The night that everything changed for me started off like any other night in sleepy Peacock, Mississippi. I met Grayson outside of the police station, and he greeted me with a big hug and a juicy smack on the lips. I ruffled his hair in greeting, and I didn’t care for once that the love I had for him was shining out of my eyes for the world to see. This was my man, and I was looking forward to spending the evening patrolling the town with him.

We drove around, enjoying the warm sunshine and each other’s company. We were carefree as only two people in love can be during the sweet, sweet summertime.

I was wearing shorts for a change, something I had avoided in the past for the ride alongs because I wanted to be as professional as possible. But it was so dang hot that I gave in. I felt sorry for Grayson in his black shirt and black pants and bulletproof vest, not to mention the heavy boots he always wore.

Of course, I was wearing my bulletproof vest, too.

“Girl, you are killing me in those shorts.” Grayson ran an appraising eye down my legs, and his smile said he liked what he saw.

He reached over and rubbed a hand over my smooth thigh, and then he grunted his approval.

My caveman, Grayson.

I laughed and swatted at his hand. “Eyes on the road, Officer.” I was so glad I had spent a little extra time shaving earlier.

We drove around town for hours, and nothing was happening. The radio remained silent, and finally, darkness covered the town like a thick blanket. It seemed like Peacock was deserted. We didn’t see a soul during our patrol, but we entertained ourselves with endless banter and lots of sweet, sexy flirting.

“It’s weird how quiet it is. That’s unusual for a Saturday night.” Grayson yawned and flexed his neck. He stroked my thigh again as he drove around.

I was tired, too.

The end of Grayson’s shift was approaching, and I could feel my eyes getting heavy with the need to sleep. A new day was dawning, but it was the end of the day for the two of us. We were both tired, so I welcomed the end of his watch.

I made a list in my head of what I needed to accomplish that day, and I was thankful that the list was short.

I was looking forward to snuggling with Grayson in his big bed under the covers. Pearl would curl up in her bed on the floor next to us, and we could all sleep for hours. I wanted nothing else from the coming day other than time with my man and our new dog.

The radio crackled to life, and I jumped. I had been so lost in my thoughts, and the radio had been so silent for so long, I wasn’t expecting to hear a call.

Grayson listened to dispatch and the string of codes I never understood. “Domestic disturbance over on Cherry Street.”

That was only a few streets over from where Grayson lived. He turned the patrol car down a side street, and we headed toward the scene with lights on but no siren.

I remembered him telling me long ago that he didn’t like to use his siren at night unless he really needed it. Something about it disturbing the citizens, waking them from a sound sleep and making them feel afraid.

“Seems like an odd time of the day for a fight.” I hung on to the dash as he made a sharp turn at a fast speed.

“Maybe. Or it could be someone just got off work, or woke up, or stumbled in, or who knows what.” He made another sharp turn while watching the road ahead of him with care. “We are the closest patrol so we should get there first.”

Grayson seemed relaxed, but I could tell he was worn out. Between working his shifts and retiling the master bath, he had been very busy.

“Ready for this shift to end?” I squeezed his arm. “I’ve been daydreaming about snuggling with you in your bed.”

He shot me a quick smile. “Sounds like an excellent plan, sweetheart. I’m all for that idea.”

We pulled up at a small blue house at the end of the street. A woman came rushing out into the yard as soon as she saw the patrol car. Grayson parked and exited the vehicle. I was close behind, panning the scene with the camera.

Business as usual for the two of us.

I hoped this would be a quick, uneventful call so we could get on with our day. Maybe eggs and bacon for breakfast? We might need to stop at the Piggly Wiggly before we headed home. I tried to remember what food Grayson had in his kitchen.

I think we were out of bacon.

“What’s going on, ma’am?” Grayson was so gentle and patient at times. He really was a great police officer.

“Evan’s been drinking all damn night, and I told him I was done. Then he slapped me.” She pointed to a red mark on her cheek and burst into tears. Her face was lined with wrinkles, and there was an abundance of gray in her limp hair. This was a woman who had lived a hard life, and she had weariness stamped on every part of her body.

