Coming Home to the Mountain: Complete Edition

11. Graham

CHAPTER 11

Graham

T hrough all of the tragedy, heartache, and soul searching, I still have to deal with the fact that my day job is to be an officer for Home PD.

I took a few days of paid leave initially to help Tallie and Lucy settle in, but after the funeral, I still wanted to be there for them, so I took my vacation next. Then my sick days.

Now, I’m back on patrol. Everything is pretty typical, really. Nothing much happens in Home, and when something does, everyone knows about it. Public shaming is a pretty huge deterrent to antisocial behavior in a small town, but I’m there if it isn’t enough.

The most serious call I get on my first day back is a wellness check on a scatterbrained older woman who hadn’t called her family for a while. She had simply forgotten, and told me she’d let them know she was okay immediately. It made me thankful for the closeness of my own family, as I know not everyone enjoyed the luxury of having their mother live five miles down the road.

I clock out and head home, looking forward to seeing Tallie and Lucy again. The sweetheart has grown on me. I’ll admit that at first, I fell in love with the gorgeous woman caring for her, but now when I look at Lucy, I see someone who needs care in her life, and it’s poking at that latent ‘Dad’ part of my brain. I never thought of myself becoming a step-father, or step-uncle, or whatever she ends up calling me, but I’m determined to be the best whatever that is that I can be.

I roll onto my road, and toward my home. There’s already a car in my driveway, and it’s not one I recognize. My brothers all have Jeeps and pickup trucks, and Lemon’s sedan has a very specific color I’m used to seeing.

This? This car is missing both its front and rear bumpers and its tail pipe is dragging on the ground. It looks like it would fail every emissions test in the country.

Whose car could this be?

A chill runs down my spine at the thought of a stranger in my home.

I park and get out, my hand drifting toward my sidearm.

“You can’t be in here, Marcus!” Tallie screams. “There’s a restraining order against you! You’ll be arrested!”

“How are you gonna call the cops, bitch? I got your phone right here!”

My pulse hastens, as does my pace.

“Give me my fucking daughter! She’s not yours. She belongs to me now.”

“You don’t care about her at all!”

“I love Marci!”

“Her name is Lucy!”

“Whatever!”

I see Tallie up against the wall, the baby crying, and sense that the situation is a dangerous one.

Before her is a large, tattooed, bald man who is pointing a gun right at her.

“My child doesn’t belong to you, bitch,” he goes on. “You think I’m going to let you have her after you ruined my relationship?”

“You ruined your relationship, Marcus! Every time you lied to her! Every time you stole from her! Every time you hit her!”

“I only ever did what was best for us!”

“You did what was best for you, Marcus!”

“What’s best for me is what’s best for us!”

I’ve heard enough. I rush in and tackle him to the ground. He has poor form, and it’s easy to slam his hand to the ground, losing his grip on the gun.

“I’m pretty sure a convicted felon like you isn’t supposed to have a thing like that, Marcus,” I hiss at him before punching him in the face. “Not to mention you’re on probation. You’re going away from a long time now.”

“Fuck you, pig!” he shouts as soon as he sees my uniform. He squirms against me, but I throw another hand across his face.

I’m not one for police brutality, but everyone has their limit. This son of a bitch is mine. He spits at me, but I yank his hands behind his back so I can wrestle my cuffs onto him. “You have the right to remain silent,” I begin.

Once I’m done reading him his rights, I call for back-up and they aren’t far away. Home not being a very large town has its advantages, and I take solace that someone will soon take Marcus far away from here, to at least the county jail. Someone as dangerous as him? He might wind up in the state penitentiary.

Tallie cradles Lucy as Marcus is driven away, and hopefully that will be the last either of them ever see of him.

“Are you alright?” I ask when we’re finally alone, knowing the sad answer to the question.

“I’m alright enough,” she says, exhausted and defeated.

“What happened? Why didn’t you call?”

“I don’t know. He just burst in, and I scrambled to protect Lucy from him. I left my phone on the coffee table, and Marcus grabbed it.”

I wrap my arms around her and Lucy. I hold them tight. “He’s gone for good, now. Violating his probation and breaking a restraining order, he’s looking at at least twenty years’ worth of charges. Maybe in that time he’ll come to terms with his history and how he treats people. Maybe he won’t. But he’s not your problem anymore, Tallie. And if he ever somehow becomes one again? I’ll be there for you, ready to protect you.”

“Graham... Graham, are you crying?” she says, in a non-judgmental way.

“You mean the world to me, Tallie. I’m never letting you or Lucy go. Never, ever. I love you two with all my heart.”

She smiles up at me. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world.