Page 44 of Vows of Murder

“Being in law enforcement is a dangerous position. For both the officer and their spouse.” Esmeralda met my gaze and for a second, I froze.

I hadn’t even thought about what might happen to Greg. I worried, yes, but over time, his job had started to seem normal to me. At least, normal if you worked all the time and had to deal with crimes and criminals. Had I ever even considered what being Mrs. Greg King would be like, besides the name change and the way itlooked on stationery? “I guess this is the for-better-or-worse part of the vowsthis weekend.”

“I wondered if that part of the decision had hit you yet.” Esmeralda hugged me. “It wasn’t Greg today. Just be thankful for that and be there for Dona. I’ll seeyou tomorrow.”

“Oh, one more favor? After your client can you check in on Emma? I might be home by then, but if I’m not?”

Esmeralda hugged me. “Of course. That’s not a favor. I love Emma.”

I went back to sit with Dona and took out the book I was trying to read. Typically, a book could keep me out of my own head for a while. After I read the same page three times, I tucked it away in my purse. I also put one in Dona’s tote. Just in case she needed something to get through the night.

Then I sat and thought about my future. About our future.

* * * *

Greg was home by the time I pulled in the drive. I’d waited with Dona while they moved Tim to his room, then I’d left her with magazines, snacks, and a couple of drinks from the gift shop. I’d even put in a pen and a pretty notebook in case she wanted to write down instructions from the doctor. Hospitals always gave you tons of paperwork when you were discharged, but there was always one thing the doctor said that wasn’t on the hundred and thirty-two pages that I then promptly forgot. I’d wake up days later in the middle of the night and realize I hadn’t been using a four by six bandage or I’d wrapped the incision wrong after I cleaned it.

But maybe that was just me.

I dropped my keys and tote on the foyer table as I came inside the bright house. I thought the house had never looked so welcoming. Emma ran from the kitchen to greet me, and I sank my face into her soft ruff. I felt the tears before I realized I was crying.

“Hey, what’s the matter? I called and talked to his doctor at the hospital. Tim’s fine. A little sore but he’ll be back to work in a few weeks.” Greg had followed Emma out to the living room to greet me, and now pulled me to my feet and into a hug. He wipedmy tears away with a kitchen towel that announced it belonged to a farm-to-fork kitchen.

“I don’t know. It was just, something Esmeralda said about how dangerous your job is and I got to thinking about it and I’m just glad you’re not hurt or worse.” I said it all fast, hoping to get it out before I self-edited my words. I rubbed my face. “Sorry, I think this week has just been a bitoverwhelming.”

He studied me. “Are you sorry we got married?”

I sank into a chair when we reached the kitchen. “No. Not at all. I think I’m just realizing what that means for our future. I knew you were in police work. I just boxed up all the dangerous parts and painted over the seams with South Cove magic. Then when Tim got shot, the box blew wide open. I’m fine. You’re fine. We’re fine. I’m just being emotional.”

“First responders have a higher divorce rate than the national average. It’s not just the time away from each other. It’s the what-could-happen factor. I guess I figured we were past that since we’ve been living together.” He put the teakettle on the stove.

“Me too. But something about seeing Dona tonight just kind of broke me. She looked so sad. So fragile.” I took his hand. “I’m really glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” He set out two cups and put tea bags in them. “So I’ll break my rule about not talking about open cases and tell you about the welfare check today. The guy you sent me from the Facebook group called in the request for his son. But from his post, I think it was more of a challenge to see if we’d even checkup on the kid.”

“Yeah, I got that too.” I stood and grabbed my notebook and pushed it toward him. “There’s a list of all the people who have been posting about New Hope. I’ve crossed off the ones who are dead now and added any other relatives who might have taken up the cause. Beth has a lot of information about New Hope as an organization. I put in a call to Anya, but I haven’t heard back. I saw her on the news report. I guess she’s busywith the kids.”

“She said to tell you she’d call tomorrow and congrats on the wedding.” He turned off the stove when the teakettle began to scream. He poured the hot water over the tea bags and set the cups on the table.

I reached for the honey and added it to my cup. “If my kid was taken away from me, I’d do anything to get him or her back.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing.” He glanced at my list. “Have you talked to Molly lately? I called the hotel she was staying at and they saidshe moved out.”

I was backed into a corner. I couldn’t ignore a direct question. I think it was in our marriage contract somewhere. Amanda was going to kill me. And Molly. “She’s staying in Bakerstown now. She and Vince got into an argument.”

Greg’s eyes narrowed. “Does she want topress charges?”

“I said an argument. How did you get from that to assault?” I didn’t look at him, focusing instead on dunking my tea bag.

“I know why my mom divorced him. Jim and I both know. We were days away from doing an intervention when she called and told me he’d moved out and she was filing the paperwork. I think she wanted to protect herself, just in case he didn’t get the point.” Greg squeezed the water out of his tea bag and set it on a paper napkin. “Jim and I visited him later that day and explained the facts of life. I didn’t hit him. But I’ve never wanted to smash in someone’s face so bad. I know, it’s not what you want to hear from the man youjust married.”

“Actually, I was afraid that if you found out, you’d go after him. We all know the stats on abusers. They don’t just stop hitting women. I don’t think Molly’s going to press charges, but we should watch him just in case he doesn’ttake the hint.”

“He’s an idiot.” He looked up from his tea. “SoMolly’s okay?”

“She’s shaken up and has a black eye.” I sipped my tea. It was nice being home. Telling Greg everything. It had been a crazy day. “Oh, I asked Esmeralda to look into Vince’s background.Just in case.”

“And she wasn’t supposed to tell me, right?”

---