Page 49 of Take Me Home for Christmas

Somehow, they’d already made it as far as the sheriff’s Bronco. Hollister opened the back door and gestured for Everett to get in.

“You’re arresting me?” Everett demanded to know. Not that he was surprised. Kitty had every right to press charges.

The sheriff stared at him long and hard. “From the looks of it, you are punishing yourself enough.”

Kitty maintained her death grip on Everett’s arm as she climbed into the backseat, dragging him inside with her. “You need to be someplace quiet,” she told him. “He’s taking us back to the inn.”

He forced himself to meet her gaze. There was no pity there. Only steady determination.

“You don’t have to come.” He hated his cruel tone. Except he couldn’t bear to hurt this woman any more than he already had. To burden her with the ghosts that haunted him.

“No. I don’t have to.” She slid her hand down his arm, then interlocked their fingers. “I want to.”

The gym owner took the passenger seat while the sheriff got behind the wheel. The sea of pedestrians strolling Chances Inlet’s waterfront parted to allow the SUV through. Five minutes later, they arrived back at the inn. Patricia met them at the front door, a baby on her hip.

“Everything okay?” she asked her husband.

The sheriff leaned down to kiss the baby on the forehead before brushing a kiss on his wife’s lips. “Nothing that a good cup of your tea won’t cure.”

Some sort of silent communication transpired between the two before Patricia nodded.

“I was just about to put the kettle on. Would you join me in the kitchen, Kitty? Hazel and I are making popcorn balls.” She grinned widely at the baby. “She’s really not much help, though. I could use an extra set of hands.”

Kitty seemed reluctant to release his hand. Everett wasn’t sure he wanted to be alone with the two men in the foyer. It was cowardly to use her as a human shield, though. And he was confident he could brazen it out. After all, he’d been doing it for years.

With a nod, he unwound his fingers from hers. Kitty surprised the crap out of him when she leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. “I’m not leaving until we talk,” she whispered before following Patricia in the direction of the kitchen.

The sheriff cleared his throat. “The study should be unoccupied this time of night.”

“So not an arrest, but an intervention,” Everett quipped as he sauntered down the hall.

The gym owner made a growling noise. Sheriff Hollister ignored him as he closed them inside the small room. The sheriff dug into the bar cabinet and pulled out a single glass.

“Funny,” he said as he filled it with a finger of whiskey. “This bottle was full when you arrived, West.”

Everett let the comment lie.

“To hear Elle tell it, you always have a glass in your hand,” the sheriff continued. “Yet the bottle is still nearly full.”

The man was observant—Everett had to give him that. If he was in the habit of allowing people in his life, he’d choose a man like Lamar Hollister for a friend. Only his brokenness forced him to keep people at a distance. He thought he had a shot at something normal with Kitty. Except he’d blown that this evening. She was simply being kind by sticking around.

“People see what they want to see,” he told the sheriff. “When they see a drunk, they usually leave ’em alone.”

Hollister nodded appreciatively as he handed Everett the whiskey. “That’s a tactic I haven’t heard of before.”

Everett shrugged as he sipped his drink.

“I mentioned our veteran’s support group to you once before.” The sheriff jutted his chin in the direction of the gym owner. “Xander hosts it at the Ship’s Iron Gym. Our regulars include a former Navy SEAL, a few medics, artillery, Rangers and even some Coast Guard. We’ve all been where you were tonight. Some of us still fight those demons. I’m telling you this so you know you’re not alone. And you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Says you!

“It helps to have a place where you can go and shoot the shit, knowing everyone there will understand. No one will judge,” he continued. “You’re always welcome to join us.”

Everett swallowed roughly. Hell would freeze over before he bared his soul to a room full of strangers.

“Seeing as I’m not a veteran, I don’t see how your little group applies to me,” he said.

“Wow. You are one tough nut to crack,” Xander said, his tone curt.

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