Oh, no. Poor lady. And poor us. I wasn’t a cop or an expert on the law, but I knew from our talks while riding around, that Evan was more than likely going to jail. And that would mean extra paperwork for Grayson.

At that moment, while I was worried about mundane paperwork and my delayed naptime, the front door of the house wrenched open.

There was a loud BOOM, and I saw a man in a dirty, stained undershirt standing at the top of the stairs. My ears were ringing, and time slowed down.

The lady was screaming over and over, and I was so confused. I didn’t know what the man was doing.

I turned to Grayson to see what he would do next, not wanting to miss a thing with the camera. And my heart stopped.

Grayson was down on the ground, and blood was seeping out from under his vest.

Grayson pressed the radio on his shoulder and grimaced something. I dropped the camera on the muddy ground and fell to my knees next to him. Grayson was groping for his gun, but his face was a continuous contraction of pain. Later I would realize that this was the point I started crying, but for the moment I was unaware of most everything.

Grayson yelled at me to get back, but why would he want me gone? I needed to help him. I needed to clean up the blood before it stained his uniform. He took such pains to keep his work clothes clean and pressed. I didn’t want it to get dirty.

We were going to take a long nap together. We didn’t need to spend our day doing laundry. That wasn’t part of the plan.

Another patrol car screeched to a stop nearby, and there was more shouting. Why was Eric here? Oh, right, they backed each other up on calls if it was a slow night. And this had been the slowest night I had seen since I started doing ride alongs. So slow.

Eric whipped out his gun and crouched behind the open door of his patrol car. More loud noises and they told me later Evan was hit in the shoulder twice as he dove for the safety of his house. I didn’t see any of that.

I was taking care of Grayson, trying to clean up the blood.

Then Eric was running past me, pursuing the elusive Evan into the house.

More cars showed up. There were lots of blue lights and loud sirens. Chief Kane drove up in his personal vehicle. And two ambulances rolled up not long after that.

People were coming out of their houses, most of them still in their nightclothes. All of them were curious to see what was going on in the usually quiet neighborhood.

Somebody pulled me away from Grayson, and a sympathetic voice told me to stop screaming, that everything would be okay.

I didn’t even know I was screaming.

And how could everything be okay? Because I finally understood that Grayson had been shot in the chest by a crazy drunk with a gun.

I fought the arms that were holding me as paramedics strapped Grayson to a gurney and carried him away from me.

“Lucy. It’s okay. Calm down, sweet girl.” A raspy voice spoke in my ear.

I twisted around and realized Chief Kane had me in a tight grip. “I’ll take you to the hospital myself. But I need you to calm down first. Please.”

I stopped screaming and stopped fighting. Instead, I sobbed for everything I had lost.

The shooting was a dim blur, but I remember the ride to the hospital with sharp clarity. It took so long. The Chief drove fast, but there was traffic everywhere, and he was often forced to slow down and turn on his blue lights so people would get out of the way. I remember thinking, where were all these people twenty minutes ago when the streets of Peacock had been so deserted?

Somehow in all of the confusion, the sun remembered to rise. I missed that part in my grief over Grayson. It had been dark, and now it was light.

The sun was rising fast. It was a beautiful morning, and birds were singing so loudly I could hear them inside the car. I remember looking at the early morning sun shining through the branches of an ancient oak tree, and thinking it would make a beautiful photograph.

It was the perfect day, except my boyfriend and love was bleeding out from a gunshot wound somewhere close by.

When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Chief drove right up to the emergency room entrance. An off-duty police officer that I recognized, Brian somebody, met us at the doors. Chief tossed his car keys to the officer and ordered him to park the car.

As I climbed out of the car, I remembered a different day from long ago. Glancing down at my feet, I half-expected to see my shoes on the wrong feet. What an odd thought.

