says who?”

“Well, the sheriff for one.”

He shrugged. “I’ve got plenty of vacation time built up. The department can spare me for a few days until things are sorted. Heck, maybe we can even find time to squeeze in some camping.”

Not even the pain in her lip could smother her smile. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t. I offered. Besides, it’d make me feel better to know you’re not alone. The only problem is that Mitch knows where I live. He knows we’ve spent some time together. He might look for you there.”

Her smile dropped. “Then where do we go?”

“I want to take you all to my mom’s house.”

Nothing he could have said would have shocked her more. “Excuse me?”

He wrinkled his nose. “I know it sounds weird. She lives in Water’s Edge, but Mitch won’t know that. Her home is big enough to hold all of us, and she’ll love the company.”

She snorted. “She’ll love a troubled woman and her two small children invading her home? I highly doubt she’d want that.”

Something changed in his expression, a pained look that came and left so quickly she might have imagined it. He lifted his gaze to look slightly above her head, the wheels spinning in his brain clear as day, before finally focusing on her again. “My mom would love nothing more than helping you and your children because she’s been in your shoes before.”

Okay. So, she’d been wrong. He did have more shocking things to share. “What?”

“My mom and I moved to Water’s Edge when I was about Davey’s age. My father abused her for years, and after he set his sights on me, she took off. Left everything and everyone behind to start over. It took the kindness of more than one stranger to help her get on her feet. She’s never forgotten that. She wants to do the same for you, Davey, and Avery.”

Unshed tears clogged her throat. So many women shared her story. And even when the bruises vanished and the memoires faded, survivors stood together. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose. And I’d hate to think my presence could put a target on your mother.”

“You’re never an imposition, and the only person wearing a target right now is Mitch.”

Clara wanted to believe him, but one thing he said was far from the truth. Mitch wasn’t the only one with a target. She had a giant bullseye on her back.

* * *

With Clara’sbags in hand, Heath led her and the kids up the sidewalk to his mother’s house. Her cozy ranch in the center of town might not seem the best place to hide a woman and her family, but it was the best he could come up with.

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