Lotty stared. What. Just. Happened? There were so many emotions fighting for space inside her, she didn’t know which one to allow to take hold. With jaw dropped, she made eye contact with Officer Netley.

“You’re welcome,” he said, his gun now trained on the muscular man who’d just entered the room.

Aiden lay on the floor next to Brent, where he’d fallen. He was trembling, but not crying. Jason picked him up and Aiden buried his face in Jason’s shirt. 

A small hand slipped inside Lotty’s and she looked down into Ty’s wide eyes. His eyebrows were drawn and his concerned expression and pale cheeks seemed out of place on someone so young. She lifted him up and he melted into her. With arms squeezed around Ty, she rushed across the room. Jason held out his free arm and when she moved close enough, he pulled her in against him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and hugged her tighter.

She could hear noise, but it seemed a world away. Netley yelling at someone to keep their hands in the air. Moaning. Crying. It swirled around her and yet couldn’t touch her. She was wrapped in everything that mattered. Her own protective little cocoon of family.

Jason’s hand rubbed small circles on her back as he held her close. She looked up and met his eyes. “I was so worried when you didn’t show up,” she whispered.

Ty shoved himself between them and wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck. Lotty was torn between basking in the sweetness of the moment or pulling Ty back into her arms so she’d be next to Jason again.

Without Jason’s arms around her, Lotty took note of her surroundings. The cries she’d heard belonged to Nikki, who was sitting on the floor next to Brent. Lotty’s heart wrenched. She’d been so consumed by her own feelings, she’d forgotten about poor Nikki. Lotty bent down and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. Nikki gripped it and turned to look at her. “He’s not conscious. He was looking right at me, but then he passed out. I want to understand what’s going on, but he won’t respond to anything. He’s not dead, is he?” Her cries intensified.

Lotty stared at the lifeless mass on the floor and the growing puddle of blood. As she thought of Brent, her good friend and neighbor, a lump lodged itself in her throat. But that had been a lie. He’d been about to shoot Aiden. Her sweet, innocent Aiden. How had it come to this? How had a seemingly honest, loving husband and father turned into the man crumpled into a ball at her feet? “I, uh, I don’t know, Nik.” Lotty got down on her knees and wrapped her arms around Nikki, who shook while she tried to muffle her sobs against Lotty’s shoulder.

“He’s not dead,” Netley’s gruff voice barked behind them. They turned in unison as Netley finished putting handcuffs on the muscular man in the corner. “But he will be if we don’t get that bleeding stopped.” He knelt next to Brent. “I need towels. Does anyone know where Ms. Kross kept them?” 

“I’ll get them,” Lotty said, rushing out of the room toward the linen closet. She was relieved for an excuse to get away from the blood. The further she ran down the hall, the worse the fire damage got. Where the linen closet used to be, there was a charred wall frame. How ironic that the towels needed to save Brent’s life were gone because he’d started a fire here weeks ago. Or at least been behind it somehow.

Lotty turned around and sprinted to the kitchen to find Jocelyn’s dish towels. She grabbed several out of the drawer and took them to Officer Netley. He’d already done what he could with ripped pieces of his own shirt and had Nikki holding pressure on the wound.

Sirens shrieked in the distance until they sounded like they were in the same room. Blue and red lights flashed through the cracks in the blinds. Paramedics burst in and surrounded Brent. Lotty backed away while her head spun. She couldn’t seem to process everything that had happened: Brent wanting permits, hitting her over the head with a gun, aiming a gun at his own wife, trying to shoot her baby, and now, unconscious in a puddle of blood. Her legs threatened to go out from under her as she thought about it. She moved closer to the wall, but before she could get there, Jason was at her side. He wrapped his arms around her and held her up. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she buried her face in his chest.  As he held tighter, the tears picked up momentum.

Lotty had no idea how long they stood like that before Jason bent close to her ear. “Let’s go home.”

She nodded and pulled her face back, realizing the boys weren’t next to him anymore. “Where are the b—?”

“Officer Carlson is letting them play with the lights on the car.”

“What? No.” She rushed toward the door on unsteady legs. She wasn’t ready to trust anyone with her children yet. 

“What’s wrong?” Jason called from behind her. He matched her pace. “He wanted to talk to us, but said he’d give you a moment. Ty kept asking if he could touch his badge so Officer Carlson let him see it and then offered to show him and Aiden the car.”

