Page 53 of Kissing Her Rescuer

What the hell was he doing here?

Cameron handed off his phone to Nash and began to roll up his sleeves. “Which one do you want, Dewey?” He had way too much pleasure in his voice for it to be good for Tommy or Zach. Dewey could fight. But Cameron could knock a man out with a single punch.

“Neither.” Dewey crossed his arms and watched the two low life idiots beat the crap out of each other. “Because if I have to start pounding on either one of those suckers, I might not stop.” At Cameron's confusion, he continued. “That other guy is Zach.”

Cameron's eyes widened before turning into slits, watching the fight.

Hudson came to stand beside Dewey. “Aren't you, you know, supposed to break up fights?”

Several other audience members of the “jackass versus jackass” entertainment obviously wondered the same thing based on their curious looks.

“That's Eliza's ex-husband. For once, I'm hoping Tommy isn't too drunk to inflict some serious damage.” They both winced when Tommy landed a solid kick below the belt. “Like that.”

Zach fell to his knees, yelling something about Tommy cheating.

Cameron popped Dewey on the chest. “Okay. Now it's our cue.”

“You didn't call our department, did you? I really don't want to deal with either one in the holding cells.”

“Nope. State Patrol will be here in a few minutes.” Cameron walked toward Zach like he had all day. Zach looked up, maybe recognized Eliza's cousin, and then he said something too low for Dewey to hear.

And then Cameron laid Zach out on the gravel parking lot. One punch to the jaw.

Grayson, leaning on his motorcycle parked near the group, chuckled. “Damn.”

A few members of the crowd clapped, some others whispered, probably questioning why the same man that hit Zach now had his hands behind his back, reading him his Miranda Rights. Dewey hauled Tommy to his feet, doing the same.

Tommy shook his head. “Man, you should be thanking me.”

“For the names you called Eliza? No. Arresting you instead of finishing the job myself is my thanks.”

The State Patrol arrived on the scene, carting away the two men while giving curious sideways glances at Cameron.

Dewey led the way back inside Rhonda's, straight to the large room in the back. He paced the room, unable to keep still. Eliza didn't need this complication. She probably didn't even realize Zach was back in town. How could she?

They'd gotten to a good place in their relationship. She'd accepted the car and had started to let him do small things for Carrie, like buy her a bike and call it a late Christmas present that Santa must have forgotten. And Zach had to come into town, making noise for no other reason than to ruin the peace.

No way Dewey would let the idiot even close to Carrie.

To no one in particular, Dewey started with his only explanation for Zach's sudden appearance. “He's here to cause trouble. The lawyer already said it's an open and shut case. He sent a letter to Zach, telling him of his parental rights being released and the court date set in two weeks.” His mind struggled to come out of the fog of aggression. He passed Cameron and Nash, standing to the side. Grayson was somewhere in the room because he heard his low murmur to Hudson.

Dewey continued. “Eliza doesn't think he's dangerous. I do. Anyone that puts their hands on a woman once will do it again. One of us needs to stay with both Eliza and Carrie the whole time until we know he's back in Alabama for good.”

Hugh stopped Dewey with a stiff hand on his shoulder. “I let her down once. I won't do it again. But if he even tries to mess with Carrie...”

With his gaze sharp and focused, Hugh kept his voice oddly calm. “Boy, don't go off half-cocked. It was never your fault. I appreciate your commitment to my daughter and Carrie, but you're not alone in this.” He scanned the room. “You may all be a bunch of overgrown kids that might someday mature into actual adults, but I know there's not one of you that wouldn't protect someone in this family. Because that's what you have right here.” He squeezed Dewey's shoulder. “And God help anyone that tries to mess with this dysfunctional group.”

“I need a damn beer,” Grayson mumbled, breaking the silence and getting unanimous approval. Dewey needed more than that now. He needed his hands on Eliza. To see Carrie. To know they were both his. Safe. How to handle the future remained unclear.

Eliza had his heart. Carrie had his soul. But he wouldn't survive if he laid it out for Eliza, and she rejected him again, no matter what the circumstances were the first time.

Marshall walked back into the room, carrying a bucket of beer. “Sorry for the delay. I had to talk to a client, and I stepped out back.” He scanned the faces around him. “Dang. What did I miss?”

17

Eliza sat down on the arm of the sofa. After being home for the past seven months, the memory of her mom's voice echoing throughout the house had faded. The pain she'd felt at first now replaced by sweet warmth. Most of the time.

She hopped off the arm as quickly as she'd sat down.

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