Page 47 of Mountain Protector

“Do you think I’m a bad person?”

Shock widens her eyes. “No. Of course not. You were protecting our country.”

“Lark.” I soften my tone. “You were protecting yourself. As much as I hate even saying it, if you hadn’t shot him, he could have killed you. He almost did.”

“But…”

“If this happened to anyone else, if another woman was stalked—yes, that’s what it was—and woke up to find an intruder in her house, one whoshother, and she had a way to defend herself, what would you tell her?”

Lark swallows hard. “I’d tell her to defend herself.”

“Right.” Pausing, I kiss the damp spots on her cheeks, then brush a kiss across her salty lips. “You did the right thing. And think about it. If he went after you, he could have done it to other women, too. Could have killed them. So you weren’t just defending yourself. You were protecting them.”

“Do you really think that?”

“I do.” Holding Lark’s gaze, I tell her gently, butfirmly, “If I’m not a bad person for what I did, neither are you.”

She stares at me for several long seconds before she says quietly, “I know you’re a good person, Knox. So… I believe you.”

Oh.

My heart.

As she curls into my chest, tucking her head back beneath my chin, I have to blink back my own threatening tears. “You’re more than a good person, songbird. You’re brave and smart and wonderful. And every day I feel lucky to have met you.”

CHAPTER 11

LARK

It feels good to be out in the world again.

My spirits lift as we drive through downtown Bliss, past the storefronts with their windows fully decked out for Christmas. Books n’ Bliss has a Christmas tree made out of actual books on display, complete with colorful lights and literary character ornaments. And Blissful Brews has a life-sized Santa in their floor-to-ceiling window, his pack stuffed to bursting with cans and bottles of beer.

The lampposts are all wrapped with evergreen garland and finished off with bright red bows. Blow-mold reindeer and snowmen are scattered around the town park, and the towering pine tree in the center of it is all decorated and ready for the official tree-lighting this weekend.

With a fresh coating of white over everything from the snowfall last night, the little strip of downtownlooks like it’s been plucked straight from a Hallmark movie.

Even the people walking along the sidewalks look festive, all bundled up in bright hats and scarves, their arms loaded with shopping bags from the local stores. Despite the cold, most of them are smiling or enthusiastically chatting to their companions, their breath puffing out in silvery clouds.

It’s just how I imagined small-town Christmas would be.

Is it a little scary, too? Yes.

Even though I know there’s nothing to worry about, it’s still a little jarring being away from the cozy little cabin that became my haven for almost two weeks. I felt safe there, surrounded by a top-notch security system and a rotating guard of Knox and his teammates.

But there’s no reason for me to stay there anymore. Not with my case effectively closed and the man who?—

My stomach twists, sending a tiny wave of nausea through me.

Despite everything good going on—Christmas, a new group of friends, and most importantly, dating Knox—the reality of what happened that night still haunts me.

Despite all of Knox’s reassurances, it’s hard to escape the guilt.

I had my first counseling session yesterday, and the counselor told me it would get better in time. She said it’s hard to have perspective when everything is so fresh. When the memories are still so vivid. “But in time,” she promised, “you’ll come to terms with it. You’ll absolve yourself of the guilt. Because you didn’t doanything wrong, Lark. It’s just going to take time to truly believe it.”

“Hey, you okay?” Knox touches my leg, his expression creased with concern as he glances over at me.

Clamping down on the negative thoughts, I smile as I meet his gaze. “Yes. I’m good.”

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