Lotty ran out the back door and into the swarm of police cars. Blinded by the brightness of the flashing lights, she looked away. Each passing second triggered more nervousness. What if Brent had help inside the Walden PD? Officer Carlson with his friendly smile and fake niceties would make the perfect ally for Brent. 

Jason laced his fingers through hers and pulled her toward the lights. “They’re right there,” he said, nudging her forward. She squinted into the flashes and saw the outline of Officer Carlson holding Aiden, while Aiden proudly wore the policeman’s hat. She approached the police car and Aiden reached for her.

“Ms. Brooks,” Officer Carlson said with a nod.

Lotty tried to smile in return, but the message was lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth. She still had visions swirling inside her head of this guy working with Brent and trying to get the boys.

“Mom, come in here,” Ty yelled from the backseat of the police car.

Thankful for a reason to give her wobbly legs a break, she sat on the edge of the seat and held Aiden in her lap. Ty pointed out the various features and Lotty did her best at feigning interest. When he was done, she looked back toward Jason and Officer Carlson. But, like a magnet, her eyes snapped to what was behind Jason, a paramedic talking to Doll. To think of her as her mom felt too personal. Right now, she was Doll. Horrible, manipulative Doll. 

As Lotty thought of approaching her, it felt like a bird was flapping around inside her stomach. Forget butterflies. This was a full-sized bird. In the craziness of the last few minutes, she’d completely forgotten Doll was there. Forgotten she’d been shot, forgotten her betrayal about Jason, and forgotten the depth of pain it caused.

“Ms. Brooks, can you answer a few questions now?” Officer Carlson asked just as Doll locked eyes with her. Lotty turned away quickly and faced the plump policeman.

“Uh, yeah, I can try,” Lotty answered, but her mind was still reeling. What was she doing here? Yes, it was immature to ignore her, but she couldn’t face her yet. She looked to Jason when she realized he and Officer Carlson were staring at her. She’d completely missed the question.

Jason turned to Officer Carlson. “Yes, they’re permits, but we don’t know why.”

“He stole them from City Hall,” Lotty jumped in. “They’re the building permits for every home in Strawberry Estates.”

“Hmm,” Officer Carlson said as he jotted notes on his writing pad.

He asked several more questions, most of which Lotty had no answer for, before asking her to write an official statement. As she finished, Officer Netley joined them. He and Jason began talking quietly about things that made no sense to her: wells, toxicity, and something called chromium six.

“Why would he put filters on? He wouldn’t try to poison people and then try to filter out the poison,” Officer Netley said. “Those are expensive filters. He had to have spent thousands.”

Jason shook his head and mumbled something quietly.

Since when had he and Jason become buddies? She’d ask Jason about it later and have him explain all this stuff about filters when she wasn’t so exhausted. She covered her face with her hands trying to hide an enormous yawn, but left her face buried for several seconds, enjoying the break from the flashing lights and busyness that surrounded her. When she slid her hands down, a pair of watchful eyes burned the side of her face. A slight turn of her head left her staring directly into Doll’s hawk-like gaze.

Lotty held Doll’s stare and slowly rose from her comfortable seat in the back of the car. She handed Aiden to Jason and walked straight to where Doll was sitting next to an ambulance, arm wrapped in white bandages. 

“Well,” Doll huffed, “It’s about time, Charlotte.”

Lotty dug her fists into her palms, reminding herself that Doll had just been shot.

“I kept telling myself to let you be until you wanted to talk,” Doll continued. “After all, you’re probably feeling guilty about all the lies.” She nodded toward her arm and her face contorted in pain. “The lies that got me shot. Still I didn’t think it would take you quite so long to come talk to me.”

Lotty shook her head and sighed. “I thought I could do this right now, but I can’t.” She turned to walk away.

“Can’t do what? Tell me that I was right? That your marriage is a sham?  I knew all along, Charlotte. I just didn’t know your husband was mixed up with criminals.”

Lotty let out a forced laugh. “Mom, you have absolutely no idea.”

“Then tell me.” Doll looked desperate as she grabbed Lotty’s arm.

