Page 53 of Shattered Sanctuary

She looked up to find Chester staring at her. When she locked eyes with him, she gasped. It was as if in that moment, something passed between them that was beyond words. Beyond description. Chester stepped away from his food bowl and came up close to her. Somehow Erin knew she shouldn’t move. Then he licked her face. Just one small lick, then he backed up and went back to his bowl. But in that moment, Erin knew. This dog was going to be hers. They belonged together.

“Are you all right?”

Kaely’s voice startled her. Erin realized tears were streaming down her face. She got to her feet and grabbed a tissue from the box on the small desk in the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, fighting to keep her voice steady.

Kaely stared at her for a moment before saying, “No, you’re not, Erin. You’ve locked your emotions into a room you don’t want to go into. But they’re beginning to leak out. The door to that room can’t hold them back any longer. That’s why we need to talk. I’m not a therapist, but I’ve been where you are.” She walked up to Erin and took her hands. “I’m not going to tell you what to do—or judge you. I’m just going to listen to you. Let you unburden yourself. I’ve found opening that door is the first step to healing.”

“Why is this so hard?” Erin asked, her voice trembling.

“Oh, my dear friend.” Kaely squeezed her hands gently. “Trust is so hard. Too many times that trust is betrayed. We become afraid that it will happen again.” She sighed. “Your experience with Scott made things so much worse.”

Scott. The man who told me he loved me and then cheated with the woman I thought was my friend? The man I watched die right in front of me? Begging for my help?

“You were dealing with that hurt when Scott was killed, and you’ve also had to deal with the little girl who died. It’s too much, Erin. Too much for anyone.”

“There were people on the force who tried to help me,” Erin said, wiping her face again. “But I felt worthless ... embarrassed for not being strong enough.”

“So you left everyone behind, not just because you couldn’t trust them, but because you couldn’t trust yourself.”

“I killed an innocent young girl. What kind of a police officer does that?” Erin realized she’d raised her voice. She looked down to see Chester staring at her, as if confused by her reaction. She reached down again and put her hand on his head. This time he didn’t pull away.

“Look, Erin,” Kaely said softly, “you didn’t murder anyone. It was an accident. Someone tried to kill you. You fired back. Why don’t you pretend it was someone else who fired that bullet? What if it had been Scott? Would you have told him he murdered someone?”

Kaely’s words made sense, but guilt still grabbed her heart with its cold, deadly hands and squeezed. If it wasn’t for her, little Sarah Foster would still be alive.

Kaely let go of Erin’s hands. “Look, let’s take Chester outside, then we’ll come back and talk, okay?” Kaely tooka long leather belt and looped it around Chester’s collar. “Next chance we get, we need to get this guy a new collar. It’s pretty worn.”

“I’ll take him,” Erin said, reaching for the belt.

“Okay. I’ll warm up our chocolate—and our popcorn.” She smiled. “Your box of Mallomars is still on the table. Meet you in the living room in a few minutes.”

Erin nodded and led Chester to the front door. He seemed to be fine with the belt leash. Erin let it go while she put on her coat and then picked it up again. She opened the door, and they went outside. Erin didn’t want to wander too far from the house, especially since it was so cold and it was beginning to snow harder. Thankfully, Chester didn’t take long. They were headed back to the house when suddenly they were surrounded by the headlights of a vehicle that turned on its engine, backed up, and drove away from the house.

THIRTY-SIX

Adrian was fielding a lot of calls from worried residents about the storm. The department had tried to get information out to the public before the weather turned bad, but it seemed there were quite a few people who hadn’t paid much attention.

Now it was all hands on deck, especially for him. His school resource officers were busy working with the local schools, and his other officers were out checking on residents and businesses, making certain everyone was prepared for bad weather. They’d set up three locations that could house anyone who lost their electricity. City Hall and two local churches had backup generators. They were prepared to take in anyone who might need help. The general store had sold out of water, ice melt, batteries, and other essentials. More supplies had been brought in from the big-box store on the edge of town. As far as Adrian could tell, the town should be pretty well equipped to weather the storm. But still, the calls came. Many folks were asking the police for weather updates. They tried to patiently explain that they weren’t meteorologists, but that didn’t seem to help. Tempers werefrayed, and officers were exhausted. For now, everyone was on call, which kept officers from taking care of their own families.

Several times he’d wanted to call Erin and Kaely to make sure they were okay, but he hadn’t gotten a break yet. Since they were both ex-law enforcement and armed, equipped with a generator, and stocked with supplies, he had no choice but to prioritize calls from residents who were in situations that were much more dire.

Still, he was having a hard time keeping them out of his mind. Especially Erin. Her deep green eyes seemed to follow him wherever he went.

“I can’t get Adrian,” Kaely said. “His cell phone just keeps going to voicemail.”

“I’m sure he’s really busy with the approaching storm,” Erin said. “I remember in St. Louis when the weather forecast was bad, we’d be inundated with calls. When people are worried or frightened, they call the police, even when we couldn’t really do anything for them other than to tell them what supplies they needed or where the shelters were.” She sighed. “Look, the guy could have pulled over to check his map or something. There’s no use worrying about some random guy. Our doors are locked. You’re armed. And a storm’s coming. We’re fine.”

“I guess so. Still, having someone parked outside the house after those murders is a little disconcerting. And this is the second time it’s happened.”

“I know.”

“Did you happen to see what kind of car it was?” Kaely asked.

Erin shook her head. “I think it was dark. Maybe a pickup? I can’t be sure. The lights blinded me, and by the time whoever it was turned around, I still couldn’t see very well through the snow.”

They were back in the living room. Kaely had warmed up the hot chocolate and put the popcorn in the microwave for a few seconds. Chester was back on his blanket by the fire, snoozing away. Kaely had the feeling he was simply worn out, and now that he had a place to sleep for the night and food to eat, his problems were behind him. As far as Kaely was concerned, he could stay until they left. She was a little worried about what would happen to him after that, but she had a strong feeling that Chester had just found a new home with Erin. Kaely was so happy that Chester had come along. He was just what Erin needed. Someone who would love her no matter what—and who would help her through the trauma she’d endured. Some people called dogs angels. Of course, they weren’t, but right now she might not have been too surprised if Chester suddenly grew a pair of wings.

---