Page 52 of Small Town Sizzle

I clear my throat, realizing that I should have taken a little bit longer to collect myself. I’m still in fight-or-flight. My body still doesn’t feel safe enough. With good reason, but Garrett doesn’t know that. I can’t allow Jaz to see me panic.

I take another few deep breaths, closing my eyes, grabbing the arm of the couch Jaz is sitting on, and focusing on how the upholstery feels in my hand. Bringing myself back to this moment.

Garrett hesitates, his expression neutral, then lifts his hands slightly as if in surrender. “I was just—”

I hold up a hand, stopping him from speaking. I know that, while I’m in this panic mode of not really knowing what happened and if my daughter is okay, that it doesn’t matter what he says. I just need for Jaz to tell me what happened and to see that she’s okay. My gaze flicks back to Jaz, who looks away, her cheeks streaked with tears.

Garrett’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t say a word. He steps back further, giving me room to kneel in front of Jazlyn.

“Aunt Maya,” Alex’s voice comes from behind, startling me. I glance back to see him standing in the doorway, his face tight with anger and fear. “Devon was here.”

The blood drains from my face so fast it feels like the ground has shifted beneath me.

I whip back to Jazlyn. “Devon? He was here?”

She nods, tears spilling down her cheeks as her voice trembles. “I—I didn’t see him at first. I just heard his voice, and then he saw…and I—I couldn’t…” Her words dissolve into a fresh wave of sobs.

My chest constricts as I pull her into my arms, holding her tight. Her body shakes against mine, and I close my eyes, fighting back the memories that flood me like a tidal wave.

Of course, Devon would show up now, after Greta’s gone. She would never admit it, but I always had suspicions that she was the reason that he finally stayed gone for good.

He always had a way of appearing where he wasn’t wanted, when he could do the most damage. Restraining orders are good, in theory, but they’re just a piece of paper that someone can walk through.

And he sees it as an Olympic sport.

“He didn’t do anything, did he?” I ask softly, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady.

“No,” Alex answers before Jaz can. “I went to him as soon as I saw him. Mr. Ethan did, too. He told him that he would call the sheriff if he didn’t leave.”

My grip on Jazlyn tightens as I let out a shaky breath.

It hadn’t been so easy the last time I’d kicked Devon out. He’d come at me in a way that still haunts my dreams, fists raised, rage blazing in his eyes. Jazlyn had come home from school early that day—she came in first and saw what was happening. He’d grabbed her and held the knife to her throat. My dad had picked her up from school, but when I hadn’t comeinto work, Greta had also come to the house at the same time to check on me. If it hadn’t been for the two of them, Jaz and I would probably be dead.

It was a week after my sister died, and Alex was at a friend’s house. The memory burns in my mind, raw and vivid. Jazlyn has been terrified that day—for herself and me. She’s never said it out loud, but I know that fear of losing me is something she carries, buried deep.

I glance over my shoulder at Garrett, who stands near the wall, silent and observing. I can see the tension in his shoulders, the concern etched in his expression.

Not everyone is a monster, Maya. Chill out. Garrett is a good man.

George wouldn’t allow him to be near Jaz if Garrett had done something to her.

“Are you okay?” I ask Jazlyn, brushing her hair back from her damp cheeks.

She nods against my shoulder but doesn’t speak.

Alex moves closer. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t come back,” he says, his voice low and dangerous.

I look up at him, my heart breaking at the weight he carries. He’d nearly quit football after that last incident with Devon, convinced he had to stay home to protect me and Jazlyn. It took everything I had to persuade him to keep playing, to let me handle things my way.

“I appreciate you, buddy. This is something that I or the police need to handle.”

He nods, his gaze flicking to Garrett before returning to me.

“I called the sheriff already and let him know he’s back in town,” Ethan interjects as he comes up to us. He gestures for me to follow him. Garrett takes my place with Jaz while I follow Ethan away from the kids.

“Thanks, Ethan.”

“He said he was looking for you.”

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