Page 23 of Shelter for Sharla

“A break-off from a gang in Texas. I’d say loose cannons.” Carter reached across the small dining table and took Sharla’s hand. “Do you have some form of protection here? A gun? Mace? Pepper spray?”

“I’ve got an old gun. I don’t know much about it, and I’ve never used it. It was my dad’s.” Sharla squeezed Carter’s hand. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared at least a little.”

“And you should be, but I’m going to do everything I can to find out what’s going on and make sure you and the kids are safe. I’ll look at the gun, figure out if it’s okay, take you to the range to practice. You need to be prepared to protect yourself if necessary.”

“What about the kids?”

“I have no idea what to do about them, but I’ll figure it out.” Carter’s mind was going in a million directions, but his primary thought was to keep them safe, although he had no idea how to do that with two kids on a college campus, a place he didn’t think was particularly safe to start with. “I’ve got an FBI guy coming up from Texas to help me sift through information and see what we can find.” Well, at least Cruz thought he’d get to come. Carter hoped he hadn’t just lied to Sharla. “For now, just be super vigilant.”

“I will. God, Carter, this is a mess. I can’t believe this. Until just a few days ago, we had normal lives, a good family… What’s going to happen to us?”

“You’re going to be fine, and we’ll get through this.”

“You said ‘we’ll get through this.’ Are you…” She stopped and tipped her head, her eyes questioning.

“Yes. I plan to be here. I’m not going anywhere. Do you want this, us, to move forward?” Sharla nodded. “Then I think we need to be honest with the kids, not just for their safety, but so they know they have someone else they can trust. I’m sure they feel like the rug’s been pulled out from under them.”

“They do. Chelsea told me on Sunday that she was so sad she couldn’t think. We need help, Carter. We need somebody who can guide us through this.” A big silvery tear dripped down her cheek, and Carter swiped it away with his thumb.

“I’ll be here.” Taking her face in his hands, he tipped her head forward and kissed her on the forehead. “I care about you, Sharla, more than you know.”

“I, um, have feelings for you too.” Her gaze found his and Carter could see all the longing there, the loneliness and the weariness, and he suddenly found himself wanting to make it all disappear for her, to fix everything that had ever gone wrong and give her a good life. “Thank you.”

That surprised him a little. “For what?”

“For being the only man who’s ever been honest with me.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know how to be anything else.”

“Yeah, but you could’ve blamed what happened to Tamara on one of the other officers, and yet you were honest with me about your bullet being… Well, you know. About everything.”

“I’ll always be honest with you unless there’s a really good reason, like something I’m not supposed to talk to you about. And if that’s the case, I’ll tell you that too.” Without another word, he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

Sharla rose from the table, stepped to his side, and sat down on his lap. Something about that simple action made Carter feel ten feet tall. He realized in that instant Sharla was delivering herself into his hands, and he was responsible for being a man she could count on and look up to.

CarterMelton was up to the challenge. Everything he’d ever done in his life, all the struggles and disappointments and victories, they’d all led him to that moment, and he vowed to himself that he’d die before he’d screw up the relationship he was building with her. As his arms wrapped around her and pulled her tight against him, she sighed and snuggled in closer. “Carter?”

“Um-hmmm,” he murmured into her hair.

“The funeral is Wednesday afternoon. Is that going to be doable for you?”

“If it’s not, I’ll move things around until it is. I told you I’d be there, and I’ll be there for you, Chelsea, and Lionel. Whatever it takes, honey.”

“Thank you. Can you stay tonight?”

“I’ll have to get up super early tomorrow morning to get back home and get to work. Are you sure you want that?”

Her voice broke when she answered, “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Then I’m staying. I keep a few things in my car in case I have to stay with my mother overnight, so I’m good.”

“You stay with your mother sometimes?”

Carter nodded. “Yeah. She fell a while back and she’s been through a lot. Sometimes, if she’s having a hard time or needs some help, I stay over and do things for her. Not often, but after she gave me such a scare with her last fall, if I go to see her and I can tell she’s having a little trouble, I just stay.”

“Awwww.” Sharla stared up into his face and grinned. “Mama’s boy.”

“Yeah, well, if I’d fixed her banister when I should’ve, she wouldn’t have fallen.”

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