Page 73 of Found By You
Mom had outdone herself again, with a spread that covered nearly every inch of the table; fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and her famous buttermilk biscuits that melted in your mouth. Of course she’d called a family dinner; the whole family was concerned about the situation with Azalea.
Azalea sat across from me, laughing at something Kayla had said. Her red hair caught the golden light, making it look like fire. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. It seemed impossible that less than a week ago, she’d been a stranger I’d found on the side of the road. Now, she was practically part of the family, joking with my siblings like she’d known them forever.
Canyon reached across the table for the butter, accidentally knocking over Damon’s glass of lemonade.
“For Pete’s sake,” my mother scolded, but she was smiling as she mopped up the mess with a handful of napkins.
“Sorry, Mom,” Canyon said, not looking sorry at all.
My father cleared his throat. “So, tell us about the meeting with the FBI agents. Anything new?”
The mood shifted slightly.
Azalea glanced at me before answering. “They identified the man who shot at us in Denver,” she said, her voice steady despite the subject. “His name is Manuel Diaz. Apparently, he’s high up in the trafficking organization.”
“And he’s still out there,” I added, trying to keep my tone neutral. I didn’t want to frighten my family, but they needed to know the truth. “They think he might come looking for Azalea.”
Mom’s hand flew to her mouth.
“That’s why we have Agent Thompson stationed here in Refuge Falls,” Damon said, his police chief voice taking over. “And we’ve increased patrols throughout town.”
Azalea nodded. “They wanted me to go into witness protection. Maybe I should have. I don’t want to put all of you at risk.” She stared at her food.
“But she’s safer here.” I took her hand
There was quiet for a moment.
“Azalea,” my father said, “We do want you here, we’re a tough town.”
“Yes,” Noah agreed.
“We’re not afraid,” Kayla nodded.
“There’s no better place for you than Refuge Falls,” Canyon said quietly.
My mother got up and hugged Azalea, she pulled back with tears in her eyes. “You’re part of our family now and we will protect you.”
“Thank you all,” Azalea said.
Ella hugged her next. “Hey, I know that this old lug found you,” she said pointing to me, “but I helped put you back together in the hospital and no one gets to hurt you again.”
Azalea blinked rapidly and hugged her again. “Thank you.”
The conversation shifted to lighter topics; Dylan’s work in Denver, Kayla’s latest real estate listing, Noah and Ella’s baby’s first attempts at crawling. After a bit, everyone stood to go home.
One by one, my siblings said their goodbyes. Noah and Ella left first, citing the baby’s bedtime. Damon and Isla followed shortly after, with Canyon offering to drop Kayla off on his way home.
Dylan was the last to leave, pausing to give Azalea a quick hug. “Welcome to the family chaos,” he told her. “I’m going to see Eliza, but I’ll be back later.” He winked and then headed out.
Soon, it was just Azalea, my parents, and me on the wide porch that wrapped around the house.
The night had cooled considerably, and Mom brought out a quilt for Azalea to drape over her shoulders. The rocking chairs creaked softly as we all settled into them, facing the view of the lake below.
“It’s so peaceful here,” Azalea said softly. “I can see why you never left, McCrae.”
“He did leave, for a while,” my father said. “Marine Corps. Six years.”
Azalea turned to me, surprise in her eyes. “You never mentioned that.”
