Chapter 8
The sheriff arrived 10 minutes later.
He took one look at Ray.
One look at me.
One look at the knife and the bullet holes in the porch.
And sighed.
“Raymond Pike,” he said, shaking his head. “I should have known. We’ve been looking for this guy for three weeks. Skipped parole in Toledo. Suspected in three armed robberies.”
He cuffed Ray tighter.
“Add assault, breaking and entering, terroristic threats, and attempted murder to the list. He’s going away for a long time. Life, probably.”
They loaded Ray into the back of the squad car.
He was still out cold.
Good.
I didn’t want to look at him anymore.
The sheriff took our statements.
Told us we’d done good.
That we were heroes.
Then he left.
Sirens fading into the night.
Silence returned to the cabin.
But it was different now.
Lighter.
Calmer.
Mom came downstairs with the boys.
They’d stopped crying.
Fallen back asleep in her arms.
“Is it really over?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Really over.”
She let out a long breath.
Sat down on the couch.
“Thank God.”
Claire and I cleaned up the mess.
Righted the coffee table.
Swept up the broken glass.
Wiped the blood off the floor.
No one said much.
We were all too tired.
Too raw.
By 4 a.m., everything was back in order.
Mom went to bed.
Claire and I stood in the living room.
Alone.
She reached out.
Touched the bruise forming on my jaw.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not really.”
She smiled, a little sad.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know. Fight him. You could have let the guards handle it.”
I took her hand.
Pressed it to my face.
“Yes, I did. He was threatening my family. No one does that. No one.”
Her eyes glistened.
“Your family.”
I nodded.
“You. The boys. Mom. You’re all I have. All I’ve ever wanted.”
I pulled her close.
This time there was no phone.
No interruption.
No Ray.
Just us.
I leaned down.
Kissed her.
Soft at first.
Then deeper.
She kissed me back.
Her arms around my neck.
Her body pressed to mine.
It was like coming home.
Like the last year had never happened.
Like we were still that young couple in the tiny apartment, crazy in love, convinced we could take on the world.
We pulled back.
Breathless.
Foreheads touching.
“I love you,” I whispered.
The words I’d been too scared to say for so long.
The words that should have been said every single day we were married.
She cried.
Happy tears.
“I love you too, Ethan. I never stopped. Not even when I hated you. Not even when I was scared. I loved you the whole time.”
We kissed again.
Longer this time.
Then we went upstairs.
Not to separate rooms.
To the big master bedroom.
The boys were asleep in the cribs we’d set up in the corner.
We got into bed.
Held each other.
No more secrets.
No more fear.
Just us.
I woke up late the next morning.
Sunlight streaming through the windows.
Claire was gone.
I sat up.
Panicked for half a second.
Then I smelled it.
Bacon.
Coffee.
I got out of bed.
Put on a shirt.
Went downstairs.
Claire was in the kitchen.
Wearing one of my flannel shirts.
Too big for her.
Sleeves rolled up.
Flipping pancakes at the stove.
The boys were in their bouncy seats on the floor, cooing at each other.
Mom was sitting at the table, drinking coffee, reading the paper.
Like it was any normal Sunday morning.
Like the night before had never happened.
Claire looked up when I came in.
Smiled.
Bright.
Beautiful.
“Hey. Sleep well?”
“Best sleep I’ve had in a year.”
I walked over.
Kissed her.
Long and slow.
Mom cleared her throat.
Loud.
We pulled apart.
Laughing.
“Get a room, you two,” she said, grinning. “There are children present.”
We ate breakfast together.
Pancakes. Bacon. Eggs.
The boys ate mashed bananas and oatmeal.
It was perfect.
Simple.
Everything I’d ever wanted.
After breakfast, Tom came in.
He had news.
“Ray is in jail. No bond. The DA is pushing for life without parole. He’ll never see the outside of a prison again. You’re all safe. Completely.”
He smiled.
“Also… the security team can go back to the house. We don’t need to be here anymore. Just a couple of men at the estate to keep an eye on things. You’re free to go home whenever you want.”
I looked at Claire.
She looked at me.
We both knew.
Home wasn’t the big house in Cleveland.
Not anymore.
Home was wherever we were together.
“Let’s stay here a few more days,” I said. “Just us. No staff. No guards. No business. Just family.”
Claire nodded.
“Please. I’d like that.”
Tom left.
Mom decided to drive back to the estate that afternoon.
“Give you two some space,” she said, winking. “Call me if you need anything. Anything at all. And I’ll be back Friday to pick you up. And don’t even think about saying no. We’re having a big family dinner. All of us.”
She kissed each of the boys.
Hugged Claire.
Hugged me.
And left.
We were alone.
Truly alone.
For the first time in a week.
We spent the next three days doing nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
We played with the boys.
Took them for walks in the woods.
Sat on the porch and watched the sunset.
Cooked together.
Laughed together.
Talked.
Really talked.
About everything.
The past.
The mistakes we’d made.
The future.
We didn’t rush anything.
We didn’t talk about getting remarried.
Or moving back into the same bedroom permanently.
We just were.
Together.
And it was perfect.
On Friday morning, we packed up the car.
The boys were dressed in matching blue sweaters Mom had bought them.
Claire was wearing the dress she’d had on in the park.
Clean now.
Mended.
She looked beautiful.
I looked at my family.
My sons.
My love.
And I knew.
May you like
The nightmare was over.
And the rest of our lives was just beginning.