“What are you even doing here? Why were you in our house tonight?” Lotty yelled. What did it matter if everyone around her knew she was angry? It was too hard always pretending everything was okay.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Doll yelled back. She wiped a tear away and lowered her voice. “I’ve been calling you for days. I called Trinity to ask where you were and she said you hadn’t been home, that your chicken had been destroying the neighborhood.” She looked down. “You never go anywhere so I decided to come check things out for myself. You are still my baby, after all.”

Lotty rubbed her throbbing temples and sat on the back bumper of the ambulance. “Look, Mom, there’s been a lot going on in our neighborhood. I still don’t understand it, but I can promise you that it’s not Jason’s doing. The only thing he’s done is try to keep the boys and me safe.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m truly sorry you got caught in the middle of it. I wanted to rip that guy’s face off when he shot you in the arm. That being said, you have no right to come here and call me a liar and tell me Jason is a criminal.”

Doll’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Jason and I have had a few...” she trailed off trying to think of the right word, “uh, enlightening conversations over the past few days.”

“So, you’re going to—,” Doll began, a hopeful light in her eyes, but Lotty stopped her.

“No, Mom, I’m not going to leave him. We’re not separating and I’m not leaving Montana. That’s what you were going to say, right? You’re hoping our marriage is hard enough that we’ll call it quits, but even with all your meddling and trying to destroy it, our marriage is not the problem. Jason didn’t hurt me. You did.” Doll’s eyes widened until her eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. “You watched me suffer, listened to me cry, and pretended Jason was the one at fault.  You sent him to Phoenix and acted like he must not care about me to have left. Then, to top it off, you continued your messed-up game when he came to Santa Barbara and made him think I didn’t care about him. Who does that? What mother does that?” Lotty’s voice was an octave above normal, a shriek. Everyone around them was silent, listening to her outburst.

“I—I was trying to do what was best for you, even if you had to experience a little pain. You wouldn’t listen to your father and I, and you were throwing your life away. A life we worked hard to ensure would be a success. Marriage is a difficult thing, but monumentally more difficult if you choose the wrong person.”

“I didn’t choose the wrong person!” Lotty yelled. “Why can’t you understand that and—”

“Marriage is difficult.” Jason’s calm voice interrupted as he approached the two women and wrapped his arm around Lotty. “So is raising children, getting a degree, building a career, exercising...” Uh, where was he going with this? Lotty raised her eyebrow and he continued. “And every other meaningful thing in life. Things that offer a worthwhile reward don’t just fall perfectly into your lap. They take work. Marriage isn’t about finding the perfect person. It’s about tackling the challenges together and coming out stronger.”

Jason tightened his arm around Lotty, and Doll’s eyes narrowed. “I’m tired. What room should I take?”

Lotty shook her head and wiped back tears. Her emotions were on a serious rollercoaster ride tonight. She’d been so mad at Doll. That was replaced with elation while Jason spoke. Now the anger returned. “Mom, I’m not ready for you to stay with us.”

“What does that even mean, Charlotte?”

“I mean I know you were doing what you thought was best for me, but that doesn’t fix the fact that I’m still incredibly hurt.”

“You’re going to throw me out in the middle of the night, with a bullet hole in my arm nonetheless?”

Lotty took a deep breath, tired of being manipulated. “No, I’m not. You should probably be in a hospital tonight and we can find other arrangements after that.” Lotty looked to the paramedic, motioning for him to second what she’d said.

“Uh, yes, Ma’am, you’ll need to be monitored for at least twenty-four hours,” the paramedic offered. 

“Okay, Mom, I hope you can get some sleep and your arm won’t bother you too much. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“I cannot believe what I’m hearing. I get shot...,” Doll began her rant. Jason helped Lotty up and motioned to the cop car where both boys were now asleep. Doll continued, but her voice faded as they moved toward the boys. “And I’m not satisfied with you telling me there’s ‘something up in your neighborhood.’ I need answers...”

Jason held Ty while Lotty grabbed Aiden. “I’ll get the hens and the van after I get you guys home,” Jason said. “And then I’ll destroy every last camera in our house.” They walked past all the flashing lights, away from the chaos and toward their home.

“So, I’m difficult, huh?” Lotty asked, as they approached the front door.

“The perfect amount of difficult,” Jason answered with a smile, grabbing Lotty’s free hand in his.