We rushed inside. An antiseptic smell assaulted me as soon as we crossed the threshold.

We were immediately taken to a small room off to the side and found Grayson there. He was sitting up, cussing a blue streak at the gray-haired nurse who was trying to help him. His vest was lying on the floor, and his uniform shirt was on top of the vest.

Grayson was wearing just his undershirt on top, and the nurse was cutting it off his body. There was a little blood as well as some small cuts and bruises on Grayson’s neck and collarbones, but the vest had protected him from the worst of it. Once the shirt was completely gone, I saw the bruises already forming, where the bullet had hit the vest and impacted his skin. The bruises were blooming under his skin like sick flowers.

But he was alive, and slowly my brain realized he was going to be okay.

No serious damage.

So why did I drop to my knees sobbing?

Grayson cursed and stumbled off the exam table over the protests of the nurse and Chief Kane. He moved with stiff and awkward movements until he was crouched next to me.

“Lucy. Baby. Look at me.” He tried lifting my chin with one gentle hand, but I was too far gone to respond.

My sobbing continued.

Finally, Grayson wrapped his strong arms around me and just held me. I know it had to hurt him, but I touched him all over, needing the reassurance that he was truly alive and well.

He stroked my hair with his strong, work-roughened hands, and I tried to pull myself together. He needed to be getting medical attention. I’m sure Chief Kane had questions for him about what happened.

I was selfish. Today wasn’t about me. I needed to get the focus off of me and my emotions, and back on to Grayson.

I pulled back from him with reluctance. “Grayson. I’m okay. Let the nurse finish her exam.”

“I’m good. I was completely protected by my vest. I’m just going to have some scrapes and bruises. I’m not even real sure what cut me.” He stroked my face with one hand. “I don’t need anything but you.” His voice was gruff, and I could see that he was still worried about my reaction.

I stood up and turned to the nurse. “Is he really okay?”

She smiled at me. “He looks great. We need to put some ice on some of those bruises, but that’s about it. Maybe the doctor will give him a pain reliever.”

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I fished it out and saw my grandmother was calling.

“It’s Grandma. I better take it.” Turning my back on Grayson, hoping that would make him submit to the nurse’s exam, I went out into the hall. Mindful of the hospital setting, I went out into the front parking lot and returned the call.

“Lucy?” Grandma’s voice trembled.

“Hey, Grandma. Is everything okay?” It was early in the morning. She didn’t usually call this early.

“I heard there was a shooting. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I don’t know what officer was involved.” The worry was evident in her voice. I’m sure hearing the news brought back terrible memories for her as well.

Again, I glanced down at my shoes.

“I’m fine, and so is Grayson. He was shot from a distance with some type of gun. I don’t know what kind. But he was wearing a vest, and that kept him alive. Other than some small cuts and bruises, he wasn’t hurt. Thank goodness.” I kept my voice matter of fact. I didn’t want Grandma to worry anymore.

Everything was okay, after all.

After I got off the phone with her, I went back inside. I was exhausted, and I wanted to go home as soon as possible.

I met Grayson coming out of the exam room, putting his shirt back on. “Lucy, Chief needs me to answer some questions. It might take a while. What do you say I get somebody to run you home, and you can take Pearl out while I work a little longer?”

“Sure. That’s great.” My voice was flat. It took an effort to put one foot in front of the other.

Grayson looked at me hard, but I smiled and acted as if everything was normal.

Chief Kane was chatting with a police officer and a hospital administrator about paperwork issues, but he turned around when we approached. “Officer Taylor will drive Lucy home, if that’s okay. You can ride with me, Jackson, back to the station.”

I nodded. When Grayson went to hug me, I pushed back from him. “I don’t want to hurt you. You are all bruised up.” I smiled to soften my words. “I’ll see you later.”

I turned to go with Officer Taylor. “Ready?” I was all smiles, like everything was wonderful.

“I’ll be home soon, Lucy.” Grayson called after me. I waved a hand back at him as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

But I didn’t look back.